1. The Ultimate Cyclic Ketogenic Diet
IntroductionAs Ketogenic Diets have become the big news among 'civilians' Cyclic Ketogenic
Diets (CKD) are big news among athletes. Ketogenic diets offer extraordinarily rapid fat loss with
superior muscle retention compared to carbohydrate or gluconeogenic (high protein) diets. Done
right, ketogenic diets are absolutely the best diets for fat loss and high, stable energy. Read what
we have to say about them here.
There is already plenty of information available on the
basic CKD and its rationale that is beyond the scope of
this article. http://www.c-k-d.com is an excellent start if
you are interested. What we are interested in here is
how to make the CKD better.
Overview of CKD'sCKD's are based on a period in ketosis followed by a period of carbohydrate
'loading'. The theory behind CKD's is that breaking Ketosis every 5 to 10 days for 1-3 days of high
carbohydrate intake will:Restore muscle glycogenRestore gym performanceRebuild any lost
muscle (and hopefully add some new muscle)
CLICK HERE TO GET INSTANT ACCESS TO CARB BACK-LOADING
Download this document if link is not clickable
As a bonus, by loading in carbohydrates from a depleted base it is possible to super-saturate our
muscles with glycogen. That is (in lay terms) muscles almost empty of glycogen (and water) are
so hungry for glucose that they can be 'tricked' into taking up as much as 50% more glycogen
(and water) before they realise whats happened. In this super-glycogenated state our muscles
look and feel perpetually 'pumped' and swollen. And swelling a muscle cell to the limit is a
powerful stimulus for muscle growth.
Problems with the CKDWhile the original 5 day keto/2 day carb CKD works well for fat loss, only a
very genetically gifted few can gain muscle on it; and even they would have done better on
another diet. The problems are that, even using glucose disposal 'supplements':The zero-carb
period before ketosis is reached is quite catabolicIt takes most dieters 2-3 catabolic days to
achieve ketosis, leaving only 2-3 days of rapid fat lossFew people can achieve glycogen
super-compensation in only 2 days and without excess carbs 'spilling over' into fat storesProtein

2. synthesis takes time and the few hours of muscle cell hyper-expansion doesn't sufficiently exploit
this powerful mechanism
Wouldn't it be nice...?While the problems above can be partly addressed by longer cycle CKD's -
say 7-11 day ketogenic with 3 days carb loading - the periods of anabolism are still too brief to
gain significant muscle but long enough to gain back a significant amount of fat. We really want
some way to exploit the fully-carb-loaded condition for a few more days without gaining fat.
Continuing to carb load is redundant when the muscles have already super-compensated - the
excess carbs turn to fat. Increasing calories in the first few days of ketosis is anti-catabolic but
doesn't exploit the unique anabolic environment that we created with the carbs.
Fortunately, the metabolic to's-and-fro's of a CKD creates another natural muscle growth
opportunity.
Protein IntakeThe Ketogenic phase requires a 70-80% fat intake (otherwise the diet will be
gluconeogenic) and the carb-load requires a 60-75% carb intake; thus protein intake throughout
a CKD is only moderate to low (
CLICK HERE TO GET INSTANT ACCESS TO CARB BACK-LOADING
Download this document if link is not clickable
Article source = ezinearticles.com/?The-Ultimate-Cyclic-Ketogenic-Diet