Want to Burn Body Fat?! The Ketogenic Carbohydrate Blitz

Daily improvements to a person’s physique resulting in an increase in lean muscle mass and a decrease in body fat are challenging. The balance between cardiovascular conditioning, resistance training and nutrition are about as individualized as tailored suits.

Hundreds of articles exist regarding a variety of exercise training plans and the latest fitness craze. Hundreds of articles also exist regarding what to eat, when to eat the foods and how many calories to consume in order to achieve the chiseled frame that is ripped of fat.

Ketogenic refers to a diet in which protein and essential fats reign supreme and carbohydrates are the final piece of the macronutrient puzzle. 

When you keep your carbohydrate intake low, you body switches to a fat metabolism; this is called the “Metabolic Switch.”  Switching from a carbohydrate to a fat metabolism has some real advantages for the fitness enthusiast. 

• Increased Lipolysis (breakdown of fat)
• Decreased Lipogenesis (accumulation of body fat)

Synthesizing the correct enzymes in sufficient quantities to become a fat-burner takes a little time. This is why some new comers to low carb diets can feel foggy at the beginning.

Insulin causes most of the body’s cells to take up glucose from the blood (including liver, muscle, and fat tissue cells), storing it as glycogen in the liver and muscle, and stops use of fat as an energy source.

When insulin is absent (or low, like during a ketogenic diet), glucose is not taken up by most body cells and the body begins to use fat as an energy source (ie, transfer of lipids from adipose tissue to the liver for mobilization as an energy source).

Conversely, a common, yet somewhat confusing practice followed by many top-tier bodybuilders and elite level fitness enthusiasts is carbohydrate cycling.

Carbohydrate cycling refers to manipulating the carbohydrate consumption daily resulting in an increase in lean muscle mass with a simultaneous decrease in body fat. Sounds perfect, doesn’t it!

Many carbohydrate cycling plans increase the level of this macronutrient on exercise days of the highest intensity or volume. In short, if you train harder on Mondays, eat more carbohydrates.

Our muscles are like tanks for glycogen. They fill up and empty again when we workout. Unfortunately when we eat too many carbs these tanks become satiated. Some glycogen is then stored in the liver and any excess is converted to triglyceride and stored as fat. This is where traditional high-carb diets can let us down and lead to an increase in body fat.

What if I told you that following a ketogenic style diet in which gluconeogenesis is the primary pathway for energy production will optimize your fat burning efficiency combined with a carbohydrate cycling to elevate testosterone, muscle glycogen stores, repair and recovery after exercise and curb cravings would be the most efficient process to boost metabolism?

Would you be interested in this methodology? Absolutely!

First, gluconeogenesis is a physiological process in which the body utilizes non-carbohydrate energy sources as fuel. The optimal non-carbohydrate energy source providing the greatest number of calories is body fat. Gluconeogenesis taps into the body’s stored fat as fuel.

Who doesn’t want to burn more body fat? We all do.

How does this marriage between carbohydrate cycling and gluconeogenesis work?

It is quite simple actually.

1. Follow a low-carbohydrate diet in which the majority of your calories are consumed through high quality, non-processed protein sources. 85% lean meat or better, i.e. chicken, red meat, tuna, fish, eggs.
2. Consume a greater amount of essential fats in your diet.
3. Focus your carbohydrate consumption on non-processed, low calorie, antioxidant rich fibrous carbohydrates such as fresh fruits and vegetables (nothing canned).
4. Every third day, add a greater amount of these same high quality carbohydrates to your overall nutrition plan.
5. Continue to perform cardiovascular conditioning and resistance training.
6. Sit back and watch the body fat melt off!

What does this nutrition plan look like?

This nutrition plan is based on a 2700 calorie daily intake, of which 57% of the calories are consumed as lean protein, 21% essential fats and 18% total carbohydrates.

The carbohydrates consumed are provided by non-processed fruits and vegetables, outside of the dark chocolate bar eaten every third day.

Additionally, the influx of calories consumed on the third day has been shown not to add body weight if consistent cardiovascular conditioning and resistance training is performed. This influx in calories assists in the production of lean muscle mass and proper hormone regulation.

Lastly, the decrease in carbohydrates will not have a negligible impact on your training performance. Personally, I follow this plan daily. I lift weights six days per week and run an average of 35 miles weekly. This nutrition plan not only provides me with the proper macronutrients for exercise, but I maintain a body fat of less than 8% at 205 pounds. Not too bad.

Nutrition concepts are continuously evolving. Follow this next evolution of carbohydrate cycling with the physiological principle of gluconeogenesis which utilizes fat as fuel to achieve the defined, muscular physique you strive for.

Incoming search terms:

• best lean muscle body
• from fat to lean muscle
• lean muscle tournament

Comments

comments