CKD Diet, Help Needed

[LetsGrow]

Hey everyone! So I am doing the CKD diet and wanted to see if I can get some help with something. I am going every morning to the gym and doing my empty stomach cardio and burning about 500 calories a session (GO ME!! haha ). So I know that typically when doing CKD that you consume 1g of protein per lean pound you weight and the rest of you calories would come from fats. Here is the question, since protein is the essential building block for muscle (I know others contribute but protein is the main driver), what would the thought be about increasing the protein intake a bit and dropping the fat a little be? You would still be taking in a substaintial amount of fats, but the thought process behind this would be to actually try and build muscle while doing the CKD diet instead of just sustaining (benefit would be you would burn more calories as a result of increased LBM, thus dropping more body fat). Also, since it is physically impossible to completely rid yourself of carbs during the week (i.e. almonds technically have carbs as does spinach, brocolli, etc...), if I were to incorporate a fiber supplement into my diet, would that help rid the body of those small amounts of carbs I do injest?

I hope to get a good discussion out of this, hope some of our vets chime in as well.

Thanks everyone!

 

[stevesmi]

I am confident that you wouldn't be able to pull this off for the simple fact that this type of diet is catabolic based, although its not a straight Atkins type diet. you do need carbs to build muscle, just as much as you need protein. the idea here is you are starving your body of sugars/carbs and its gonna react and shrink cells, although not as much as Atkins.. it still will enough that it wouldn't be a good idea for a bodybuilder IMO.

bottom line is if you are wanting to shed body fat then do it, then worry about gaining back muscle mass in the future... and when you do don't let your body fat go out of control. keep it no higher than 15%.. if you start noticing it creep up then you need to figure out what you are doing wrong.. it could be as simple as getting rid of that slice of cheesecake you eat on the weekend, or that pizza, or finding 10 minutes of your day to do some windsprints.

so do this diet, but don't think that you won't lose some muscle and strenght in the process. no way to prevent it. down the road you will gain it back and more i'm sure.. good luck !

 

[LetsGrow]

I am confident that you wouldn't be able to pull this off for the simple fact that this type of diet is catabolic based, although its not a straight Atkins type diet. you do need carbs to build muscle, just as much as you need protein. the idea here is you are starving your body of sugars/carbs and its gonna react and shrink cells, although not as much as Atkins.. it still will enough that it wouldn't be a good idea for a bodybuilder IMO.

bottom line is if you are wanting to shed body fat then do it, then worry about gaining back muscle mass in the future... and when you do don't let your body fat go out of control. keep it no higher than 15%.. if you start noticing it creep up then you need to figure out what you are doing wrong.. it could be as simple as getting rid of that slice of cheesecake you eat on the weekend, or that pizza, or finding 10 minutes of your day to do some windsprints.

so do this diet, but don't think that you won't lose some muscle and strenght in the process. no way to prevent it. down the road you will gain it back and more i'm sure.. good luck !

I know muscle loss and strength loss is inevitable. Was just thinking if it, theoretically, would be possible. I am definitely monitoring my bf during this and am keeping the majority of my fats from healthy fats if not all of them.

 

[stevesmi]

^^^ its what we strive for as bodybuilders.. we all want to gain muscle and lose fat... but its difficult to pull off, thats why its so challenging and tough.

99% of the general public cant boast the bodies we do on here. you might run into a guy or gal once in a while that looks ripped and muscular. takes a lot of commitment, diet, exercise, etc etc.

basically if you have too much fat, it is much more simple to focus on cutting down fat and worry about gaining back muscle later.

and if you have too little muscle, its more simple to just focus on building mass (cleanly) and not worry about gaining a few % of body fat.

once you get to a certain level from there the war starts where you try to gain a little muscle and cut a little fat at the same time.. just don't allow your body fat to get over 12% or 15% depending on what level you are at. set a ceiling and stick to it.

 

[LetsGrow]

I am around 12% now I believe (maybe slightly higher) but my goal is to get down into single digits. I just want to do it right and maintain as much muscle as possible.

Currently I have been doing empty stomach cardio in the am and lifting in the afternoons and eating every 2 hours.

Steve what is your thought on the ckd diet?

 

[stevesmi]

^^^ i use something like that when i am cutting.. I think you will do well on it. getting into single digits can be done, i was 6% at one time, but i was running 45 miles per week and eating something very similar to this, but i did eat carbs just not a lot.

 

[LetsGrow]

^^^ i use something like that when i am cutting.. I think you will do well on it. getting into single digits can be done, i was 6% at one time, but i was running 45 miles per week and eating something very similar to this, but i did eat carbs just not a lot.

Thanks buddy, appreciate the feedback. To clarify something, when dealing with the carbs, we are dealing with net carbs and not all carbs (i.e. serving on almonds has 14g carbs, but 12g of it is fiber, so net carbs is only 2).

Thanks.

 

[ghostrider1000]

^^^ its what we strive for as bodybuilders.. we all want to gain muscle and lose fat... but its difficult to pull off, thats why its so challenging and tough.

99% of the general public cant boast the bodies we do on here. you might run into a guy or gal once in a while that looks ripped and muscular. takes a lot of commitment, diet, exercise, etc etc.

basically if you have too much fat, it is much more simple to focus on cutting down fat and worry about gaining back muscle later.

and if you have too little muscle, its more simple to just focus on building mass (cleanly) and not worry about gaining a few % of body fat.

once you get to a certain level from there the war starts where you try to gain a little muscle and cut a little fat at the same time.. just don't allow your body fat to get over 12% or 15% depending on what level you are at. set a ceiling and stick to it.

I have to say, I haven't seen the process of body building stated so plainly and eloquently in a long time....kudos.