Some people believe that the ketogenic diet is an efficient way to build muscle, whereas others argue the exact opposite: that it restricts your ability to train hard and that you will recover slower and be sorer.
Although the exact opposite is often said by supporters of the diet.
They say your strength will skyrocket, and you will feel less sore and recover faster.
But which is true?
In this article, I’ll discuss if it is possible to build muscle on keto.
Do You Need Carbs to Build Muscle?
Carbs are beneficial for muscle gain if your main fuel source is carbs. But, if you do a ketogenic diet, your body will adjust to using fats for fuel, so you won’t need carbs to train effectively.
So, if you’re doing a ketogenic diet, you don’t need to eat carbs to workout since your muscles can use ketones for energy.
Is It Possible to Build Muscle on Keto?
It’s possible to build muscle on keto. This is because, on a ketogenic diet, your muscles adjust to using ketones and fats for energy instead of carbs. So, you don’t need to consume carbs to build muscle if you do a ketogenic diet.
Is It Possible to Build Muscle With Intermittent Fasting?
Though it’s possible to build muscle with intermittent fasting, it isn’t optimal for building muscle. This is because the optimal meal frequency for building muscle is four high-protein meals spaced three hours between each other.
But, you can still build muscle with intermittent fasting; it just isn’t optimal.
Personally, I couldn’t build any muscle doing OMAD, which is one meal a day.
But, when I do normal 16:8 intermittent fasting, I still build muscle.
How Many Meals Should You Eat on Keto to Build Muscle
If your goal is to build muscle on keto, you should aim to eat four meals with 30 grams of protein spaced three hours between each other, so your body gets a good range of amino acids throughout the day without spiking your insulin too much. For example, you can have meals at 7, 10, 1, and 4.
But if your main goal is to lose weight, then you should eat fewer meals and do intermittent fasting instead of eating four meals per day.
How to Build Muscle on a Low-Carb Diet
To build muscle on a low-carb diet, you should lift weights every day, eat four meals with 30 grams of protein spaced three hours between each other, and you should increase the number of calories that you eat each day.
And, if you want a sample full-body workout routine that I use every day to build muscle, here it is:
Full-Body Muscle Building Workout Routine
Note: I’m 150 pounds, and I eat 4,000 calories per day with this routine to gain weight. This routine is high in volume, but with 4,000 calories, good rest, and high volume, you’re guaranteed to build muscle.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it’s definitely possible to build muscle on a ketogenic diet.
This is because your muscles can adjust to using ketones for energy instead of carbs.
But, if you’re doing intermittent fasting while trying to gain muscle, your results will be slightly hindered since the optimal meal frequency for muscle gain is four meals with 30 grams of protein spaced three hours between each other.
However, if you want to commit to muscle gain instead of weight loss, I recommend doing the above workout every day and slowly progressing the weights at your level, consuming around 4,000 calories per day (adjust depending on your fat gain rate), and getting at least 9 hours of sleep per day.
I hope this helped to clear up some confusion about muscle gain on keto and if it’s possible or not.
And, if you want to find out how I lost 40 pounds with keto and OMAD, you can read my article here, where I share all of the secrets to sustainable weight loss and reversing insulin resistance and diabetes.
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