by Christian Thibaudeau
The Regressive Ketogenic Cycle: http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_art ... _dominance
Warning: The method I'm about to explain is extreme and is not how I recommend dieting all of the time.
However, it's a very effective way to shed a ton of fat... fast!
The Regressive Ketogenic diet is a cyclic diet that has three types of days:
1) Fat dominant: 70% of your calories come from fat, 30% from protein, and you only eat trace carbs, shooting for less than 20 grams of them per day.
2) Equal ratio fat and protein: 50% of your calories come from fat, 50% from protein, and you only eat trace carbs.
3) Isocaloric: Similar to the Zone diet in that it's a 40% protein, 30% fat, and 30% carb diet, but you never mix fats with carbs (three protein plus fat meals and three protein plus carb meals).
I'm not a huge fan of calorie counting, but it can be useful to easily establish your basic nutrient breakdown. If you're 15% body fat or above, your caloric intake should be set at around 11 calories per pound. If you're between 10 and 14%, it should be set at around 12 calories per pound, and if you're below 10% it should be set at 13 calories per pound.
Let's say that you're a stout 200 pounds at 15% body fat. Thus, your caloric intake is around 2,200 calories per day. Depending on the day, then, your nutritional breakdown looks like this:
Type 1: 1,540 calories from fat (171 grams), 660 calories from protein (165 grams), and less than 20 grams of carbs
Type 2: 1,100 calories from fat (122 grams), 1,100 calories from protein (275 grams), and less than 20 grams of carbs
Type 3: 660 calories from fat (73 grams), 880 calories from protein (220 grams), and 660 calories from carbs (165 grams)
...
As the weeks progress and your body becomes fat adapted, the number of Type 1 days will decrease:
Week 1
Monday: Type 1
Tuesday: Type 1
Wednesday: Type 1
Thursday: Type 2
Friday: Type 2
Saturday: Type 2
Sunday: Type 3
Week 2
Monday: Type 1
Tuesday: Type 1
Wednesday: Type 2
Thursday: Type 2
Friday: Type 2
Saturday: Type 2
Sunday: Type 3
Week 3
Monday: Type 1
Tuesday: Type 1
Wednesday: Type 2
Thursday: Type 2
Friday: Type 2
Saturday: Type 3
Sunday: Type 3
Week 4
Monday: Type 1
Tuesday: Type 1
Wednesday: Type 2
Thursday: Type 2
Friday: Type 3
Saturday: Type 3
Sunday: Type 3
If you can tough it out, you'll drop between four and five percent body fat in four weeks. After that, eat normally for a week, and if you still want to get leaner, start a new cycle from scratch.
Remember, this isn't an optimal way of dieting over the long run. It's a quick fat loss blitz. It'll allow you to maximize fat loss in four weeks without losing muscle mass. But if you stay on this approach for too long, you risk losing some lean body mass because of the drastic caloric restriction.
I liked the article and I posted it. I believe that if you cycle your calories or just eat more than he suggests(for the pursose of quick fat loss) you can stay on this diet for much longer,maybe make it a habit.
