Peter Attia· MD
So you have when you >> let's talk about let's talk about why those occur >> and that's important because these are the things that kind of really throw a monkey wrench into some of the clinical trials when people become you know their electrolytes and they get dehydrated. So it's important topic. >> So when I stop eating carbohydrates and ramp up my fat. By the way, I do want to go back to sorry one other point. You keep saying high protein. Can you define high protein in this context? You talk I mean are you talking high by the standards of the RDA or are you just saying like you know are you saying like one gram per pound of body weight? Is that sort of your guidance? >> Yeah I mean historically you know 8 to 10 to 12% was used with ketogenic diets. So, I'm talking about a ketogenic diet that's 20 to 30% protein. So, that's considered high, >> but that's hard for people, I think, sometimes. I mean, you can obviously back calculate into that by the calories, but do you find it easier to just say, look, >> keep your carbs at 50 gram and try to get them from high fiber carbs, get your protein to x grams, and then limit your total calories to whatever 3,000 with fat filling the rest. Um, in other words, what is it typically working out to in terms of grams per pound of body weight in term in protein? >> Yeah, in protein uh if me for example, right? So, uh would be upwards of I'm about 220 pounds. So, that would be uh I know it sounds crazy, but you know, from the average RD registered dietitian, but 220 grams of protein. Yeah. So, that would be the upper end if I'm very active. I mean today maybe I won't get that or when I'm traveling >> but that amount of protein I think uh is the upper end. I don't think there's any benefits to go above and be beyond that. >> And at that level of protein you're not undergoing so much glucanogenesis that you're making too much glucose that's offsetting the ketone process. >> Yeah. Everybody's a unique uh metabolic entity. So they're going to have a different response. But for me personally, uh especially having eaten 4 or 500 grams of protein, and that's not I'm not exaggerating there. When I was in my late teens and 20s, uh that works for me. That level of protein works for me. Uh for some people, especially if they're going to jump from 50 grams a day or the RDA recommendations to uh and you want to do that to ideal body weight. So if you have some >> because the RDA for you is 80 gram. >> Yeah. >> Exactly. 80 grams. You're you're 100 kilos. Yeah. >> The RDA recommends you have 80 g of protein, not 220 g. >> At 80 g, you would not be able to maintain your muscle. >> No, not not in my context. No, definitely not. Uh the more muscle you have, the more protein, they just have much higher protein turnover. So, you're breaking down protein, building protein. That whole cascade is amped up probably several times higher in the especially if you're working out and breaking down protein, you have a fast metabolism. uh my recent uh you know resting metabolic rate showed it was 34% higher. So I don't you know I don't know give I I'd have to do further studies but they thought it was they wanted to redo it and then they >> that's even when adjusted for your lean mass. >> Yeah. Am I resting? Yep. So uh and I don't know you know I'm I'm going to redo it in about two weeks. I was also off creatine and some other things. So I'm reloading on creatine just started and uh and gonna redo that again. But yeah, my my lean mass is kind of I'm pretty heavier. So I don't want to throw that's the upper limit. And I think if people you can gradually increase your protein but I'm pro I've been very vigilant now with my protein especially after turning 50 that this is important because things start to your sarcopenia and the loss of lean body mass is almost considerably higher you know as you know like in your 50s and there's different reasons for that but activity is the main mitigator for that. So, if you're providing a stimulus for your body to grow and maintain muscle, you need uh protein that's double the recommended daily allowance. I think if you're really going to be proactive about it, >> any other kind of quick dos and don'ts around things like fruit, berries, uh artificial sweeteners, how do you think about all of those things as they factor into a ketogenic diet? >> Yeah. Uh, I think fat and I tend to like I guess carb backload at the end of the day. I eat no carbs all day and at dinner I'll have like a salad or vegetables and then in the evening I have wild blueberries which have like a third of the the sugar of regular uh raspberries, blueberries, wild ones. And then I have like uh a keto mousse which is just cocoa powder, chocolate ketone powder and uh and