#78 Ketogenic Diet for Body Composition feat Ketogains Guys

Siim Land (0:01)

So, what up, we're back here at the Biohacker Summit in Toronto, and I'm here with Luis and Tyler from Ketogains. Yeah, awesome to finally meet you in person, and how have you found the conference so far?

Luis Villasenor (0:15)

Yeah, it's pretty interesting.

It's, I'd say, a little different on the topic that we normally like to talk about, because it's not really focused on body composition, but more so on the mind aspect of either how to apply ketogenic diet or other dietary approaches to improve cognition or lifespan, etc. But yeah, it's a pretty interesting convention. And so far, I'd say one of the best organized, I'd say, within this year.

Tyler Cartwright (0:48)

Yeah, it's been a really high-end affair from start to finish, which is great to see. It doesn't look like corners were cut to save a whole lot of expenses. So that's great.

Siim Land (0:56)

Yeah, that's cool. Of course, like you said, it's slightly different from body composition and bodybuilding purposes. But I also always think that bodybuilders are actually like the OG biohackers in a sense.

They're actually knowing how to manipulate the physiology and that you actually achieve certain goals. The goals are different, but the methods are really the cutting-edge thing.

Tyler Cartwright (1:19)

And understanding the puts and takes. So understanding that investing over here requires compensating over there and appreciating the fact that there is a biologically no such thing as a free lunch either. I mean, ultimately, you sacrifice one thing for another, something like a racetam compound or something. It's great for nootropic benefits, but it also depletes the coelene. So now you've got to be even more intentional with respect to the diet. So, I mean, there's always these kinds of games, but to your point, bodybuilders and power lifters have been playing these games for years, just not so much for the mental effects, but to squeeze another centimeter out of a bicep.

Luis Villasenor (2:02)

In a way, a lot of the supplements that bodybuilders use are really not to gain muscle, like pre-workouts and so on, but mostly for reduce, yeah, perceived fatigue.

Siim Land (2:14)

Right.

Luis Villasenor (2:14)

So that you can get one or two extra reps is not really muscle related, more so mental related.

Siim Land (2:20)

For sure.

Luis Villasenor (2:20)

So in a way, they are very much, like you said, the original biohackers without knowing that of course.

Siim Land (2:25)

Yeah, for sure. Yeah, exactly.

But I think we can safely say that the myth of that you can't build muscle in keto has been debunked for sure. You guys have seen great results in the keto against community, but I would like to say it's still a method, but it's a method of many. So, why did you choose to do the keto against methods or why did you choose to do the keto diet to build muscle and to composition your body?

Luis Villasenor (2:55)

In the broad sense of things, I'd say in my case, because of the simplicity and because it helped me control calories even without counting, to put it in another way, you have a little bit more leeway and you don't want to be that much exact. A lot of people can do what we call lazy keto and get great results or you can optimize and count everything and get even better results. I'm not saying that keto is the best diet to build muscle, but for certain situations, for certain types of personalities, it can be the best version for them.

In my case, for example, I was first overweight, then I went through a period of anorexia because I was afraid of regaining and I also saw it very easy to not eat. I did basically not intermittent fasting, but I'd say stupid fasting because I lost weight but the wrong type of weight. And with keto, what it helped me is basically eat for my macros, not be overly hungry and not hungry in the way that they said it today, Ben Granfield said it, and I agree very much with him. If you want to lose weight, there comes a time where you will have to experience hunger. It's a given.

Exactly. That's part of the process. But there's a big difference between having physical hunger and having cravings, you know, uncontrolled cravings like sometimes we experience, especially when we are on a high-carb diet or over lip process foods, which are these like, I think more like a nudge or a compulsion to overeat that I've seen with a lot of females or bodybuilders, especially if you do, you know, cyclical style dieting, where you have the cheat meal. I see a lot of people happen to me just waiting for the cheat meal, like you are looking forward to it. I see it was the most important thing and really know the most important thing is being consistent with the training and with your macros. And in a way, keto helped me liberate me from that.