Leaving Ketosis Successfully - CKD, TKD or Full Carb?

Diet and Nutrition
1

Hey all,

I am currently doing keto with good results in terms of losing fat whilst preserving mass, however I am thinking of going after some mass now and keto doesn’t seem very viable in this case.

So I decided to give CT’s new 6 day push/pull split a go and since mass is my priority, I’m wondering what would the ideal diet be on this program (Note: so far, out of everything I have tried, keto has worked the best in terms of losing fat while keeping mass intact) I tend to gain fat quite easy on a traditional carb diet - also, apart from doing the workout I am more or less sedentary (desk job). This brings me to the question:

Which diet plan would work best with a 6-day training plan? Considering that it only uses 4 exercises per day, with 3 sets per exercise, I don’t really need that much carbs or daily carb re-feed to keep my energy high.

This leaves me thinking about a CKD, where I would refuel with carbs on the 7th rest day and then start again with keto for the rest of the week - however, would this be enough to maximize the anabolic effects of carbs whilst keeping fat in check? I’m thinking of focusing on whey+leucine during training days to aid the MPS, however not sure if the lack of carbs during the week will not impair the growth.

If I decide to do CKD and re-fuel every 4 days or so, it would provide me with more carbs, however I have difficult time re-entering ketosis - usually takes 3-4 days, which means I will not be in ketosis almost at all.

If I go for TKD and eat carbs around my workouts only, it will pretty much keep me out of ketosis as the workout plan is 6 days a week. In this case the peri-workout environment will most likely take care of the carbs and use them for growth purposes, however I will not be in ketosis even if I keep the rest of the diet keto-based - in this case I’m neither ingesting a lot of carbs nor being in ketosis, which makes me wonder if there is any point in that limbo situation?

Last option - go full carb and gorge in the anabolic environment, however considering that those workouts will not be that demanding on a daily basis and that I tend to gain fat easily, I fear going back to traditional carb diet.

Current stats:
186 cm - 85 kg - 15% fat

Any ideas or experiences will be appreciated!

Thanks!

2

I think the stock response these days is to keep carbs in at a modest level and to do so around the workout period. Personally, I have recently returned to CKD only because I decided to give Gironda training a spin and thought in for a penny… Well, low carb to him was zero carb. Is it the optimal way to train? I don’t think that’s even up for debate. Is it damn effective for fat loss? In my opinion, yes. But I am coming at this as someone who has not done keto for about 7 years, and as someone who screwed their physique up due to dietary self-destruction, so for me I’m loving it as it feels like a brand new toy. However, as stated, if I was to be as objective as possible I would say c.175 CHO per day intra and post workout is probably the optimal method for body composition/strength maintenance.

One other point I would make if you go CKD route, don’t sweat whether you’re in ketosis or not. If your carbs are less than 30G a day (from ALL sources) and you are eating sufficient fat and modest protein, you can’t go too far wrong. As long as you have a hold on portion size and/or calorie intake you will burn fat. Two high carb meals, e.g. 300G, twice a week, e.g. Wed/Sun, while inverting the fat/protein, will keep the whole process ticking over.

3

Another option, look into Layne Nortons reverse dieting

4

Thanks for the replies guys!