Ep.28 Luis Villaseñor: Ketogenic diets, myths & misconceptions

The Health Scientist Podcast

Luis is the founder of Ketogains, an online keto diet accountability community. He is an international speaker and specialist in low carb, paleo and intermittent fasting protocols for health and body recomposition as well as holding a host of other nutrition and fitness certifications.

Luis is regarded as one of the most experienced and knowledgeable persons on Low-Carb / Ketogenic dieting, and is the “go to guy” when applying a Low-Carb diet for Bodybuilding and Strength Training by well-known and respected insiders, leaders, influencers of the low carb/paleo and general fitness community such as Robb Wolf, Menno Henselmans, Mark Sisson, among many more.

Luis' Instagram

Ketogains Instagram

Ketogains Website

In this episode we cover:

• The common assumption that ketogenic diets will eventually be bad for health... no matter how long someone successfully implements one.
• Luis' weightloss journey and how it lead him to discover ketogenic dieting and to get into strength training
• How Luis used a ketogenic diet to gain muscle without putting on a lot of fat.
• What actually is a ketogenic diet, what is ketosis and what are ketones?
• The problem with defining diets by macronutrient ratios or percentages.
• The evolutionary reason for the production of ketones in the body.
• Why taking exogenous ketones won't necessarily give someone all the benefits of a ketogenic diet especially in term of fat loss.
• Some of the biggest misconceptions surrounding keto diets
• Why ketogenic diets don't need to be high fat especially if you're trying to lose fat.
• Why eating more protein won't kick people out of ketosis long term
• The importance of sufficient protein for maintaining and building muscle and why that's important for long term health
• The role of anabolic resistance or leucine insensitivity in the development of sarcopenia
• The problem with doing keto by focusing on highly processed keto-alternatives to junk food
• The importance of sticking to the same regular/consistent foods while dieting in order to reduce decision fatigue
• The importance of a whole foods approach to ketogenic diets
• What does Luis' own ketogenic diet look like and how he keeps it interesting with different herbs and spices
• Ketogenic diets don't need to be expensive and people can actually save money from not spending money on snack foods.
• What are some of the challenges people face when starting a ketogenic diet?
• What is "Keto-Flu" and how can electrolytes help?
• What types of keto diets can be poor for long term health
• The importance of changing habits, perceptions, mentality and one's relationship with food and eating for long term success.