Tag: nutrition

May 20, 2018

Experiment: Ketogenic Diet for Strength Athletes – Week 9 & 10 of 12

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.

Rest and Relaxation after a packed Spring 2018 competition calendar. Nothing wrong with a little cross training. Courtesy: Instagram @Lindsays.Trees

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:

After a two week de-load, Coach Lindsay grinds away on high-rep deficit deadlifts.

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).

May 7, 2018

Experiment: Ketogenic Diet for Strength Athletes – Week 7 & 8 of 12

Weeks 7 & 8 were a big testing point in our Ketogenic Diet for Strength Athletes experiment. We didn’t train, we competed! Foolishly, I signed up for two meets in back-to-back weeks. While it was going to be hard on the body, it made a good proving ground for nutrition performance and recovery. 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 want to get caught up on how Keto affected our final meet prep, read Weeks 5 & 6, here!

If your 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 cares most about the reported increase in mental clarity.

Cutting (water) weight while on Keto:

One of the constants that goes with pretty much all strength competitions is a weigh-in. Sometimes it’s 24hrs before you step on the platform, sometimes it’s 2hrs. Either way, you have to make weight. For instance, I competed in the USAPL 231lbs weight class – if I weighed 232lbs I would be competing against athletes that were 30lbs heavier than me in the next weight class up. Lindsay competes in the 63kg, or 138lbs class and needed to drop 5lbs of water weight for the Saturday morning weigh in.

Ektelo Athletics “Powerlifting Team” – Sue Lebel, Clay Smith, and Lindsay Smith. Clay won best overall lifter at the USAPL Battle of the Brickhouse.

I can write a whole post on the lessons learned from weight cuts, but, it’s typical for someone to easily drop 5% of their body weight by manipulating water retention and fluid flushing. 10% is pretty aggressive, but Lindsay only needed to cut 4%, which we thought was quite do-able. However…

One of the reasons people love starting keto is because they quickly drop several pounds on the scale. This happens as water-soluble glycogen is pushed from the body. Basically, you’re cutting water weight by switching to a fat-burning machine. Unfortunately, you don’t have the same amount of water reserves when it comes to cutting water weight for a weigh-in.

Strength Athletes: Use this as a cautionary tale, if you are already at low body fat and under 200lbs, cutting water weight on keto is really hard! Lindsay missed weight by 0.8lbs and had to compete in the 72kg weight class. She ended up 3rd overall by Wilks Score but lost the chance to set a 63kg state record in the squat and win her class. When it came time to start dropping water Friday afternoon there was just nothing for her to lose. Her overnight float disappeared, and she knew Saturday morning she was not making weight.

Rehydration and adding glucose:

Lindsay might not have been able to make her weight class, but she CRUSHED our rehydration plan. One of the most significant problems with a 2-hour weigh-in is that the athlete has to rehydrate and be ready to perform at a high level in about 125 minutes. We bailed on “keto principles” for the meet and Lindsay made a coconut water and maple syrup rehydration-cocktail that did wonders. Usually, my opening squat feels pretty weak after a 2-hour weigh-in. Not this time. Seriously, I felt like I could’ve punted a first grader at least two towns away I felt so good.

Ektelo Athletics “Strongman Team” – Clay Smith, Miranda Derenberger and Kim Fischer. Clay and Miranda both qualified for 2018 Nationals.

My rehydration plan included 1 liter of the coconut water/maple syrup solution, 1 liter of water and 1 liter of a Nuun electrolyte mix (not a sugar-filled Gatorade). I also mixed in some fruits, bars, a PB&J, and a keto smoothie – which was the majority of my calories during the meet. I’ve never felt so good going into the openers of a meet. A nice change, for sure!

Mid-week recovery:

Having back-to-back meets for me made the mid-week recovery a huge priority. I followed my meal plan in principle – but not in quantity. I ate a TON the first few days after the powerlifting meet, and then dialed it back a bit for my Strongman weigh in. In general, I felt alright about recovery on a modified keto diet, but it wasn’t the end-all-be-all. It took a few days for all soreness to go away but the mental, or CNS, fatigue didn’t seem to dissipate until day 6 or 7. Out of everything I have experienced with a keto style diet, dialing in a good recovery program has been the hardest.

Coach Clay won the event by pulling 585lbs as his 16th rep in a last-man-standing deadlift at Central Maine Strongman 11.

Clay’s Observations: Weeks 7 & 8

Sticking to the plan now that the meets and social/schedule craziness are behind me.
A few post-meet beers tasted GREAT, but I had little to no cravings for anything with bread (burgers, sandwiches, etc.)
Social eating is by far the hardest part of this whole experiment/eating style.

Lindsay’s Observations: Weeks 7 & 8

The frequent and random stomach pain was too much, decided to officially get off the plan after week 8 (more to come in next week’s post).
Keto definitely affected the weight cut – didn’t drop water weight like I normally do.
The constant stomach ache might be attributed to Keto, need to try eating like before to find out.
Sad to be dropping out due to medical concerns because I otherwise like the effects of a very high-fat diet!

The Measurements: Weeks 7 & 8

Sooo… nothing to see here… move along…

We didn’t take measurements on the regular Friday nights of Week 7 and Week 8 because that was the night before the meets. Measurements would’ve been affected by dropping water for weigh-ins, and therefore we didn’t think it would be indicative of where the experiment is taking us. We’ll continue taking measurements for Weeks 9-12. 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.

Week 9 & 10 have us getting back to a normal training and eating cycle. We are both starting a high-volume 4-week training cycle, and it will be interesting to look at the effects of keto on high rep work and recovery.

March 17, 2018

Experiment: Ketogenic Diet for Strength Athletes – Week 2 of 12

What’s this all about? Well, in our introduction post, Lindsay and I are embarking on an experimental Ketogenic Diet for Strength Athletes. Clay is interested in body recomposition (decrease body fat), and Lindsay cares most about the reported increase in mental clarity. Now in Week 2, we monitor our progress and take a deeper dive into how we are doing the diet.

Daily Meal Breakdown:

Click to expand

One of the most common questions we get is “what are you eating every day?”. Click the image to the right to open my daily food plan. Food prep takes a little longer than average, but it isn’t that bad. You’ll see that we have a lot of leafy greens in our lunch to ensure we are getting fiber and minerals. We also packed protein, fats, micronutrients, and (more) fiber into a morning midday super-smoothie.

The super-smoothie is a way to disguise a high volume of fats into a meal. Otherwise, we would just be drinking shots of olive oil. One thing that we have learned in the last two weeks is that foods have hidden carbs in everything. Even the Nuun tablets that we put into our water bottles or balsamic vinegar (which has been taken out of the diet this week). The final thing to point out is that this experiment isn’t supposed to be a culinary punishment. Every night we get a full square of dark chocolate, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but it’s a nice present at the end of the evening!

Modifications from Week 1:

During Week 1 we were getting far too many carbs to be in actual ketosis. Carbs are everywhere, and it took us some time to figure that out. I didn’t account for the carbs in balsamic vinegar, Nuun tablets, dark chocolate, or hot sauce, just to name a few. By working those into the overall total program, we had to reduce our smoothie carbs and evening carbs. That meant taking out coconut water and 2% milk from our smoothies and replacing them with almond milk. The original Ben Greenfield plan had us eating small amounts of sweet potato, quinoa or wild rice in the evening meal, but he designed his program as an endurance athlete. Because we are not doing nearly as much endurance work, we took the carbs out of the evening meal and only have vegetables with low net carbs.

If you’re looking for a resource on finding vegetables with low net carbs, check out this article from the Diet Doctor.

Effects on Strength Training

Even though we both felt like we were coming down with a cold or flu, we still have had a phenomenal week with a barbell in our hands. Lindsay PR’d her Bench Press at 140lbs and I PR’d my deadlift at 620lbs. There have been no adverse effects on high-weight, low-rep strength training; in fact, we’re progressing better than we have in a long time. Some of this progress is undoubtedly attributed to a reduction in inflammation from not consuming alcohol or processed carbohydrates.

The most significant effect of the diet is on our higher-rep accessory work after we have performed a heavy squat, bench or deadlift routine. I have found that I run out of gas at the end of a workout. Usually, I could power through my accessory work in about 30 minutes, but that has started to take twice as long now that I need to have longer rest in the workout. This need for increased rest is likely a result of depleted muscle glycogen stores and our bodies learning to use fat as a fuel source. Interestingly enough, even with lower endurance, the weights involved in my accessory work are still increasing.

Clay’s Observations: Week 2

Not consuming refined carbohydrates is doing wondrous things for my joint pain.
My sensitivity to sweetness is increasingly quickly; even kombucha is tasting sweet.
I really missed not having a beer and hamburger after a day of skiing.
Still having a lot of problem getting to sleep at night, but definitely less reliance on caffeine during the day.

Lindsay’s Observations: Week 2

Hard to maintain a real-life balance with a strict keto diet – had a Sunday lunch with friends and it was hard to participate.
Eating just 3/4 of a cup of rice at that Sunday lunch made me feel like I had an entire Thanksgiving dinner.
Wished I had a sandwich to eat on the chairlift – but that was out of habit, not because I was low on fuel.
Pretty sure I’m not true in ketosis yet.

The Measurements: Week 2

The blood testing device we bought to monitor our state of ketosis has not been very consistent, so we ended up buying urine test strips as a backup. Those have been giving us a reading of being in “light ketosis.” I’m guessing that we are not getting a deeper state of ketosis because of the vegetables that we add to our dinner at night, like cabbage and cruciferous veggies.

In the Week 3 post we’ll share our super-smoothie recipes, any modifications we’ve made in week 3, and a little science on the fat conversion process in the liver.

March 10, 2018

Experiment: Ketogenic Diet for Strength Athletes – Week 1 of 12

If you missed the Week 0 introduction post, Lindsay and I are embarking on an experimental Ketogenic Diet for Strength Athletes. Clay is interested in body recomposition (decrease body fat) and Lindsay cares most about the reported increase in mental clarity.

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).

Myths of a high-fat diet:

Since “coming out of the closet” and announcing our plans to both gym friends and social media friends, their response has been varied. In fact, it has ranged from “make sure you document everything, I’m really interested!” to “have fun pooping yourself… don’t trust a keto fart!”. So before going further into our plan, I wanted to share a few myths of a high-fat diet.

Myth: All those fats are going to raise your cholesterol and are bad for your heart!
Fact: “Foods have been condemned based on their cholesterol and saturated fat content, yet now, these two pillars of the diet-heart hypothesis have been questioned: dietary cholesterol is no longer thought to lead to adverse blood lipids, and the link between saturated fat and cardiovascular mortality has been challenged, in major review papers by top scientists in the field. If saturated fat and cholesterol do not cause disease, then there is no reason to avoid these foods. That doesn’t mean gorge on them. It just means: let them out of jail.” – Nina Teicholz, scientific journalist

Myth: How can eating 60% fat not make you fat?!
Fact: The human body is an amazing thing and it can adapt to a wide range of fuel sources. The challenge is optimizing those foods. Protein and fat are far more satiating than carbohydrates, so people eating animal foods are less likely to overeat. One of the possible explanations for the obesity epidemic is that when Americans shifted to eating more carbohydrates, these less-satiating foods left them hungry and more likely to overeat. The body can use fats as fuel and if calories are held in check and good fuel goes in, the body can run efficiently on a high fat diet. In fact, there is a direct correlation between the proliferation of the USDA food pyramid and the obesity and diebetes epedimic in the United States. And at the end of the day, it’s a surplus of calories that make you gain weight…not the fuel source.

Myth: You’re going to poop yourself!
Fact: Well… so far, everthing is ‘normal’.

Want to go deeper? Check out Nina Teicholz’s book The Big Fat Surprise. If you’re a podcast person (like me) listen to her interview on the Joe Rogan Experience. Finally, if you’re crunched for time, read some FAQs on her website.

Week 1 macronutrient ratios:

The breakdown of our macronutrient ratios is shown in the chart below. Our diet before was closer to 30% fats, 30% proteins, and 40% carbs. Obviously, this is a big change!

How did we figure out the ratios?

There were a couple factors that led to these macro ratios. Wanting to practice what we preach, we started with our own guidelines, as taught by Precision Nutrition.

Step 1: Daily protein intakes were fixed as it is a guideline we give to all athletes. Eat 1g/lbs bodyweight each day.
Step 2: Total daily calories were given by Precision Nutrition’s guideline ratios based on activity levels. We bumped Lindsay’s 10% because of her ridiculous metabolism (1400cal/day resting metabolic measured by InBody).
Step 3: Total carbs were set to 50g-75g as a recommendation for athletes from Ben Greenfield’s podcast. Because Lindsay’s somatotype (body type) is better suited for higher carbs, we gave her an additional 3% bump to start.
Step 4: Fats were the last thing to figure out since calories, protein and carbs were already calculated. I let Excel do it’s job and it gave us our daily fat intake.

After everything was calculated using our own approach, I wanted to balance it off an online resource. Ruled.me has a free Keto Calculator and it was very close to our numbers. If nothing else, that confirmed we are starting in the right direction.

Clay’s Observations: Week 1

Not as hungry as I thought I would be from online research
No drop in strength, however, I get tired easier during the workout. I need a longer rest between sets, especially at the end of the lift.
On day 4 I started getting really thirsty and developed funny breath, a sign of ketosis
Troubles falling asleep but once asleep I sleep well, not sure if it’s environmental or not

Lindsay’s Observations: Week 1

No effect on workouts, numbers still strong, maybe even more energy
No noticeable brain frog this week (Yay!)
Lymphs a little swollen, not sure if I’m getting sick or if this is a response to diet
Overall, I’m satisfied with food quantities and type

The Measurements: Week 1

The biggest disappointment in Week 1 is that our blood testing has proved unreliable. As I mentioned in the previous week, we are using a blood testing device similar to a glucose monitor. Theoretically, it should tell us if we made it to ketosis after the first 5-10 days and, if so, whether or not we are in a light, moderate or deep ketosis.

Unfortunately, besides providing the quality entertainment above, the readings have been all over the place and I don’t trust them. For week 2, I plan on getting a urine test and recalibrating the test device.

In the Week 2 post we’ll go a little deeper with the recipes and any modifications we’ve made from the first 7-10 days.

February 13, 2018

Foundation of Sports Nutrition Clinic

What should I eat before a workout? After a workout? During a meet? How do I eat better to achieve my athletic goals? What is sports nutrition?

Well, it’s time to start working on an answer. Lindsay, a Precision Nutrition Level 1 certified coach and lifelong nutrition aficionado, is hosting a Foundation of Sports Nutrition Clinic and it is will cover the basics of diet, hydration, and recovery.

What: Fundamentals of Athletic Nutrition
Where: TruStrength Athletics, Norway, ME
When: March 3rd, 12:00pm-1:30pm
Cost: $10 for TruStrength Athletics members, $20 for non-members

The clinic is a 90-minute session that focuses on the fundamentals of sports nutrition. The end of the clinic will be open for a general question and answer period so feel free to come with your questions. Trust us, with nutrition there is no question too simple or silly.

Topics Covered:

What YOU need to eat before, during and after a workout
Food is fuel (for you, the well-oiled machine)
What are “macros” … and why should you care anyway?
Nutrition and supplements for recovery

Lindsay approaches nutrition coaching from a personalized point of view – one size does NOT fit all. The fundamentals are the same for athletes, but different body types need different fuels. Not to mention the demands of types of activity! Attending this clinic is a great first step and sets a foundation for success. If you are looking to take a deeper dive into optimizing your sports nutrition needs, view our Nutrition Coaching services.

Note: Lindsay is not a Registered Dietician Nutritionist in the State of Maine. Her expertise is in sports nutrition, which differs greatly from the general practice of RDNs. Most RDNs work in the medical field and have different clientele, goals, and standards as they try to get clients to a baseline of health, not optimize for performance. You can read more about Lindsay’s coaching background.

This clinic is hosted at TruStrength Athletics, but if you’re interested in having us teach this clinic at your gym or arranging private instruction, please drop us a line and let us know what you’re thinking!