After (foolishly) competing in two meets in back-to-back weeks, it was time for a bit of R&R. We took a weekend on the slopes and spent 4 glorious days of spring skiing, bluebird skies, 40-degree weather with chairlift beers and bloody marys! Whoops, those are not ketogenic…
In case you missed it, check out the Week 7 & 8 post to learn about keto’s effect on performance. We both competed in a USAPL (powerlifting) meet in Week 7. In Week 8, I competed in Central Maine Strongman, one of the better-known Strongman meets in New England.
If you’re starting out and curious about what is going on, check out our introduction post. That’s where we explained that Lindsay and I are embarking on an experimental Ketogenic Diet for Strength Athletes. Clay is interested in body recomposition (decrease body fat). Lindsay is no longer following the strict diet but was most interested in the reported increase in mental clarity.
How it felt “falling off the wagon”:
After several months of dedicated training and 8 weeks of strict nutrition – I needed a physical and mental break. We booked a late season room at Sugarloaf Mountain, loaded our skis, boots and season passes into the car, and drove north to the mountains. Knowing that eating at the mountain gets expensive over 4 days, I did as much food prep as I reasonably could. The problem? When you get there, boiled eggs don’t taste nearly as good as a breakfast burrito.
It was only 4 days, and I didn’t totally fall off the wagon. Don’t get me wrong, I was dragged behind the wagon with one hand hanging on, but I wasn’t a complete fat kid. Nonetheless, chairlift beers, breakfast burritos, and bowls of chili are far from ketogenic foods. I felt the effects of the poor diet immediately – instant food comas, low alcohol tolerance, and stiff joints the next morning. This whole thing is an experiment and going back to a traditional “vacation diet” is just a part of the entire trial.
What did I learn in the end? Unfortunately, no matter how good an imperial porter tastes, it’s just not worth it when I’m in the middle of a training cycle.
And then I climbed back on the wagon:
Thank goodness we only had a room for three nights! By Monday afternoon, my de-load week was over, and I had a barbell on my back. Knees were stiff, back was tight, and range of motion sucked, but I was back to training. In general, it took about three days to get back to my “new normal.” The most noticeable symptoms were that bloating went away, gut function returned to a regular cycle, and joint pain decreased. The biggest change compared to initially starting the program was the disappearance of the mental clarity that comes from dropping carbs.
There may be a few reasons for this. One, I never really lost the mental clarity part while we were skiing, as it might take longer to come and go than joint pain or other inflammation. Secondly, my evening re-fuel carbs may be keeping me out of even mild ketosis, which is where the mental clarity part comes from. In week 10 I’m going to experiment with adding some keto salts in the morning to see if it changes my blood and urine markers, or changes my mental state.
Training effect on diet, and vice versa:
I have a problem: I can’t stop eating. I started the keto diet at 3,000 calories/day. Now I’m at 4,000 calories/day and flirting with trying 4,250 if I lose any weight in the next two weeks. I’m eating over 2,500 calories/day of fat, and I’m still hungry. What the hell.
Training has begun for the USAPL Northeast Regionals on August 18th, and I’m embarking on another experiment – the Smolov Squat routine. You can read more about Smolov, here, but in the words of Pavel:
“In case you got all starry-eyed and bushy tailed having read the title beware that you cannot get something for nothing. Either of the two four week loading blocks of the thirteen-week Russian cycle pack more work than most American squatters do in a year, no joke. You shall gain, but you shall pay with sweat, blood, and vomit, Comrade.” –Pavel Tsatsouline
I’m fully committed to doing Smolov right, which means putting a lot of fuel in the gas tank. It also means that the fuel has to be clean. No booze until the week 7 break. No eating sweets besides a square or two of dark chocolate every night. I need a 550lbs raw, natural, squat and I feel like this modified version of keto is perfect for me – I just might end up eating 5,000 calories/day.
Clay’s Observations: Weeks 9 & 10:
- Hangovers suck and wreck your training. Not worth it when you’re in a training cycle.
- Sprinkled cross training and occasional breaks from a meal plan are essential for my mental health.
- Hungry. So Hungry.
The Measurements: Weeks 9 & 10:
Back to taking measurements! I knew I would go up in weight and body fat during my de-load week after the meets, which featured a lot of beer on the chairlift. What I didn’t expect was a drop in body fat percentage in week 10. Body weight went up, but it was mostly lean mass… a pleasant surprise! At week 12 Lindsay is hoping to still be 143lbs at 15.5% body fat, and Clay is hoping to be 235lbs at 11.5% body fat.
The last two weeks (weeks 11 & 12) of the mostly-strict keto experiment have me going headfirst into the “Base” mesocycle of the Smolov squat program. What does that mean? Squats. A lot of squats. Calories are going up with the training volume – I look forward to seeing what happens!
NOTE: I am writing a weekly journal to document our experiences in a quasi-scientific manner throughout the next 12 weeks. The intent of this 12-week journal is to share personal experience, resources, and observations for people looking to start a keto diet (and we will attempt to share the best academic articles along the way too).