Ketogenic Diet
The other side to that is a diet void of carbohydrates. This can be tricky because if you’re not careful your body will devour muscle tissue when it needs fuel, so you need to be strict with what you eat and when to avoid that from taking place. Really, a ketogenic diet is like Atkins, which we know is a gimmick, but you can consume as many calories as you normally would and your food selections are fairly restricted (it’s even suggested to cut out fruits and veggies at first to get used to it); this might make it easier to shop and avoid confusion as to what you can or cannot consume.
Which brings us to the next point — what can you eat on a ketogenic diet? Bacon, eggs, salmon, whey protein, creatine, BCAAs, steak, spinach … the list goes on. So it’s not like you have slim pickings, it’s just that you’ll need to be careful about carbohydrate avoidance.
To keep yourself on point you’ll also need to pee on a ketone strip, which you can get at drug stores or Amazon: URS Urinalysis Strips For Ketone ($8 for 100).
Paleo Diet
Okay you’ve heard of this probably because it’s trendy and people love to say dumb things like, “I eat like a caveman!”*, but the Paleo diet makes sense — eat real food and cut out grains and refined sugar. It’s a good option for guys who are trying to drop excess weight while adding lean muscle. What can you eat? Meat (and lots of it), as well as eggs, veggies, chicken, nuts, seeds, seafood, and anything else you can hunt or pull out of a body of water.
*We’ve actually never met someone who has said this line.
