Looking For Diet and Training Guidance

[Ckitchens11]

Currently, I am on a keto diet, eating around 3,000 calories a day. I am also working out twice a day 5 days out of the week, one weight, one calisthenic (I.E. MMA, rock climbing). I am running 3-5 miles a day 5 days out of the week, and ruck twice a week for 5-8 miles. Have been told that keto is non-advisable for anything involved in the military. Should I keep my diet and just add carbs like pasta into it? Or drastically change it? Am also wondering if I am working out too much or too little? as I can only go off plans on the internet and cant afford to hire a personal trainer.

 

[Florida173]

Currently, I am on a keto diet, eating around 3,000 calories a day. I am also working out twice a day 5 days out of the week, one weight, one calisthenic (I.E. MMA, rock climbing). I am running 3-5 miles a day 5 days out of the week, and ruck twice a week for 5-8 miles. Have been told that keto is non-advisable for anything involved in the military. Should I keep my diet and just add carbs like pasta into it? Or drastically change it? Am also wondering if I am working out too much or too little? as I can only go off plans on the internet and cant afford to hire a personal trainer.

YMMV..

Who said that keto is bad for the military? It's just a pain in the ass to maintain when doing anything in the field. A few former cool guys I know that have transitioned to staff use keto to maintain their weight.

 

[Ckitchens11]

An old Green beret that is friends with family. Maybe it is just a case of him being a little out of the loop with diets. But you bring up a good point.

 

[PDL]

For weight loss, all that matters is calories in vs. calories out.

Keto, non keto, south beach diet, Paleo, gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, Atkins diet, who cares

 

[LibraryLady]

For weight loss, all that matters is calories in vs. calories out.

Keto, non keto, south beach diet, Paleo, gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, Atkins diet, who cares

Riiight...

So, that means a diet of candy bars is ok just so long as you are sweating off more calories in the sauna, hmmm?

LL

 

[0699]

Riiight...

So, that means a diet of candy bars is ok just so long as you are sweating off more calories in the sauna, hmmm?

LL

Surprisingly, there have been people that have lost weight on an all junk food diet...

This Guy Only Ate Junk Food For A Month And Lost 11 Pounds

 

[LibraryLady]

Surprisingly, there have been people that have lost weight on an all junk food diet...

This Guy Only Ate Junk Food For A Month And Lost 11 Pounds

The article does point out he restricted his caloric intake which helped. Not many people have that will power when it comes to junk food. And the long term affect of not getting the right kind of nutrients is not discussed.

Calories in/out needs to be a life long sustainable balance that's easy on the pocketbook, not time consuming, not stressful or strict, (like Keto and Paleo), flexible, and, in the case of the OP, maintainable in austere conditions.

In other words, simple and practical.

LL

 

[Cookie_]

For weight loss, all that matters is calories in vs. calories out.

Keto, non keto, south beach diet, Paleo, gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, Atkins diet, who cares

For weight loss sure; for overall health, managing your micro/macro nutrients are important as well.

I tend to follow, and reccomend to my guys, a whole foods, plant based diet.
It's a basic enough eating protocol (no processed foods, more veggies than starches, good meat sources) that it can be modified to match Keto/Vegan/whatever.

 

[LibraryLady]

Back to the OP.

Quit worrying about your diet so much. Relax, chase whatever gets your motor running, read a book for fun, take up a hobby, enjoy school.

BE 21!!!

That way when you're old, you'll some great memories.

LL

 

[Ooh-Rah]

Seems to me....a guy would want to figure out what kinda food he was going to have access to during bootcamp, MOS training, and beyond. Seems kinda silly to get the body used to a complicated diet plan that he may not have an opportunity to maintain for a year or longer.
Just a thought.

 

[MikeDelta]

Just workout and eat a well balanced diet.

Unless you’re overweight by military standards you’ll lose any additional body fat during training. So, @LibraryLady makes a very good point.

But if you really want to do the food management thing: 40% carbs (fiberous, not processed), 30% protein, 30% friendly fats (medium chain triglycerides)...My Fitness Pal app is great for tracking this. It’s very good for cal in vs. cal out tracking. @Cookie_ suggests a great diet. Can’t go wrong with whole foods

Caculate your BMR first and create a 500-1000 calorie deficit with exercise. At your age and for how much you’re training you might not be eating enough.

Take one day a week and eat whatever you want.

The chow hall is going to have anything from Chilimac to sausage biscuits and gravy, fruit, bread, milk, mini cereal boxes, eggs, grits...Just normal food. Eat it all, eat as much as you can, as fast as you can.

One time in the chow hall a Drill Sergeant intensely boomed at me “PRIVATE, WHY DO YOU EAT SO MUCH FUCKING FOOD?!!!” I replied with equal intensity. “DRILL SERGEANT, IT KEEPS MY PT UP!”...and it did. Perfect 300s. On my final OSUT APFT I blew it and hit 298, went overboard on sit-ups (116 in two minutes), made me fall a bit short in energy for other exercises.

So,eat,eat,eat to feed your body and brain. And give 100% and then some everyday.

The DSs will modify your diet if they think it is needed. But again, get to the table fast and eat FAST! Before the Drills start yelling “GET UP, GET OUT!!!

 

[CupCake]

Coming from personal experience I just do what Rob Shaul from MTI recommends.
Eat meat, fruits, veggies, nuts, and eggs 6x a week and eat whatever you want 1 day a week. Eating really clean foods makes hitting your calorie goal a lot easier because its nutritionally dense. 1 package of pop tarts has more calories than half a pound of chicken breast. Then again, I'm a textbook ectomorph / naturally big guy, and can hold onto muscle mass pretty easily. I went to Scout Swimmers where you dont even run, just ruck and fin and lost 12 lbs from the MREs and my PFT went from 22:20 to 21 flat without even training for it. Mass is mass, the less dead weight you have the faster you're going to be.

 

[Ooh-Rah]