Looking for a low carb diet that still lets you build muscle? A keto bodybuilding diet may do the trick. Click here for our comprehensive ketogenic diet guide.
Keyword(s): keto bodybuilding
Are you looking to take your bodybuilding diet to the next level? Is it time for you to start pushing through those plateaus?
The answer to the above may be yes, but the next question is the real killer.
Are you hardcore enough to keep packing on the muscle while following a ketogenic diet?
If the answer to that is yes, then stick with us, because we are about to take a look at the keto bodybuilding diet, and how you can keep yourself in a state of ketosis and still pack on the muscle.
What is a Keto Bodybuilding Diet?
Before we take a look at the diet itself, it is first important to understand what a keto diet really entails.
Ketosis is a state that the body will enter when the consumption of carbohydrates is reduced, typically to be 50g a day, although if you are serious about getting the most of this diet, you might want to consider reducing that further, to 20g or less.
Ketosis means that the body adapts to the low carb state and starts to burn fat instead. Carbs are what give us our energy, and body fat is basically potential energy, stored up for a time when it is needed. If you don’t reduce carbs, you will never truly start to burn through your fat stores. Ketosis means taking that potential away and using fat as a source of energy.
Ideally, a keto diet is used to burn fat, so to follow it as part of a body building routine is going to challenge you to the extreme.
It is going to be tougher than any other diet and workout combination you have tried, but if you stick with it, then you will see tremendous gains.
Preparation is the Key to a Successful Keto Bodybuilding Diet
When it comes to any diet, you are always better off if you enter it prepared and aware of what lies in store.
For the keto bodybuilding diet, this is even more important. While you are reducing carbohydrates, you need to ensure that the rest of your diet is packed with all of the right ingredients to keep you up and running and packing on more muscle with each workout you have.
What are the Benefits of a Keto Diet?
By bringing your body into a state of ketosis, you are entering a high-powered fat burning world. The fastest fat-burning diet around. This means that you will see gains quickly, and once you are in the ketonic state, you will be able to keep your normal calorie intake high, and hit the extreme pump of a hardcore workout without feeling the energy drop.
Why?
Because your body is already burning fat for energy, so it does not need to make that switch.
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What are the Drawbacks of a Keto Diet?
People say that there is no such thing as a free meal, and that is also the case with a diet like this. While the keto diet is a great way to get results, you do need to be aware that there are some drawbacks to following it.
You are very restricted. You need to bring your body into a keto state, and that means being strict, so next to no carbs, and to get the fastest results, can even consider dropping fruits and vegetables until that state has been achieved.
You are also going to have to pee on a stick for a while. Just think of it like a chemistry experiment, you pee on the keto stick and it changes color to tell you when you have hit that ketonic state.
Keeping Your Meals and Ingredients Varied but Strict on the Keto Bodybuilding Diet.
While your food intake is very strict when following the diet, you are in luck with regards the range of foods you can eat. There is enough to give you a varied meal plan, and no drop in calorie intake, so you will not be feeling hungry during the day.
As with most diets, you can follow the rule of eating every two or three house, especially when incorporating a hardcore bodybuilding regime.
What can you eat?
Foods with high protein and fat levels.
- Meats
- Cheese
- Oils
- Fish
- Eggs
Some good examples of the foods that are perfect for the keto bodybuilding diet are:
- Beef
- Chicken
- Full fat cream
- Salmon
- Cheese
- Butter
- Nuts (fatty variants such as cashew and walnuts)
What food should you avoid?
You really should avoid carb rich foods such as:
- Sugars
- Potatoes
- Fruits
- Grains
Some good examples of what you should not eat on this diet are:
- Potatoes
- Yams
- Bananas
- Apples
- Sugar
- Wheat
- Rice
Meal Planning for a Successful Keto Bodybuilding Diet
If you want to have true success with your keto diet, then you need to structure your meal plan for the best possible results.
You should look to eat at least seven times a day. This would include your snacks, and look something like the below:
- Breakfast
- Mid Morning Snack
- Lunch
- Pre Workout Meal
- Post Workout Meal
- Dinner
- Evening Snack
By structuring your food in this way, you are ensuring a consistent supply of nutrients and for those that are long term bodybuilders, the concept of eating every few hours is also something that you and your body are used to, which also means get you the maximum benefit of the diet.
How to Effectively Play the Keto Percentages
Unlike some other low carb diets, which contain large amounts of protein, the real secret to the keto bodybuilding diet is the percentage of fat intake you have in your meals.
Fats – 75%
Protein – 20%
Carbs – 5%
By keeping your protein intake low, you are not doing your workouts or your muscles a disservice, because ketones are protein sparing, which means you don’t need as much of it in your diet.
The real truth is that once you are in a state of ketosis, eating too much protein is just as damaging as eating too many carbs.
For serious bodybuilders, this drop in protein consumption could be hard to get used to, but it is indeed something you will need to adjust to.
Good Meals Make for a Good Keto Diet Story
So, you are dedicated to following the keto diet, but what can you eat? We’ve covered the foods, but what can you do with them? What sort of meal plans are you looking for?
Let’s take a look.
Breakfast
Bacon and Eggs. What better way to start the day than this carb free power meal.
Switch it up from time to time with some scrambled eggs or even a nice omelet.
Coffee is always a good breakfast supplement too, as long as you stay clear of the sugar.
Mid-Morning Snack
How about some nuts? A few walnuts and some cashews, maybe even a couple of blocks of cheese.
If you are at home in the kitchen and have the time to make it, you can’t go wrong with some deviled eggs either.
Lunch
What about some chicken and mayo for that lunch time meal, maybe throw in some avocado too, to help keep those healthy fats high.
Egg muffins are also a nice quick lunch for when you are on the go, and any salad spiced up with pieces of chicken, beef and/or bacon is a winner too.
Pre-Workout Meal
Now for this workout meal, you want to make sure you get supplements involved. Look at having a protein shake, some creatine if you use it, and don’t forget those BCAAs to help maximize the protein intake even more.
Post-Workout Meal
Why not try a repeat meal for your post workout hit. After all the effort you put in in the gym, your body will love the protein surge and don’t forget some water. You have to keep drinking water.
Dinner
Now you are on to the big meal of the day. For this, you want to be hitting up the fish or the beef.
How about some salmon and spinach, or perhaps even some Mahi-Mahi if you are feeling exotic. Failing that, you can’t go wrong with a good thick steak or ginger beef stir fry.
When the need arises, you can always change it up with some shrimp.
Evening Snack
For the last meal of the day, you need to make sure you get a good balance of things to help you recover during your rest period. Look at taking on some lean meat, like turkey or perhaps the last few of those deviled eggs from this morning.
The Keto Bodybuilding Diet is tough but the Rewards Make the Fight Worthwhile
Make no mistake, the keto bodybuilding diet is not going to be fun, it is going to be hard work and you will be challenged every step of the way, but stick with it, because the rewards are there for the taking.
If you have the dedication to see this through, then there will be nothing that can stop you achieving your goals, and then leave them behind in the dust as you keep on pushing the boundaries.
You are not alone in this journey, and if you need more information or advice on anything from supplements to nutrition advice and more, we have all the tools you will need to sculpt your new physique.
Alex Rogers is a supplement manufacturing expert. He has been formulating, consulting, & manufacturing dietary supplements since 1998. Alex invented protein customization in 1998 & was the first company to allow consumers to create their own protein blends. He helped create the first supplement to contain natural follistatin, invented whey protein with egg lecithin, & recently imported the world’s first 100% hydrolyzed whey.
