Low Carb (Ketogenic) Diets

I discovered low carb (ketogenic) dieting the hard way.  It started about ten years ago, when I decided to get in the best shape of my life (in terms of body composition).  I joined that "Body for Life" competition.  I trained hard and ate a low-fat diet--I never cheated. I thought this would turn me into a super-lean machine.

Well, I did lose fat, but there were problems:

• I did not get as lean as I thought I would--especially considering the discipline I had with my diet/exercise.
• I lost too much muscle mass.
• I was constantly fighting hunger.

Years before I had heard about a "high fat" diet, but I never paid much attention to it (sounded crazy to me).  I was ready to give it a second look.  I did some research and ran across some good articles.  I read about the Body Opus diet, the Anabolic Diet, and a few others.  These diets/books were more for bodybuilders (I roughly fit into this category, though I don't compete).  I also read a few websites written by those using the Adkins diet. I remember one guy who used to weigh 300 lb until he tried low carb approaches. 

Now I'm a low-carb fan.  I drop carbs whenever I want to get lean.  Here are some of the benefits I've seen:

• I retain almost all of my muscle and strength, even on a calorie restricted diet.
• Hunger is not nearly as much of a problem (this is in part because I use the ECA stack, but the diet itself seems to keep me from feeling overly hungry).
• I'm not as tempted to cheat.  This sounds crazy, but knowing that I can't eat any carbs keeps me from eating junk--I know that eating too many carbs will break ketosis.
• I get leaner, faster than with any other approach.

If you haven't had results with other approaches, consider giving low carb a try (assuming you are healthy or have checked with your doctor).  I'll try to write a few more articles as I have time, but there's no shortage of information out there. 

I would highly recommend The Ketogenic Diet by Lyle McDonald if you want the best book on the subject.