The Keto Diet: Bodybuilding vs Fat Burning

Keto or bust.

The keto or ketogenic diet has become all the rage in the fitness and bodybuilding community. Many have viewed the as a godsend, a tool that can help an individual burn fight while maintaining a musculature physique. But not every keto program is the same. Some ketogenic programs are geared to individuals looking simply to lose weight while others are designed for those looking to gain muscle and lose fat all at once.

Let’s break down what exactly each keto diet entails, and why they might be beneficial for your goals.

What is Keto?

First we should address exactly what keto is. The keto diet typically is when an individual will consume a very low amount of carbohydrates. Instead, they will be replacing the carbs with fats to help the body burn fat for energy. This reduction in carbs puts your body into a metabolic state called “ketosis”and when this occurs, your body becomes incredibly efficient at burning fat to use for energy, both physical and mental energy that is.

It is also worth noting that ketogenic diets can typically cause significant reductions in blood sugar and insulin levels. However, while this is a basic overview of the keto diet, it can be broken down a bit further.

Keto for Weight Loss

Keto for weight loss will focus on a specific balance of healthy fats and protein, cutting out the carbs. When you are trying the keto diet with the intent to burn body fat, you will see an individual eating higher amounts of healthy fats while keeping their protein intake lowered. This ensures that energy is being obtain through consuming fats, rather than carbs and protein, which will help to put your body into the fat burning mode of ketosis.

Keto for Bodybuilding

Keto is something that many bodybuilders do not think of utilizing when it comes to their fitness journey, but it is a diet that can be beneficial for the sport. Once again much like the weight loss program of keto, you’ll see your carb intake lowered, focusing primarily on fats and protein. But rather than consuming more fats over protein the process is flipped. You’ll still eat the fats in order to use the nutrient as an energy source, but this time the increased protein will promote more muscle growth.

This is exactly the kind of keto that a bodybuilder should follow if their looking to make some lean, quality gains. Now, during a bodybuilding prep, this is something bodybuilders already do but they do not call it “keto”. A standard bodybuilding prep involves the lowering of carbohydrate intake to cut fat, increasing protein to keep the bodybuilder full and building muscle, and moderate fat intake to keep hormones regulated and energy levels up.

Similarities

Whether you’re adhering to a weight loss program or you’re looking to make solid gains with keto, both diet programs are centered around the fact that your carb intake is going to be nonexistent if not significantly lowered. You want to keep in mind that you should not cut out your carbs all at once, as that can really mess up your progress.

Carbs aren’t the devil that will automatically make you fat the second you consume them, but they are also not your best friend. Carbs really are a tool just like any of the other macronutrients, you need to know how to consume them properly to use them efficiently. Eating starchy carbs such as potatoes while you’re on a keto diet will ultimately become counter productive. The idea of the keto diet is for an individual to get energy from fat and use it in order to shed fat off of the body, it sounds nuts when you say it out loud, but it works.

Eating high amounts of carbs will block the body’s ability to enter into ketosis which is the whole point of the process, so you should not be doing that. Whether you’re a bodybuilding or a just looking to shed fat, the one constant on both versions of the keto program is the low amounts of carbs.

Other Fat Burning Options

Now there are plenty of other ways to burn fat and speed up the effects of keto, such as doing cardio or training at higher volumes, but what about supplements? Let’s take a look at the best fat burning supplement.

Transparent Labs PhysiqueSeries Fat Burner

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Transparent Labs Fat Burner is a great burner to expedite weight loss in 3 ways. A 100% honest label ensures quality ingredients and optimal effectiveness.

Transparent Labs PhysiqueSeries Fat Burner is a great supplement to expedite weight loss by allowing you to shed fat, maintain muscle mass, and build that ideal physique for whatever comes your way. Working with 3 ways to expedite fat loss, this works to increase loss by determining how many calories you should burn, prevent hunger to eliminate snacking and unwanted calories, and offer an enjoyable weight loss experience so you actually work for your fat loss goal more effectively. Transparent Labs main focus with their supplements is transparency, and with a 100% honest label so you know exactly what you are getting and how much you are getting from a fat burning supplement while shedding belly fat and avoiding muscle breakdown.

With just 9 ingredients, this formula works to give you everything you need to succeed in your weight loss journey while boosting your metabolism. Forslean allows you to release fatty acids from stubborn tissue to stimulate fat loss while green tea works with Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) to influence fat metabolism so fat loss does occur. A host of other ingredients work to your benefit with this advanced formula to make sure your experience is everything you want out of a thermogenic fat burner for that stubborn belly fat loss.

Now, Transparent Labs Fat Burner will not replace the keto diet, but can be used alongside of it to help accelerate the fat burning effects.

Wrap Up

Overall, no matter how you slice it, the keto diet is always going to come down to the relationship between fats and proteins. It’s a not a diet that should be relied on forever though, as you do need carbs at some point. Instead, it is something that should be utilized as a tool for a shorter period of time. Rather spending your entire existence in ketosis, utilize the fat burning effects to your advantage then proceed to introduce healthy carbs back into your diet to ensure you’re obtaining the nutrients your body needs from fruits and vegetables.

Have you ever tried the keto diet?

Let us know in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.

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Dylan Wolf
I work mainly in content writing, focusing my free time on bodybuilding and strength sports. I was introduced to fitness in high school and after watching Generation Iron movies. I love to train. I have competed multiple times, even winning a junior title in classic physique. I have a bachelor's in criminal justice and business obtained through Alvernia University. When I am not focused on work or training, I enjoy watching films or reading about anything and everything.