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Perfect Keto, Bodybuilding, and Hormones with Chris Irvin

Robert Sikes

• October 29th, 2021

I had the pleasure of being a guest on the Perfect Keto podcast with Chris Irvin and decided to share it with my audience as well. We discussed everything from bodybuilding to hormones and this episode is chock full of great information.

Chris is a health researcher, writer, and educator focusing on the impact of low carb and keto diets on health and human performance. Chris has a master’s degree in exercise and nutrition science and spent his time in graduate school studying and conducting ketogenic research. Chris is the creator of the brand The Ketologist, which is known for producing social media infographics and educational health content. Chris is the author of Keto Answers, Mommy Do I Have to Eat This?, and is the education manager at Perfect Keto. (https://www.theketologist.com/about)

What we discussed on this episode:

The effect the Covid pandemic has had on the conferences we used to love to attend (1:46)
Keto Brick and the reasons behind its creation (3:23)
The difficulties in creating and selling a product for mass consumption (5:16)
My recommendations for how people can use the keto brick in their day-to-day life and training regimen (7:36)
The detrimental effects of severe caloric restriction (8:35)
The benefits of reverse dieting (13:52)
My approach to working with new clients, especially those who have been training under an extreme calorie deficit (15:40)
The anomaly of clients actually losing weight when increasing calories (18:52)
Reverse dieting and how to approach it (19:43)
The importance of sustainability in any nutritional plan (21:35)
Macro tracking and the benefits of constantly tweaking them to find the best balance for your body (22:46)
Building muscle while trying to lose fat and why it’s not efficient to try to do both at the same time (27:46)
The transition from a cutting phase to a bulking phase (30:19)
The importance of getting enough protein (34:02)
How hormones are affected by nutrition in positive and negative ways (35:40)
Protein recommendations depending on your goals (38:35)
Building muscle and competing while following a ketogenic diet (42:04)
The possibility of continuing to improve rather than decline as you age (47:25)
The basics of building muscle (48:42)
Cardio training and its place in bodybuilding (51:37)
Recovery between workouts on the ketogenic diet (52:33)
The long term benefits of following a ketogenic diet (58:44)
The difference between coaching men and coaching women and the hormone implications of each (1:03:42)
Increasing carbohydrate intake around a woman’s cycle and the supposed benefits of doing that (1:07:09)
Concerns surrounded a very strict caloric deficit in women preparing for a competition (1:09:30)
Bodybuilding and the issues it can cause with hormonal health, food relationships, and more (1:15:29)