Karim's muscle gain carnivore adventure


(Adrian ) #562

@Karim_Wassef What are you using to measure your ketones?
Did you find the maximal protein intake or fat : protein ratio that still lets you stay in ketosis?
Do you feel better with higher ketone levels?


(Karim Wassef) #563

I use a Precision Xtra blood glucose & ketone tester.

My body doesn’t seem to grow muscle while losing fat.

If I want to lose fat, I increase fat intake and lower protein intake. This raises my ketones and lowers my glucose

If I want to gain muscle, I reduce fat intake and increase protein intake. This lowers by ketones and raises my glucose.

I haven’t found a way to keep ketones high and still build muscle because my reaction to protein is to create more glucose.

I also find it hard to eat lean protein with minimal fat… working on that.

I feel at my best on ketones… mentally, physically, emotionally… it’s just better overall


(Karim Wassef) #564

I’m looking at these right now:


Just to try them out.

I got two just so I could compare my glucose and ketone reaction.

I also am adding more fish and chicken in to get to the higher protein and cutting back on bacon. I’ll still be eating ribeye but I’ll be mixing in some sirloin and tenderloin.

The mathematical solution based on my historical data is 100g of fat to 240g of protein so I can grow muscle not fat. That is actually quite difficult. No wonder the old time bodybuilders would just eat chicken breast and broccoli…

They’d add white rice for starch so I’m skipping that.

Also - this math aligns directly with what ketogains’ Luis Villasenor (darthluiggi) seems to advocate for muscle gain.


(Karim Wassef) #565

Today:

Yesterday:

So a 1.8lbs overall gain with 0.7lbs lean… this is what I mean.

Of course I couldn’t eat 240g of protein and 100g of fat yesterday… I tried but most of my food is fatty… it’s more like 200g of protein and 200g of fat… but that combo is very anabolic with fat and muscle at ~ 2700 calories.


(Karim Wassef) #566

Friday mornings I do my dry fast and it just never gets easier. I’m surprised that I’m not adapting to this like I do most other physical challenges.

Maybe I need to do it every day or every other day to start to see adaptation.


#567

Looking forward to seeing how whey affects your ketones. You can add some leucine to it and reduce the dose maybe?


(Little Miss Scare-All) #568

Did you rock the cbd yet?


#569

If u want high quality isolate get optimum or mutant, both top quality/taste but higher price tag.


(Karim Wassef) #570

The whey has Leucine already and I take 4.8g of Leucine and 1g carnitine every day after lifting anyway. I plan on continuing that.

I have to admit that I hate liquid food. It’s processed and non-satiating. I’m experimenting to evaluate if it’ll actually move the needle on my muscle gain if I can control my fat and increase my protein (as the formula predicts). I do expect hunger so this is not a fat loss satiating approach and I do not recommend it to anyone.

It’s an experiment. Let’s see how the guinea pig does. :smiley:

If it works, I’m going to move to more solid lean protein like liver, egg whites, chunk tuna and chicken breast.

Beef liver (68g) = 3.5g C + 3.5g F + 20g P
Egg white (66g) = 0.4g C + 0.4g F + 7.2g P
Chicken breast (70g) = 0 C + 2.5g F + 22g P
Tuna chuck (85g) = 0 C + 0.5 F + 16g P

Of which liver is probably the most nutritious


(Karim Wassef) #571

It’s in the mail. I’m traveling next week when it arrives but maybe it’ll arrive sooner.


(Karim Wassef) #572

I’m going with these because they’re zero (or almost zero) carb and cheap. This way I can run my experiment and get some data. If it’s good, I’ll look at comparing across brands.


(Karim Wassef) #573

I did a bad thing at the gym today. I decided to up my deadlift unassisted. Two sets went well but by the third, I was tired and arched my back resulting in a pretty nasty lower back strain.

I stopped immediately but I’ve been in pain ever since. I hate being old. I used to be able to make bad choices like that and not have it cause problems :slight_smile:

I’ve tried hanging to stretch my lower back out… tried sauna… tried a cold shower and now trying ice packs.

The good news is that the CBD came today! So I decided to take one 15mg dose and I’ll report the outcome later today.

Of course, it’ll be confounded by the icepack but data is data.

Also got the whey isolate but it has 3g of carbs per scoop so that’s worthless. I’ll still test it. Tomorrow I get the isopure.


(Little Miss Scare-All) #574

That’s how I hurt my back and kept me out of the gym for a few months. Deadlifts are awesome until they mess ya up.


(Karim Wassef) #575

Today is the first real high protein lower fat day (that made me cringe)…

I made an interesting roast beef and ricotta desert… it was actually good - carnivore style.

I’ll report back in a bit with the impact on G and K.


(Karim Wassef) #576

Ok… CBD 15mg + cold packs from the gym

before: 71G, 0.8K
after: 84G,1.1K

So I don’t know what that says. I feel calmer and my back pain is reduced, but I have no idea what did it.


(Little Miss Scare-All) #577

:nauseated_face:
Please, tell me how you’ve done this.


(Karim Wassef) #578

105 g of shredded rare roast beef - super thin slice
105g of ricotta (found a kind with nearly no carbs)
pink salt
thin sliced pickled ginger slices

mix is up in a bowl… eat with a fork… creamy meaty…

It’s cold and tangy but strangely taste sweet to me


(Little Miss Scare-All) #579

Nomzzzz ricotta salata is awesome. :heart:


(Karim Wassef) #580

Today (lower glucose) vs. Yesterday

vs


(Karim Wassef) #581

so maybe it’s the CBD or the whey protein or the ice pack, but today looks better.

still low ketones to start off the day, but glucose is in MUCH better shape.

I took 30mg of CBD so we’ll see what that does

and then I’m planning on the whey isolate this afternoon. Here’s the plan today:

also going the pool… just because life has confounders… :smiley: