I recently tried the T-Dawg diet and had a miserable response. By day three I was so irritable and distracted that as I tried to do my squats I had to go 25lbs lighter than I anticipated (and I wasn’t going that heavy to begin with). Then I had also loaded one side of the bar 5lbs more than the other and didn’t notice until after a couple of sets. I cut the workout short and immediately went and had some carbs and felt much better. Everyone is different so I am wondering if I am just sensitive to a keto-diet or if I didn’t give it long enough or if I possibly did something wrong. (At the time my carb intake was around 20-30 grams). I was also supplementing with a multivitamin and MD6. Any suggestions?
It could be either. No, you really didn’t give it long enough and most people adjust after a week or so. But, you could also be one of those that don’t respond well to low carb diets in general.(And the T-Dawg is very “mild” compared to most low carb approaches like the Fat Fast or the Anabolic Diet.) It’s hard to say which right now.
Second, if you’ll read the diet a little closer, you’ll notice that you were supposed to get 70g carbs on training days and 30 on non-training days. Sounds like you skipped the former.
I’d suggest you try it again, but this time use the 70/30 guidelines and give it two weeks. Also keep in mind that you can’t expect to feel at the top of your game on any keto diet, especially when it comes to strength. (Read my “Diet Manifesto” article for more info.)
Another option would be to start out at 100 grams of carbs per day, trying to get a lot of those right after training in the form of a post-workout shake. The next week or so, drop it to 50. Honestly, most people do fine with “higher” (around 50 to 100g) carb intake and there’s not much of a need to drop in to the 20 gram Atkins level in my opinion.
Of course, overall calories count too. Maybe you dropped your cals too low? Keep me updated if you decide to try it again. If you don’t repond well to low carb diets in general, then I’d suggest our Delta 1250 diet or even something like the Zone diet. Keep a food log and keep me updated.
Jennifer, Are you by chance the Jennifer Blomquist from Ft Wayne?
Usually shortly after day 3 things start to get better, (and that is a relative term on a low carb diet)…
Your body, especially your brain, is about ready to start using ketones for fuel.
Good luck.
I tried it for two weeks and had the same results. I was dizzy as hell and couldn’t lift squat… I also couldn’t get a pump to save my life. I did lose weight though but no more than my previous low fat diets.
I gave it up and went back to my tried and proven low fat routine which knocks about 1.5 lbs a week off of me. Plenty of energy, great workouts. I lost weight and my weights kept increasing in the gym as well. No more low carb diets for me. They just don’t work well for me.
Chris, thank you for the great response. I did know to go up to 70 g/carb on training days but neglected to say that was my first training day since starting the diet. I am now curious if my calories were too low because I have never counted them before and so really don’t know what I normally consume. I would also like to know should I cycle the carbs back in slowly when coming off the diet or just go right back to normal. If anyone can tell me their results with maitaining fat-loss or what to expect in gaining some back would be great. And dp I am not from Ft. Wayne.
Jennifer- Keeping a food log with all the carbs, protein, fat, and overall calories consumed that day will help you a lot. This is the only real way to accomplish your goals. Yes, it’s a big pain in the butt, but really necessary. There are a variety of formulas for estimating your maintenance intake, some are really simply (bodyweight x 12) others are very complex (reach the “Massive Eating Part I” article in the T-mag previous issues section for one of these, just follow the formula until you get to the maintenance part; the rest talks about weight gain so skip that part.) All of these formulas are just guesses however, a place to start, nothing more. Use one of them and start there. Give it a couple of weeks and see what’s happening with your body. Get your bodyfat measured too.
As for coming off a low carb diet, you can expect to gain back a few pounds of water weight almost immediately. Don’t panic. The first few pounds you lose on a keto diet come from water anyway. Read Berardi’s first “Appetite for Construction” article here at T-mag. I think that’s where he provides some tips for coming off low carb diets. The key, as you guessed, is to ease into it, but certain supplements can help too.
Just an observation, but I’ve consulted a lot of people using one of our diets who follow everything very closely as far as macronutrients, training and supplements, yet neglect to count calories which is arguable the most important part. That’s because it’s simply a pain in the ass to do. But you gotta do it.
If I can help you out more, just let me know.
What amount of cardio is recommended while eating like this? The T-Dawg diet mentions adding a day of cardio but what does that mean? If I am trying to get leaner I want to lose as little muscle as possible so would the cardio and the diet combined jeopardize my lbm?