The Dark Side of Keto

Ive been posting liberally about ketosis, since Ive been on it for the most part for about a month and have had great success. but the dark side appears to be coming out. i had a horrible leg cramp last night and lately (past two weeks) my toes have been cramping up quite a bit as well. I didnt bother to associate it with ketosis, but thought I'd look it up online, and lack of potassium due to a ketosis diet is very common afterall. this is a common symptom of ketosis and both imply dehydration, raised blood pressure, and lack of potassium or magnesium.
 
Also, when starting ketosis, I realized my forearms had immense veins and a sort of pump/rush at all times of the day, even when not working out. I suspect ketosis is behind this as well. I dont know why Rollingstone never told us this, but take potassium pills daily! (Evidently, spinach aint enough for potassium I eat it all day every day on keto and drink tons of water along with my fats and proteins.)
 
P.S. Evidently a heart attack is a risk of ketosis as well? Any experienced low carbers please give in your two cents.

I probably don't get enough potassium on keto or otherwise.  My guess, though, is that you're not eating as many vegetables as you think.  RS never mentioned it probably because he never had a problem with it.  I'm pretty sure he eats a ton of veggies every day.  

Btw, we have a perfectly good thread on keto.  Did you really have to start yet another new one?

Those side effects are one of the reasons you need to be careful about your food choices...

1 vegetable a day (no matter how much of it you eat ) is not going to provide you with the variety of nutrients you need...

It is not enough to choose foods that conform to the optimal fat protein ratio, the quality of both the flesh and the fat need to be considered... You should be getting your fats from HEALTHY fats...

The sodium content of of your foods needs to be watched carefully... It is very easy and at times desirable to choose a salty cured meat while on keto, because they conform quite easily in top the ratio's... This is going to encourage dehydration, high blood pressure and all sorts of nastyness.... Salted cured pig, while convienent and tasty, and occasional (and redily available), quick keto choice, should be no where near the staple of your diet.

Your food chioces should be monitored carefully for all the variiables that constitute a health food. You should not just be looking at % carbs (% fibre), % total fat, % protein....

Keto does not constitute an ally ally oxenfree, on smart nutrition, it actually forces you to ramp up you game, a notch or two...

I'm not a seasoned low carb dieter....that just my two cents. As a seasoned lable reader, and food snob.

Personally, I'm doing a very low carb diet for 7 days.  As a test of sorts.

It's a SHORT term solution.  It absolutely does not feel right.  It's a bodybuilding tool that has made it's way into some sort of lifestyle.

Your body's preferred source of fuel including your BRAIN is carbohydrates.  Going low carb just blows.

Does it work? 

OMG, short term absolutely.  Maybe for a show.  Or for a quick cut.  To get extra lean.  Ect.

But doing this on any timeframe beyond 'short' term is insane.  I'm absolutely not interested in continuing this.  It's not the way to build lots of muscle over time.

Anyway.. I'm NOT an expert in this exact area.  So I'm just expressing my own personal opinions on what I'm experiencing and what I intend to do.  I am using this as a tool for 7 days to strip fat.. I will not make this a lifestyle nor use it for any length longer than 3 months without carb cycling.

I know my body extremely well from bodybuilding for 19 years.  This does not feel right.  And so for me, it is not.  But short term, it's a chisel that makes a difference.

Marc C. David - NGA CPT
Author of NoBull Bodybuilding
www.nobullbodybuilding.com

Good reminder there Mark, I am doing this to break a leanness plateau I have never been able to pass... in a short time frame...

Funny thing is after about day 8 -9 for me... my energy and brain came rocketing back, better then it was before...

But yeah this is a short term choice for me as well...

I sort of remember mentioning this somewhere else after I kept wakin up with leg cramps one night as well.  I supplement calcium, potassium, and vitamin d these days.

working on explosive phase
vertical: 35
weight: 206

Big 3: 300/440/515

Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.

I switched over to TKD now because my workouts are in the morning, and it doesn't deprive me completely of carbs.

If it so happens you move over to this side too, a banana pre workout wouldn't hurt. It may or may not kick you out of ketosis, but you will get back into it. This morning I did eggs on one piece of whole wheat toast and post workout I used maltodextrin in a protein shake. It added up to be about 50g all together. I felt better and definitely felt like I am getting better recovery because I'm not dragging ass all day.

I think the CKD is kind of a BS method. You suffer 5 days so you are tempted to cheat like no other, and then when the carb up comes, most people tend to inhale all shapes and sizes of carbs. I know I did.

Where as the TKD you kill the carb craving before and after and it stays off your mind the rest of the day; at least for me it does. I only have about 2-3 more weeks of this garbage and I am almost 9% BF at 179lb. I have actually gained some muscle and stuck it at around 10% these past few days.

ive been doing the low carb diet for atleast a week now,except i allow myself atleast 20-30 grams of carbs tho, ive gotten leg cramps in my thighs but only after a serious round of basketball, im talkin about 2-3 hours worth, other than that i feel fine, my energy levels are up there, my muscles feel flat though as i havent had a carb up day, but i think i will be on the diet for the next 3 months because i love being shredded, i have already lost 3 lbs and my abs are getting shredded, veins coming out everywhere, i cant wait to see what i look like in a month!!

but so far im fine, i take a good multi

update! 8/3/09

maxes and goals
bench - need to remax
goal bench - 405

squat - need to remax
goal squat - 500

deadlift - need to remax
goal deadlift - 500
weight -174.8 8%bf 

Perrynaytor


I switched over to TKD now because my workouts are in the morning, and it doesn't deprive me completely of carbs.

If it so happens you move over to this side too, a banana pre workout wouldn't hurt. It may or may not kick you out of ketosis, but you will get back into it. This morning I did eggs on one piece of whole wheat toast and post workout I used maltodextrin in a protein shake. It added up to be about 50g all together. I felt better and definitely felt like I am getting better recovery because I'm not dragging ass all day.

I think the CKD is kind of a BS method. You suffer 5 days so you are tempted to cheat like no other, and then when the carb up comes, most people tend to inhale all shapes and sizes of carbs. I know I did.

Where as the TKD you kill the carb craving before and after and it stays off your mind the rest of the day; at least for me it does. I only have about 2-3 more weeks of this garbage and I am almost 9% BF at 179lb. I have actually gained some muscle and stuck it at around 10% these past few days.

But didn't several of you meals consist of mainly pork rinds? I am sounding like a broken record and a jack ass... but nutrition.... ?????

I just don't feel like i am suffering, for carbs...

 I worry people are damaging themselves, because every good nutritional practice is being thrown out the window with this diet... or maybe people who don't eat well usually (especially during a bulk), tend to not worry about their nutrition, because the sheer volume of food they are consuming, by default, allows you to be properly nurished, almost by accident, rather than design. Then when they give the Keto (any type), diet a whirle, they don't even think about nutrition, just macro's.

I swear that is the last post like this I will make... promise...

Yeah, thats why I kind of dropped the idea of keto. I just stick to fat and protein through out the day. I don't eat junk now.. it was making me sick. I could care less if I am in keto, just as long as carbs are fairly low and I am getting my vegetables and protein.

The pork rinds are a waste. While they are no carb.. they are processed obviously and disgusting and who the hell wants to live on them? I mainly eat

Fish
Beef
Chicken
Green Vegetables
Whey PWO
Small fruit PreWO

Making good progress now.

I posted this earlier but I sugest ultimate diet 2.0. Its a modified ckd and the results people get speak for themselves. Somebody mentioned it doesn't work because you have to starve yourself for 3 1/2 days and then you eat like crap when you carb you. This is because you lack disipline plain in simple. I haven't seen anybody run more than 8 consecutive weeks on any type of keto diet and I would say keep it to 4-6 week cycles.