When an organism is in the condition called ketosis, the main processes are such that there is maximum use of fats for energy. Even with reduced intake of calories the body muscle mass is preserved. But can we use cyclic ketone diet as a means of increasing muscle mass while keeping the level of body fats low? The diet
The most important part in using cyclic ketone diet for mass growing is increasing the calorie intake by 20 percent in comparison to the usual level. The best way to take in more calories is by consuming big quantities of steaks, fish, chicken, whole eggs, sausages, bacon and protein shakes, mixed with olive oil. To maintain the “ketone condition” we must consume 1.5g of fat for each gram of protein.

Divide your daily menu into 5-10 meals. This is done to make sure that the muscles will be saturated with enough nutrients for growth.

The most important difference between a ketone diet for growth and one for cleansing is carbohydrates.

During the growth phase a 36-hour charging with carbohydrates is recommend in order to ensure a considerable influx of carbohydrates into the muscles. The other essential difference is that now an additional 1000 calories mixed with a good quantity of protein will be taken in about 2 hours before the Wednesday workout. This is done to charge the organism with enough Glycogen in order to maintain high intensity. 

The reason
Let us discuss the reasons for that radical plan. If we decide that you are going to do your carbohydrate charging from Friday evening to Sunday morning, most of you will want to work their bodies when the muscles are overloaded with glycogen. The next workout will be on Wednesday, when the charging is done with 1000 calories mainly from carbohydrates. The idea is that by Wednesday your glycogen should have reached a fairly low level and the new influx of carbohydrates will restore it. The next workout will be on Friday evening before the carbohydrate charging. In this workout the whole body must be worked in order to exhaust the glycogen stores totally and provoke the anabolic processes after you begin charging with carbohydrates.

The workout
We are not going to delve into the methods of training because every organism is unique and reacts differently to one and the same training plan. My basic advice is to work one part of the body on Sunday, when carbohydrate charging has been done, then work another part on Wednesday and finally, on Friday, work the whole body. Another important thing is that you should keep to basic exercises like squats, dead lift, barbell row, shoulder press, barbell curls, triceps extension, etc. Do about 3 or 4 exercises for the bigger parts of the body and 2 or 3 for the smaller ones, maintaining a greater intensity and repeat between 4 and 10 times. Keep to a minimum the rests between the series and avoid cardio – use it only in the beginning of the workout as a warm-up for about 10 minutes.

The supplements
High quality vitamins and minerals are recommended, especially the C, A and E vitamins, magnesium, calcium, zinc. The most suitable supplements for this kind of diet are:  vanadyl sulfate, chromium picolinate, alpha-lipoic acid; they provide better absorption of glucose in the muscle cells. Here is the way they are taken:

Sunday – Monday – Tuesday

- vanadyl sulfate - 120 mg, divided into 6 intakes with food;
- chromium/chromium picolinate -1000/300 micrograms, divided into 5 doses with food;
- magnesium - 1000 mg, divided into 4 or 5 intakes;
- alpha-lipoic acid - 600-1200 mg a day.

Wednesday
- vanadyl sulfate - 50 mg with the carbohydrates in the evening before workout;
- chromium/chromium picolinate - 200 micrograms with the carbohydrates;
- magnesium - 250 mg with the carbohydrates;
- alpha-lipoic acid - 600-1200 mg a day.

Friday evening and Saturday evening – the same as on Monday and Tuesday.

The other important supplements are creatine and glutamine. They are taken in great quantities only during carbohydrate charging in order to increase the hydrating of the muscle cell. Creatine must be taken in doses of 40g a day during carbohydrate charging and glutamine – in doses of 60g a day together with creatine. On the other days taking them will not be particularly useful due to lack of carbohydrates in food. The very dietary plan will not be discussed as it is the same as with ketone diet (fats and protein). If you fear of overdosing the carbohydrates, add 1g of hydroxycitric acid before carbohydrate charging.