NFL Linemen Turn to Ketogenic, No-Carb Diet! Even Lebron James Loves Low Carbs!

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NFL Linemen Turn to Fatty, No-Carb Diet

Players say ‘ketogenic’ diet makes them leaner and reduces soreness after exercise, allowing them to train with greater intensity and for longer periods

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Jets guard Brian Winters is an ardent supporter of the ketogenic diet, in which fats and proteins are burned for fuel instead of carbohydrates. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES



By STU WOO

Aug. 20, 2015 8:30 p.m. ET4 COMMENTS

U.S. health officials recommend that carbohydrates make up 45% to 65% of every adult’s diet, with the remaining calories coming from fat (20% to 35%) and protein (10% to 35%).
By that standard, four NFL offensive linemen, two Jets and two Giants, might seem bonkers for undertaking a diet comprising about 70% fat, 30% protein—and almost no carbohydrates at all.
The 300-pound blockers, who are toiling in training camp to prepare for the start of the regular season in three weeks, are partaking in a fashionable and controversial regimen called a ketogenic diet, or just “keto,” as they call it. The idea is that they can force their bodies to burn fat, rather than the carbohydrates people typically burn, as fuel. They say the diet makes them leaner and reduces soreness after exercise, allowing them to train with greater intensity and for longer periods.
The most famous ketogenic practitioner is NBA star LeBron James, who slimmed down with the regimen during the 2014 off-season.
“You feel leaner,” said Giants lineman Geoff Schwartz. “You feel like you have more energy. You recover from workouts. You just feel better in general.”

‘You feel leaner. You feel like you have more energy. You recover from workouts. You just feel better in general.’
—Giants lineman Geoff Schwartz

Some nutritionists, however, caution that the benefits of the diet are unproven, and that it’s unsustainable in the long run. Until a few years ago, nutritionists said the keto diet was recommended to only the morbidly obese, because it helped them lose weight, and for children with epilepsy, because it was found to reduce seizures.

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“It’s definitely new and trendy,” said Kate Patton, a dietician with Cleveland Clinic Sports Health. “There’s not a ton of conclusive long-term research on this. There’s obviously so much more research on balanced-carbohydrate diets and their benefits.”
Schwartz and Jets guard Brian Winters have been the most ardent ketogenic dieters, while Giants center Weston Richburg and Jets guard Willie Colon have tried variations of it. The link among them is that they all attended an off-season training program for offensive lineman run by former NFL center LeCharles Bentley, who said he discovered the diet while rehabbing from an injury in 2007.
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There are two main benefits to the ketogenic diet, said Dr. Stephen Phinney, a nutritional expert who, along with Ohio State professor Jeff Volek, has studied the low-carb lifestyle. The first is that people can shed fat and replace it with lean muscle.
“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,” said Phinney, adding that those following the diet should eat a small amount of carbs, from nutritious sources such as fruits and vegetables.
Phinney said the low-carb diet also activates the body’s anti-inflammatory defenses, reducing the soreness people feel in their muscles a day or two after an intense workout. That, Phinney said, can allow athletes to double the amount of training they do.

‘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.’
—nutritionist Katie Ferraro

Some nutritionists question these benefits. Katie Ferraro, an assistant professor and dietician at the University of California-San Francisco, said the body doesn’t efficiently process fat and protein as energy.
“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.”
She added that it’s almost impossible to quantify whether such a diet actually reduces delayed onset muscle soreness.
Schwartz, the Giants lineman, stuck to the ketogenic diet from about March 1 to the start of training camp. He said the first two weeks were the most difficult as his body adjusted to burning fat rather than carbs. “You’re just hungry, but once you get to the keto state, you feel great,” he said.
Schwartz said the most difficult part of the diet was making sure that 70% of the calories he consumed came from fat: “In my mind, it’s hard to process eating that fat. This is what I’ll work on next year. I’ve already planned out how to do this…coconut oil, avocados, olive oil, all that stuff.”
ENLARGE
Giants center Weston Richburg has also given the ketogenic diet a try. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES


Since training camp started, Schwartz has been eating carbohydrates at dinner to give him more energy, though he sticks to the no-sugar rule that Bentley recommended. That means no Gatorade (he drinks water instead) and no fruit, so he takes a multivitamin to ensure he gets all his nutrients.
Winters, the Jets guard, has stuck with the diet during training camp. On a recent day, he had egg whites and cheese for breakfast, chicken and vegetables for lunch, and hamburger patties with cheese and vegetables for dinner. He also drank several low-carb protein shakes throughout the day.
Winters said he has one “cheat day” during the week in which he eats healthy carbs, such as whole-grain pasta, to respark his insulin levels. That day will be Saturday, the day before games.
“If you kind of binge off [the ketogenic diet] and then eat a bunch of carbs the night before a game, it’s just a natural energy,” Winters said. “It actually really works.”
But Phinney said there was no scientific evidence that eating carbohydrates during the midst of a ketogenic diet can increase energy levels, though there is some anecdotal evidence from several elite athletes. For someone on a ketogenic diet, those carbs would be shunted directly into muscles for energy, rather than being immediately burned, Phinney said.
Ferraro, the California professor, said the pregame carbs could boost Winters’s energy, but that he needed more carbs throughout the week to sustain his energy level.
“It’s not a sustainable way to eat,” she said.

[The Solution]

holy cow at 400g of protein!

[doubleogordo]

Is it just me or has the pro carbohydrate crowd backed off the keto community a little bit? I don't hear as much backlash as in the past

[warthog]

Bad things will start happening soon and IT WILL be blamed on the keto diet. Whenever something becomes "cool" it gets abused , distorted and eventually ruined. Watch this space.

[Sandpig]

New and trendy? Why is the rest of the world so far behind the Bodybuilders when it comes to training and nutrition?

[Joe Pietaro]

Both of these players (Winters and Richburg)are very important young guys to their respective teams, as they started as rookies a year ago and will once again do so in 2015. It will be very interesting to see how they do using this diet. Both are big offensive lineman and these guys are known for consuming massive amounts of food and not "dieting," per se.

[Jude2]

He needs to stop the cheat meals. Might get fat.