The Wall Street Journal published a new article about pro football players using a low carb/high fat diet (LCHF) a couple of days ago, and unfortunately for them, it wasn't business related, which drastically increases the likelihood of irrelevance.
And like most mainstream articles about ketosis, we've got about an 80/20 ratio of comedy to reality here, which is to be expected. But the quotes from keto experts Stephen Phinney and Jeff Volek seem quite adulterated, and/or taken out of context, which, I suppose, is also to be exptected.
For example, “If you don’t eat carbs for about six days in a row and eat your protein, then your body becomes very proficient at using fat for fuel, not just when you exercise but when you’re resting,” Weird comment for Phinney to make, because, in his books, he is pretty clear that:
A) You don't need to "not eat carbs", you just need to restrict them to about 5-10-% of calories. Which can actually equate to quite a bit of veggies, or even a fucking huge bowl of chili, or a plate of french fries, for a grown ass man eating 3,000 calories a day.
B) Most people will require about two weeks to become adapted, not six days.
C) Protein should be moderated (15-20%), and the focus should be on fat. I would expect him to say something more along the lines of "If you restrict your carbs (not eliminate) for about two weeks, while eating mostly fat, and some protein, then...blah blah blah fat loss".
Stu Woo, the author, also mentioned LeBron James as another athlete who's seen the keto light. Problem is, LeBron's diet isn't keto at all. Paleo maybe, but certainly not keto, unless Woo is privy to some new info on what LeBron is shoving in his pie-hole these days.
Takeaways from this article:
1) Dieticians/RD's continue to embarrass themselves anytime they're asked to contribue "expert advice" to a nutrition article
2) Volek & Phinney were likely misrepresented with their comments
3) Pretty cool that ketosis is getting some mainstream attention
Ketosis can be an excellent tool for ANY athletic endeavor (with a continuum running from explosive power to ultra endurance). However, its still going to be another 5-10 years before dieticians stop saying dumb shit like this: “If he’s working out and not eating any carbs, he’s basically trying to run his car on an empty gas tank,” Ferraro said. “Fueling up with just fat and protein is akin to trying to put diesel in an unleaded fuel tank and expecting your luxury car to run at peak performance.”
Oh Katie, that's adorable.