What's up, guys?
Jeff Cavaliere, ATHLEANX.com.
Today we're going to tread in dangerous waters, here.
We're going to talk about diets.
We're going to talk about Keto dieting because right now I get a lot of questions, and people
want to know "What does Jeff think about Keto dieting?"
I always wonder whether it's that they actually care about what I think, or they're just looking,
and hoping that I'll agree with Keto dieting.
But you might be surprised by the end of the video because I'm not going to come out here
and all out rip Keto dieting because for me, at the end of the day, if something works
for somebody, and it helps them to get in shape – long term, though.
That's my non-negotiable.
It's got to work for you long term.
Then I'm happy.
The point of this whole channel was to make sure that you guys are getting information
to help you get fit, to help you get healthier, to help you get stronger.
So when we talk about ketogenic dieting the first thing I want to do is clarify what it
is because some people don't really know exactly what it means.
You've heard a lot about it, but you don’t know exactly what it means.
It means, basically, shifting around your macronutrients pretty substantially.
Pretty much, differently from the way a lot of us eat.
That is: going to a very high fat diet.
About 80% of your total calories intake in a day is coming from fat, and fat sources.
Then really, really, really minimizing your carbohydrate intake down to almost nothing.
Less than 5% of your total daily calories coming in from green, leafy vegetables.
None of the more traditional rice, beans, potatoes, fruits, breads, sweets, pasta; none
of that stuff.
That's all out.
Then, filling in the gap – about 15%-20% of your diet – from protein.
So what that leaves us is a diet that's rich in meat and fish, heavy creams, seeds, oils,
nuts, eggs; that's what you can eat.
So whenever I talk about diets the one thing I try to always do is never say "This is the
only way to do it."
A lot of people right now that are espousing the benefits of ketogenic dieting are saying
"This is the only way to be, and this is the healthies way to be, and this is the only
thing."
That's total bullshit because guys, I have never done a day of ketogenic dieting in my
entire life and I can stand up here every, single day for you guys in the same condition,
the same shape, and I've never done that.
So to say that's the 'only' way to do it is not true.
You guys know that.
There are a lot of different ways that people can lose weight, and lose body fat.
So the first thing you have to consider is: what is it that you're trying to accomplish?
Are you trying to do something short term?
Because if you are, if you're trying to get some short term weight loss – not necessarily
the fat loss – ketogenic dieting could be your savior.
If you're trying to get ready for something, some wedding, or you've got to go into a contest,
or whatever you're doing; it could be a savior for you because it's going to allow for rapid
weight loss.
I say 'weight loss', not fat loss, because there's a difference.
When you lose weight via ketogenic dieting in a very short period of time, you have to
understand that what you're doing is, you're depleting your body of its stored glycogen.
Store glycogen is also store water.
You will lose a lot of body water when you go on a ketogenic diet, in a short period
of time.
So your weight loss can be substantial.
A lot of weight in a short period of time.
However, that has its downsides.
When it comes to performance, your glycogen is a source of fuel for your muscles and if
you deplete all of your glycogen the intensity levels of your workouts are going to suffer.
Your cortisol ratios will also, likely, play off that.
If you try to attempt to workout hard when the tank is pretty much depleted, your cortisol
stress levels will go up, too.
That's not a good thing for long term muscle gain.
So people will talk about the inability to gain a lot of muscle.
I'm not just talking about preserving it either.
I'm talking about, they want to gain muscle.
Really what we're talking about is 'can you even preserve your muscle on a ketogenic diet'.
Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of long term research out there.
I read one article that basically said there are 11 studies done in a six month duration
specifically on athletes, and their ability to train – retain muscle, not even gain
muscle – retain their muscle during that period of time, and only three of them showed
their ability to do so, while eight did not.
So that's still not even talking about longer term than that.
So back to your goals.
If you are looking for something long term, it had better be sustainable.
I have a problem with macronutrient exclusion diets.
I don’t care if it's fat exclusion.
I don’t care if it's carbohydrate exclusion.
I don’t care what your tactic is.
Exclusionary diets don’t really do so well and they earn the word 'diet' because they
do not become long term solutions.
And I hear you.
I know you're going to write on the video "I've been keto dieting for five years, for
the last 14 months, I've been doing everything I'm supposed to do and I still – no problems
for me."
That's good, and you are the exception to the rule.
As I said in the beginning of the video; that's a good thing.
Ultimately, find what's going to work for you.
But if you can't stick to it then I have a problem with it.
If you can't imagine a life where – I just threw the word 'five years' out there – if
you can't imagine a life where five years from now – don’t talked to me about even
a year from now – we're in a much longer game here on this channel.
I talk about a much longer term that we're looking for here.
If you can think that five years from now you're still going to be able to do that,
then go for it.
Go for it!
Because there are some benefits.
There are definitely some benefits to that.
The most importantly benefit is: it finally worked for you.
I will add another caveat here, too.
People will sometimes say "I've never felt better than when I was on a keto diet.
So, Jeff, what you're talking about in terms of 'declining energy levels', and 'not enough
intensity in my workouts'; not true at all.
I've got more."
Guys, think about where you're usually coming from if you've entered the phase where you
already know that you need a diet.
You're probably dramatically overweight.
You already have low energy because of your weight issues.
You need a solution.
Anything you would have done at that point – not necessarily keto – but anything
you would have done to eat healthier would have allowed you to start feeling better,
to have more energy.
So you can't necessarily equate the two.
Any type of diet, at that point, that helps you to lose weight, you probably would have
attached yourself to as "Hey, man!
I feel so much better because I'm doing this."
But again, that doesn't detract from keto.
It doesn't.
It's just that you've got to make sure you're keeping your eyes open that it could have
been from the overall weight loss.
At the end of the day, guys, I'm someone that espouses eating all the nutrients.
I think you should eat carbohydrates, I think you should eat protein, I think you should
eat fats, I don’t think you should exclude any of them.
I think this opens up a lot more possibilities to the foods that you can eat.
I think you should still make sure that you're getting enough fiber, because in a ketogenic
diet you're not getting enough fiber in your diet, and that could lead to other issues.
But it becomes, more importantly, more sustainable.
The less that we, as humans, are restricted, the more free we feel; the better we tend
to do with things.
Here, when it comes to our nutrition, I think you need to start getting a better education
in the long run about how to eat healthier.
Yes, you can have all the macronutrients, but choose the right ones.
Choose the right versions of those.
Make sure you're eating healthier food options and that’s going to help you sustain low
body fat levels without having to cut out anything.
But if you can do it, and it's working for you guys; I truly, truly believe you should
keep doing it.
Keep doing it.
There are other health benefits from it.
Especially in neurological diseases.
They're finding, in some studies, that really unlocks some potential there too, and that's
a great thing.
All right, guys.
Again, if you're looking for our nutrition plan – I literally put out the one that
I follow, the one that I believe is sustainable – I put it out step by step in our ATHLEANX
training program.
That's over at ATHLEANX.com, in our ATHLEANX training systems.
In the meantime, if you have other questions, if you want me to cover other things make
sure you leave your comments below.
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All right, guys.
See you soon.