Below is a recent email I received from a trainee pilot who recently finished a strict period of ketogenic dieting. I believe many of the aspects will apply to other readers in a shape or form. I hope you find the information useful.
“So the ketogenic diet was pretty good, I shed a few kg but now I’m in Spain and it’s gone out the window. The canteen here has some seriously dubious foods! Loads of fried shit and carb heavy stuff…hard to just get meat that hasn’t been somehow ruined by the Spanish ‘chef’! Everyone’s piling on weight but that’s probably portion control as well. There’s a salad bar which is ok and I’ve been hitting up the tuna salads etc.”
“Problem is the work load is intense and it’s killing my brain, I’m guessing I need low Glycameic Index carbs? for brain fuel? and regular meals to keep up energy levels etc..one of the guys on my course is falling asleep during class in the arvo!”
“They have a gym here on site so I’m just planning to lift 3 times a week and maybe do some body weight tabatta’s; squats, sprints, burpee’s, stuff taken from here t-nation, on my off days.
Know any good websites that demonstrate proper form because I reckon my power cleans are shit! Ideally I would like to build some muscle but try and get leaner at the same time, is that possible? Any tips on nutrition/training would be awesome…cheers man.”
A tried and tested method for staying alert when flying
Following the short period spent on the ketogenic diet I would definitely recommend keeping carbs low. Carb sources should come from vegetables and fruits, with low glycaemic index choices being the main source of carbs. However, during the time period around training I would aim to take in higher GI carbs such as white potatoes, high GI fruits (watermelon, dates, pineapple, raisins) as these will be easily converted to blood sugars during this period of energy depletion.
Immediately following training, it is also beneficial to take in a protein source, this could be a whey protein shake with cottage cheese blended in as the two protein types (whey and casein, respectively) provided here will absorb at different rates. Blending with whole milk will also provide some high GI carbs, and valuable fats.
By sourcing the majority of your calories from fats and proteins through the day you will continue to utilise lipid (fat) oxidation (burning) to provide energy as triggered during the short intense period of strict ketogenic dieting. This will ensure that your blood sugars stay stable due to the slow breakdown of fats, which will in turn improve your cognitive function.
I would summarise macronutrient needs as:
Carbs – provide energy for physical efforts
Fats- aid recovery and growth whilst protecting hormone function
Proteins- repair damaged tissue and augment growth
Therefore, if you are not physically active you are recovering and repairing. With this in mind, carbohydrates should be consumed around times of physical activity. Basic carb cycling in which carbohydrate consumption is reduced on days of lower physical exertion can be useful in preventing fat mass gain.
As far as ‘brain food’, the brain uses glucose as the primary source of energy, however simply eating a varied diet of real, unprocessed foods should provide the nutrients required for cognitive function. There are various herbal and mineral supplements that can be used to improve cognitive function
High levels of metal within the body (metal toxicity) including copper, aluminium and iron, can cause adrenal fatigue resulting in various problems including tiredness, lack of concentration, poor memory, decreased metabolism, poor thyroid function and subsequent weight gain. We are typically exposed to these metals through what we eat and drink. Supplementing zinc, and magnesium can aid in the excretion of harmful metal build up and improve cognitive, hormone and thyroid function. For a thorough discussion on this topic click here , useful information on this topic can also be found here.
Other supplements such as cod liver oil have also been shown to improve cognitive function as well as reducing inflammation, and reducing the risk of heart disease, cancer, and osteoporosis. There is also research to support the use of ginseng and caffeine. However it may be argued that stimulation through such means as caffeine, ginseng etc is artificial and may not be the answer to improved adrenal function, perhaps inhibiting adrenal function? (thoughts please…)
Beware increasing your cod liver oil dosage too quickly! spread out doses throughout the day!
Although these may be relevant, I make these suggestions under the assumption that you have already taken care of you’re sleep, ensure you relax and wind down when possible, and eat a good variety of real foods limiting processed food and drink. Too often people focus on the minutia, don’t become so focussed on the 2% that you neglect the 98%.
3 whole body sessions:
Yes, three lifting sessions a week would be ideal. These sessions should be whole body and compound in nature utilising lifts such as squats, deadlifts, pull ups, and presses. These sessions can be organised into the following movement categories
Explosive – Squat jump, medicine ball throw, jumps, high pulls, dumbbell snatch, clean
Hip Dominant – deadlift, RDL, good morning
Knee dominant – squats, lunges, step ups
Horizontal push – bench press, push ups, floor press, cable press
Horizontal Pull – Inverse row, bent over row, single arm row, cable row
Vertical push – military press, seated DB press, jerk
Vertical pull – pull ups, chin ups, lat pulldown
You can then rotate you’re core training as so:
Session 1: Bridging – planks, BB rollouts, palloff presses
Session 2: Rotations – Russian twists, Land mines, med ball throws
Session 3: Flexion/extension – leg lifts, low cable pull ins, v-sits, back extensions
(As you can see, the explosive action is not limited to more technically demanding lifts such as the Olympic lifts. However if you are looking to specifically develop these techniques, look here and here, I would recommend getting coaching or at least taking video footage).
Kettlebells swings & snatches are easy to learn and great for developing power! (Would you believe there are no pictures of kettlebells!….)
Regarding using the tabatas/intervals/metabolic resistance training, this would be a great way to maintain and even improve you’re aerobic fitness whilst also ensuring that body fat is kept to a reasonable level when looking to gain muscle mass. However, the whole body sessions can be very fatiguing and may take longer than a typical split session, therefore if possible I would aim to perform the metabolic (interval) type work on a separate day, and after all it only takes 5-10 minutes when performed with the proper intensity.
Are your intervals intense enough?
Whether it is possible to gain muscle mass whilst losing fat is difficult. I believe that you’re efforts are best focussed on one aspect in order to make the best changes. However If you are looking to gain muscle mass, I would consider your current body fat level, if this is quite high I may look to decrease body fat first as this will increase insulin sensitivity and aid in adding muscle.
I hope this post has been useful, I understand that I have not gone to a great deal of detail on any of the topics due to the broad subject areas, however I think that the linked reading is a great starting point should you require more information.
Thanks for the question!
