Jim Stoppani breaks down the keto diet and carb cycling in his latest explainer.
The keto diet is one of the more popular diet trends circulating through the fitness world over the past decade. The basic concept is to cut all carbs out of your diet and increase dietary fat. But is this popular trend all it’s cracked up to be? And how does it compare to the tried and true method of carb cycling often used by athletes? We partnered with Barbend and turned to exercise physiologist Jim Stoppani for a full explainer guide on keto diet vs carb cycling – and the overall role of carbs in nutrition for those looking to be fit and healthy.
In the current internet age, it’s become so much easier to get information to stay healthy and find ways to lose weight. But it’s also very easy for misinformation to spread and popular trends to take hold that might not be the best for you. That’s why it’s important to treat every super popular diet trend with caution. People have been singing the keto diet praises for years. And in fact, it holds a lot of similarities to older diet systems like the Atkins diet. But for those who want to handle fitness and health the right way – is this diet truly a good option?
Jim Stoppani breaks the diet down in our latest video conversation and also compares it to carb cycling – the act of cycling in and out of low and regular carb intake. What is the truly best way to handle carbohydrates in a fit diet? Let’s break it down.
What is the keto diet?
Jim Stoppani explains that the keto diet’s main factor is to cut carbs out of your diet completely. You then focus on an increase in dietary fats (the healthy ones). The goal of this is to rewire the way your body works. Instead of getting energy from glucose (carbs), your body will start pulling that energy from ketones.
Ketones are found in fat – and so when your body starts using ketones for energy, you start burning fat much more effectively. This is why the diet has become so popular. It’s a powerful method of losing weight fast (if you stick to it firmly).
Fun note – when your body is in ketosis and burning ketones/fat rather than glucose/carbs, you’ll find that your breath smells bad and in some extreme cases your sweat will also start to take on a different smell.
Should you use the keto diet?
While the results are proven to lead to relatively quick fat loss, Jim Stoppani warns against this diet being a go-to for those looking for long term fitness and health. Stoppani explains that the keto diet is great for a quick weight loss over the course of four to six weeks. So for those looking to fit into a wedding dress or look good on the beach during vacation, this diet can work wonders.
But for those who are looking to lose weight, keep the weight off, and remain health and fit – this diet is not the best option. Jim Stoppani explains:
“The last thing you want to do is go from eating 400 carbs a day to zero… and really that’s why keto is so popular because it’s used for short term fat loss. It’s great for losing a tone of weight in six weeks. But now that you’ve cut out all your carbs and now you hit a plateau, where do you go? You’ve got no more carbs to cut out. What are you going to cut out? Protein? You’re going to start cutting protein now?”
His main point is that the keto diet doesn’t work in the long term – especially for those who have more ambitious fitness goals like bodybuilders or athletes. That’s why Jim Stoppani recommends slowly cutting out carbs in phases.
Focus on cutting only 100 carbs first, you’ll lose weight if you do it right. Then after that plateaus, cut out another 100 carbs. If the keto diet focus on a slow transition out of carbs it would be more sustainable.
So what about carb cycling?
Jim Stoppani far prefers the tried and true carb cycling method for cutting weight. He’s used it in the past for years and finds it very effective. The key goal here is to cycle on and off with low carb days and then high carb days. There are various ways you can set up this schedule to work best for you.
The reason for the cycling is to prevent your metabolism from crashing. Suddenly cutting carbs will eventually lead to a plateau as your metabolism goes into a sort of “starvation mode” – suddenly you burn less calories at rest than before. This makes it harder to lose weight after a short term period of quick fat loss.
Carb cycling prevents this – while still cutting down overall carbs in your diet. It keeps your metabolism working faster while also cutting out glucos and focusing on burning fat instead.
Wrap Up
In Jim Stoppani’s eyes, the keto diet is no different than any other “lose fat fast” plans. They work great in the short term but likely lead to fluctuating weight in most people who try it. It’s hardly sustainable and not a long term solution. Carb cycling can be a great alternative for those looking to reduce carbs and burn fat. In either case – Jim Stoppani’s suggestion is to ease out of carbs instead of crashing down to zero instantly.
You can watch Jim Stoppani explain in full detail by watching our latest GI Exclusive interview segment above!
