Keto Adaptation: Refeeding Impact And Weekly Strategies

The ketogenic diet is a very low-carb, moderate protein, and high-fat diet. It typically contains 70% fat, 20% protein, and only 10% carbs. A refeed day is a planned increase in calories for one day on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, intended to give the body a break from calorie restriction. While a refeed day is not a cheat day, some people on keto have a refeed day once a week or once every two weeks. However, breaking ketosis is considered detrimental to the diet as it can take 4-7 days to return to that state.

Refeeding carbs on keto

The cyclical ketogenic diet (CKD) is an alternative to the traditional keto diet, which involves eating mostly fats, some protein, and a small number of carbs. CKD allows for more carbs to be incorporated into your diet.

CKD includes strategic "carb refeed" days, which replenish glycogen stores and help fuel gym performance. On the standard keto diet, you eat very small amounts of carbs and higher amounts of fat to burn body fat as fuel. CKD is more flexible, allowing for one to two days a week of consuming higher amounts of carbs, followed by five to six days of the standard keto diet.

On the standard keto diet, daily carbohydrate intake is restricted to around 20-30g of net carbs (total dietary carbs minus fibre). CKD, on the other hand, allows for an increase in carb intake to roughly 150g during "carb refeed" days.

Benefits of CKD

• Likely increase in fibre: Consuming clean-burning starch sources like sweet potatoes on your refeed day will provide your body with extra fibre.
• Possible improved athletic performance: The period of high-carb eating is intended to refill muscle glycogen, which may sustain athletic performance.
• Potential muscle gains: Standard keto may suppress anabolic hormones, while CKD may raise insulin levels in a strategic way to support muscle growth.
• Better gut health: CKD allows for the consumption of a wider variety of fibre-rich foods and resistant starches, which help good gut bacteria proliferate and improve overall health.
• Boost exercise recovery and muscle growth: A transient increase in the anabolic hormone insulin can boost exercise recovery and muscle growth by stimulating muscle protein synthesis and enhancing the anabolic effects of testosterone, growth hormone, and IGF-1.
• Increase exercise volume and intensity: Having carbs on board can help boost strength and endurance, whether you're an endurance athlete or a CrossFit enthusiast.
• Make your keto lifestyle more sustainable: Restricting carb intake to maintain ketosis can be hard, and even impossible for some. CKD can make the keto lifestyle more sustainable by allowing for periodic breaks from carb restriction.

Downsides of CKD

• Possible weight gain: It is possible to consume too many calories on carb days, resulting in weight gain. It is important to track not only your macros but also your caloric intake.
• Potential water retention: Another potential reason for weight gain on CKD is an increase in water weight as a result of carb days. The human body uses up to 3 grams of water to store 1 gram of carbohydrates in muscle tissue.

Who Should Use CKD?

CKD is ideal for anyone who exercises at high intensities regularly. If you are new to exercising or only do endurance training, a targeted ketogenic diet may be a better option.

How to Implement CKD

To implement CKD correctly, you must first create a schedule. The most common format is 5-6 days of a ketogenic diet with 1-2 high-carb refeeding days. During the ketogenic diet phase of the cycle, do at least two medium- to high-intensity workouts per week and one high-intensity, glycogen-depleting workout the day before carbohydrate refeeding.

During your carbohydrate refeed, it is best to consume complex carbohydrates from whole food sources. On the first day, aim for at least 70% of your calories from carb sources like potatoes, yams, carrots, bananas, pineapples, raisins, and white rice. During the second day, decrease your carb intake to 60% and eat lower GI carbohydrates like whole grains, peas, blueberries, lentils, and black beans.

After you are finished replenishing your glycogen stores, the best way to get back into ketosis is to do a high-intensity workout on an empty stomach the morning after your carb refeeding is over. Then, restrict your carbs and continue with your standard ketogenic diet.

CKD can be an effective way to boost athletic performance, exercise recovery, body composition, and weight loss results. However, it is crucial to follow the guidelines as it is easy to overdo it during the higher carb consumption days. CKD is best suited for individuals who engage in regular high-intensity exercise and can be a sustainable way to gain the health benefits of both ketosis and carbohydrates.

The benefits of keto refeeds for bodybuilding

A refeed day is a planned day where you intentionally overconsume calories after a period of being in a calorie deficit. This is not to be confused with a cheat day, which involves uncontrolled and unplanned eating. A refeed day is more calculated and focuses on a moderate increase in calories, with a specific focus on carbs.

Benefits of Refeeds

Prevent a Weight Loss Plateau

Refeeding can help to prevent a weight loss plateau. By feeding the body excess calories, mostly in the form of carbs, leptin levels temporarily increase, which may prevent adaptive thermogenesis from interfering with weight loss.

Lower Your Risk of Binging

Refeeding may help to lower your risk of binging. By allowing for a controlled increase in calories, it may reduce the urge to binge. It also helps to satisfy cravings and decrease feelings of deprivation.

Improve Physical Performance

Refeeding can help to improve physical performance by replenishing glycogen stores. Carb intake helps to refill muscle glycogen stores, which can lead to more effective workouts and improved athletic performance.

Preserve Muscle Gains

Refeeding can also help preserve hard-earned muscle gains. Prolonged calorie restriction can lead to greater losses of lean body mass, including muscle. By including refeed days, you can help maintain muscle mass while losing fat.

Outsmart Metabolic Adaptation

Refeeding can be a strategy to outsmart metabolic adaptation. Our bodies adapt to periods of calorie restriction, down-regulating metabolism and conserving calories. A temporary spike in calories during a refeed may result in improved weight loss outcomes compared to staying in a prolonged calorie deficit.

Optimize Hormone Levels

Refeeding can help optimize hormone levels, specifically ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin, the "hunger hormone," increases during calorie restriction, leading to increased cravings. Leptin, the "satiety hormone," helps regulate hunger and metabolism. Refeeding helps to balance these hormones, reducing hunger and improving satiety.

Things to Consider

While refeeding has potential benefits, there are also some considerations. Refeeding may not be effective for everyone, and there is limited research on the topic. Additionally, it is important to carefully plan and control refeed days to avoid overeating and derailing progress. It is also crucial to ensure that refeeding does not promote an unhealthy relationship with food.

How often to refeed

The frequency of refeed days depends on your body fat percentage and goals. Generally, the leaner you are, the more frequent your refeed days can be. If you have a body fat percentage of 20% or higher, it is recommended to start with a refeed day once every two weeks, and then adjust to once per week depending on how your body responds. If you are closer to 10% body fat, you can start with one refeed day per week.

For those on a low-carb diet, such as keto, carb refeed days can be incorporated in several ways:

• 3 on, 1 off: Follow a low-carb diet for three days, then refeed on the fourth day.
• 6 on, 1 off: Follow a low-carb diet for six days, then refeed on the seventh day.
• Training/rest days: Eat more carbs on days you exercise and very few carbs on rest/recovery days.
• Special athlete structures: Athletes may time their refeed days around competitions or special training events.

It is important to note that the effectiveness of refeed days also depends on sticking to the rules. A refeed day is not the same as a cheat day, which involves uncontrolled and unplanned eating. On a refeed day, you should aim to increase your total daily calories by 20-30%, with most of the increase coming from carbohydrates.

Refeeding and weight loss

Refeeding is the practice of providing diet breaks or periods of consuming higher calories during periods of calorie restriction or dieting. A refeed day is a planned increase in calories for one day on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. It is intended to give your body a temporary break from calorie restriction.

When you decrease your calorie intake and begin to lose body fat, a change in hormones occurs, which tells your body that you are experiencing a calorie deficit. As a result, your body will begin to look for ways to reduce it as much as possible to limit weight loss. A hormone known as leptin, which is produced by fat cells, begins to decline. Low levels of this hormone signal to your brain that you are entering an unknown period of calorie deprivation, and your body receives signals to eat more food and burn fewer calories. This process is known as adaptive thermogenesis.

Benefits of refeeding

Refeeding may help to:

• Prevent a weight loss plateau
• Lower your risk of binging
• Improve physical performance

Potential Drawbacks

There is limited research on the efficacy of refeed days, and they may not be suitable for those with a history of disordered eating. Additionally, it is important to note that refeeding is not the same as a cheat day, which involves uncontrolled and unplanned eating. Refeed days involve thoughtful planning and controlled food intake, with a focus on carbohydrates.

If your goal is to lose weight, you should generally be in a slight caloric deficit. Try adding one or two refeed days per week to your nutrition plan, centred around days of high-intensity lifting to ensure you have the energy needed to perform and recover.

Refeeding and mental health

Refeeding is a planned increase in calories for one day on a weekly or biweekly basis, giving the body a break from calorie restriction. It is intended to counteract the negative effects of being in a calorie deficit, such as lower hormone levels, increased hunger, lethargy, tiredness, and hitting a weight loss plateau.

Refeeding can have both psychological and physiological benefits. Psychologically, refeeding can provide a temporary break from a diet, which can help with compliance. It can also help to normalise leptin levels, which can boost metabolism and reduce appetite and cravings.

However, refeeding can also have negative implications for mental health. Refeeding syndrome is a well-recognised condition that can occur after the reintroduction of feeding following prolonged starvation or fasting. It is characterised by a high risk of cardiovascular collapse secondary to electrolyte imbalance if left untreated or unmanaged.

In the context of mental health, refeeding syndrome is often discussed in relation to anorexia nervosa. However, it has also been observed in patients with other psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia, severe depression, and alcoholism. These patients may refuse food for prolonged periods, creating a malnourished or starved metabolic state.

The early signs of refeeding syndrome may be nonspecific and can go unnoticed, especially in a psychiatric setting where the index of suspicion may be low. Therefore, awareness of this condition among mental health professionals is crucial to prompt early recognition and timely management, which can save the lives of vulnerable patients.

Frequently asked questions