I have a question regarding strength training while zero carb. I do super slow burn workouts combined w/ HIIT training 2x per week. I know that muscle is built during rest periods, but do I need to keep my meat intake high all days, or just certain days around my workouts? I started out fine (about 8 months ago) and was steadily increasing weights, now I feel as though I am stagnant or getting weaker. I just don’t want to lose lean muscle mass. (1 year Keto; 11 months ZC)
Any suggestions?
Eat to satisfy your hunger. Your body needs plenty of protein, if you want to build muscle. You also need to be sure that your meat is rich in the branched-chain amino acids, since the body cannot make them.
(You only need to worry about getting enough BCAA’s when trying to put on muscle; otherwise, they can cause inflammation if overconsumed.)
you need Dr Kevin Stock.
Dr. Kevin Stock, a strict carnivore , has been passionate about health and fitness for two decades. He was the founder, CEO of Muscle Science, a national level physique competitor, and self-experimental researcher and scientist.
just go research him and all ya need about your goals and how to eat will be clear on your path. Best of luck. You will be in fine company if ya check him out and get good info on your journey.
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Periodization Training Cycles
This is a training cycle based on a specific number of weeks with progressive loading. The final week of the training cycle is pushed to the limit or near it.
Continuing to train when you have peaked in a training cycle leads to Overreaching (mild over training). Continuing once you have Overreached leads to Overtraining.
“Wound Healing”
The means the greater the trauma/stress, the longer the recovery time required.
Thus, Overreaching requires less recovery; Overtraining require more.
Once a Periodization Training Cycle is completed it is then followed by a new training cycle that starts off easy. This promotes…
Active Recovery
The start of a light, easy workout promotes more recovery than Passive Recovery; doing nothing.
Protein
The amount of protein per meal or serving is important.
Research has demonstrated that older individual (over 30 years old) need to consume at least 30 gram of quality protein per meal/serving. Quality proteins are animal based.
Consuming around 40 gram per serving is more in the optimal range.
It has to do with…
mTOR (Mammalian Target of Rapamycin
This triggers the anabolic, muscle building process.
Leucine, an amino acid, trigger this response.
Between 2.5 to over 4 grams of Leucine are required per serving to trigger that anabolic response.
Leucine In Quality Proteins
A good general rule is that around 8% of quality protein is composed of Leucine.
Thus, 30 grams of quality protein yields about 2.4 gram of Leucine; 40 gram about 3.2 gram of Leucine.
Refractory Period
Research shows the optimal Protein Synthesis occurs when the right amount of protein is consumed every 4 - 6 hours
Kenny Croxdale
No one has mentioned creatine? It’s about the only thing that’s been extensively studied that appears to work.
My question: if you eat a lot of red meat or certain seafood (eg, shrimp), do you need to supplement with creatine? I don’t know, though I am currently in the “loading” phase and testing creatine supplementation.
Personally, I eat 2MAD most days and OMAD when I can, and I don’t worry about spacing out protein. Though I’m far from a body builder. (Was one at one time, many years ago.)
Also, are you sure you’re not over trained?
I am also far from a body builder 
, just looking to lean out a bit and get some more definition. I’m just frustrated with feeling like I can barely complete the same workout each week, without any weight increases.
I eat beef and chicken as my main food sources. No eggs, minimal dairy. I eat when hungry (usually 2x per day, averaging 2-2.5 lb. of food total).
I don’t think I’m over trained? I only work out 2x per week for about 45 minutes per session.
I hear and feel for you. I’m similar, doing one looong body weight training (though now with some weights) and one shorter body weight training with HIIT per week.
I have been trying a “pseudo TKD” (targeted keto diet), where I eat a few more carbs the first meal after my workouts. I’m currently using spaghetti squash and getting at most 30 grams of carbs after each workout.
Like you, my weights/number of repetitions are all over the map. Sometimes, I feel as if I’m getting stronger, only to go backwards the next time.
Unfortunately, nothing is ever linear, and that’s the way it is with strength gains. Seems like take two steps forward and one step backward. Ugh.
Since the pandemic began, though, I’m way stronger than I was. It’s just it would be nice to see that continue, rather than having to wait (almost wrote “weight” here - thinking too much) for a month or more.
@Redrobins I’m in a similar mode as you describe. Bear with me and I’ll try to put your mind at ease…
I’ve been eating keto diligently for about 18 months. Love it. Never felt better.
As for exercise: after 25+ years of daily cardio (jogging, nordic-track, etc.) and minimal strength training, about a year ago I read a bunch of reliable research papers on the topic and switched over to…
(1) HIIT cardio (only 10 minutes of gentle effort wrapped around three 20 second bursts of my fiercest possible cardio effort on an eliptical). I do this several times a week instead of 30-45 minutes of relentless traditional jogging/cardio. [Lots of newly found free time!]
(2) A slow/burn-style strength training program I constructed in three zone (upper, lower, core). I do one zone session per week (3 workout days in total). This is the kind of exercise where I “hit a wall” and struggle. More on this below.
(3) And several months ago I added 4 sets of blood-flow restricted (BFR) bicep curls on days I’m not doing #2 above.
Yes, after a few months I too hit “a peak” - especially on #2 above - and some days it feels harder to do the same workout that wasn’t nearly as challenging a week or two earlier.
Like you, I also see no reason to believe I’m “overtraining” in these strength workouts - i.e., it’s only one muscle group targeted once per week.
Okay, so how do I feel about hitting this “ceiling” of sorts?
For me, at 60+ yrs old, I currently feel better, have more body definition and demonstrable strength than at any time in my life (look better, too? 
All of this makes me feel very satisfied.
I assume that strength training “struggles” are just part of the deal. Neither my body nor my mind ever learns anything in a straight line. There are zigs and zags, and eventually I hit my personal best.
No doubt the hormesis involved in my workouts is building/maintaining bone density and doing other metabolic wonders inside that will serve me well. So I’ve simply given up worrying about specifically which weight load is more or less than one from a month ago. Does any of that really matter? Was lifting a particular weight load ever really my objective in the first place?
If you know how your body feels - and you’re pushing yourself enough to create strain/tension without damaging yourself - you’re golden.
My humble suggestion: Let go of any preconceived notions as to how it’s all supposed to progress. That’s for gym-rats - bless them.
Neither you nor I are body builders, right? Just enjoy the benefits, give it your personal best, and give up unhelpful focus on the math.
Best wishes! 
FWIW, I work out once a week with a Body By Science workout (as close as I can get) - lift as much as I can until muscle failure. After reading elsewhere on this forum I’ve settled on the high protein amounts for the first three days. High = 1 g per pound of total weight. The other couple of days, 0.8g/lb of Lean Body Mass.
It works out to about twice as much meat for three days. I do eat hard cheeses and include those.
Hope that’s useful.
Thank you, Bob. That is a very good way to look at it. I am noticing changes, I just get frustrated with how my hunger seems to be all over the place. There are areas that are leaning out (ever so slooowwwly), so it’s working.
I have a decent amount of OCD (obsessive complusive disorder) in me, so I just want someone to tell me, “Eat this much each day.” I reallize that our bodies just don’t work that way.
Thank you, Joey. Your workout regimen sounds very similar to mine. I was an avid runner for years, but read a lot about how strength training is more important as you get “older” (47 yo). So, I too, have saved myself tons of time, going from running 9 miles per day to working out 2x per week for 45 minutes each. Who knew?
You really helped put things into perspective for me. No, my objective has never been to lift a particular weight load, just change my body composition, which is happening. I’ll take it!
What I have noticed is that body weight training makes me hungrier than aerobics. Not sure why. For instance, I used to fast 36 hours or eat OMAD (one meal a day) the day after I lifted. Now, many times, I can’t even get to OMAD.
By contrast, even if I do some HIIT on one day, I’m not nearly as hungry the next day, relative to a long body weight workout. Can’t figure out why.
I used to ride my bike 90+ miles/week in the summer. I’ve reached the conclusion that this type of exercise is bad for you. I’ve seen too many studies about this, some where they autopsy runners and find scarring in the heart.
I look better and feel just as good doing much shorter, more intense workouts. And since I don’t think exercise helps with weight loss, I’m not eager to do more.
EXACTLY! That’s what I found. I used to run and run and run, never getting anywhere (as far as body composition was concerned). This way is much better!
You could try being obsessive about eating to satiety. It has been known for a long time that, while ad libitum intake and energy expenditure often don’t match during a given 24-hour period, they match with surprising accuracy over a seven- or eight-day period.
I will do that! I just have to “let go” of the old notions (CICO). I feel so much better when I eat to satiety and I’m slowly figuring out what that feels like.
around 11 months zc right?
this is perfectly normal time for being very hungry to not hungry to ‘just being’ and key thing here is eat. any and all times you want it and eat darn well. limit nothing when hungry. you eat to total fullness and desire and enjoy. when not hungry you don’t have to eat but if you got a ‘big day’ going you might wanna eat ‘something’ ya know. ZC people can’t do longer term life without food in our systems and then ‘we push’ past ‘what real nature’ could give us ya know with exercise routines and more we wanna accomplish, and take on more stress/workloads with life etc. so key thing is your appetite will flip flop…that is certain on zc and you eat well any time you must.
11 months in is fab but per individual personal situations you could need alot more time on zc and its great food to make you ‘more on it’ and get different changes and results…so you hang in there 
You need to get in adequate protein to maintain or build muscle based on your muscle mass every day. It doesn’t have to be timed pre/post workout, only that it’s constantly coming in. It never needs to be “high” unless that’s what’s required to maintain/gain what you have. Most popular go-to which works for most is 1g/lb of bodyweight, not LBM. That will give you a little wiggle room. When I’m building I go up to 1.5g/lb which makes a noticeable difference. But if you’re only working out 2x/week your muscle mass may not require a whole lot to maintain. You really gotta go by your specifics with that, you just want to make sure you’re getting it every day. From my experience when I was strict keto it worked best for me to keep it a little on the higher side, since without good glycogen stores I couldn’t push as hard, doing ZC you may or may not be worse off, I don’t know.
Thank, Fangs. I do have big eating days and smaller eating days. You’re absolutely right, I just need to learn to listen to my body and eat when hungry. The other night, I ate a nice big beef tenderloin steak. It was probably around 1 pound. I didn’t feel quite satiated. My daughter, also carnivore, didn’t finish hers, so I ate another 4-5 oz. steak and that put me at the perfect spot for feeling “full”. I can honestly say that was first time that had happened, so I am certainly still learning.
I am also working on eating “clean”. Very minimally processed foods, no added salt, no cheese, minimal butter. I just couldn’t control myself with the cheese and the inflammation was horrible!
I so appreciate all of the wisdom and knowledge you share with us on the this forum, Karen. You’re so encouraging and uplifting to us, no matter where we are in our journey. Thank you!