diminished and caloric intake can be more easily controlled.
Obviously activity patterns should be maintained while calories/carbohydrates are being
reintroduced to the diet. If individuals find themselves consuming too many calories (especially
during the first few days of carbohydrate refeeding), an increase in activity may be useful during
that time period.
Section 3: Recommendations for ending a CKD
Generally speaking, individuals who utilize the CKD for fat loss tend to be bodybuilders or
athletes who need a way to reduce bodyfat without compromising high-intensity exercise
performance. However, this is not universally the case. In this group of individuals it is not
uncommon to move from a fat loss phase (which may be done by bodybuilders for a contest or
simply to avoid gaining too much bodyfat during the off season) directly into a weight/muscle
gaining phase where an excess of calories are consumed. As with ending the SKD/TKD there are
two primary options for individuals who wish to end a fat loss CKD.
Option 1: Stay on the CKD
It is this author’s opinion that the CKD is not the optimal diet for gaining lean body mass
for bodybuilders or athletes. Ultimately, insulin is one of the most anabolic hormones in the body,
stimulating protein synthesis and inhibiting protein breakdown. A high calorie CKD, by limiting
insulin levels, will not allow optimal gains in LBM. However, athletes may be able to slow bodyfat
gains by using CKD for mass gains, but this comes with the price of slower gains in lean body
mass.
The major changes which must be made for those who want to stay on a CKD are in
calorie levels, length of the carb-up, and training strategies. As discussed in chapter 3, gains in
lean body mass may require a caloric intake of 18 calories per pound of bodyweight or more.
Some individuals find consuming this many calories on a low-carbohydrate diet to be difficult. As
well, since protein must still be somewhat limited to maintain ketosis, this means that fat intake
must be raised to high levels. The potential health consequences of such a dietary strategy are
unknown. To reiterate, without long term data on the health consequences of a SKD or CKD, it is
not recommended that the CKD be followed indefinitely.
In practice, most lifters tend to reduce their carb-loading phase to 30 hours or less for
maximal fat loss. For optimal mass gains, the carb-up should be increased in duration to a full 48
hours. While fat gain tends to be higher with this strategy, gains in lean body mass are typically
greater as well. An alternate strategy, and one that will most likely help to prevent some of the
fat gain which would otherwise occur, is to have two carb-loading phases of 24 hours performed in
a 7 day span. That is, an individual might perform a 24 hour carb-load phase on Wednesday and
again on Saturday. As discussed in chapter 12, the carb-up should optimally follow a workout.
Finally, training structure can be altered to fit the individuals preference for mass gain
training. Training for mass gains on a CKD are discussed in chapter 29.