T Nation

The refeedin' fiend comin' off the diet

Bodybuilding
#1

As some of you know, I’ve been on a protocol of low carb t/w/th, with 8 hour refeed on friday night, then low carb sat/sun, and 8 hour refeed monday night. Now this is really helping with the stripping the last fat off, but it brought up a question.

When you come off a Keto diet, you need to slowly reintroduce carbs, as my man JB pointed out in an Appetite for Construction.

That brings me to my question. Do you have to slowly reintroduce carbs into the diet when you’re doing a refeeding/low carb diet? I would assume you don’t have to, because your body is using carbs during the week. I’m starting a mass phase in a couple of weeks, and I need to know for that. Thanks for the help.

#2

Nope, just bump it back up to maintenance when you come “off.”

#3

Also, if your training volume goes up when you come off the diet, that should help off-set the carb reintroduction as well.

#4

Nelly: Uh oh! You’re comin’ off. Be prepared for symptoms of refeed withdrawal. You’ll walk down the cereal aisle just thinkin’ “I gotta have my 'Pop!” LOL!

Just messin’, B-Real. Like the others said, your carb tolerance should be just fine with your current schedule. And like “(L)Ike it or Spike it” said, including some cardio (HHIIT style…we all know what that first H implies, don’t we MBE and char-dawg), will help out with glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity (acutely).

#5

I would say it really depends on how low the carbs are…some get into ketosis on more carbs than others…I’d play it smooth, just to transition the body easily.

Just my thoughts.
You got my paper anyways Brent…you know my thoughts.
Pizzeace
Vain

#6

Thanks for all the help guys. That’s what I figured I would need to do. And TaiBo, you know I gots to have my Pops! But I think it will all be for the best.

And Vain, I was looking over your paper, again (cause there’s so much damn info.) and dissecting the coming off the keto diet part. The only difference, is I am doing 2 weekly 8-10 hour refeeds right now, and you were having them once a week or longer, right?

I think it’ll be all good, but I am going to go for a week or two slow transition, then onto the Mag-10!