Mixed
Combining a ketogenic diet with resistance training promotes fat mass reduction in strength-trained individuals, but it does not support muscle mass accretion and may impair absolute strength and power gains compared to conventional diets.
If your goal is to lose fat while maintaining your current strength, a ketogenic diet combined with resistance training is a viable short-term strategy (up to 12 weeks). However, do not expect to build significant new muscle mass or maximize absolute strength/power gains; conventional diets with adequate carbohydrates are superior for those specific hypertrophy and power goals. Monitor protein intake closely (1.6-2.0 g/kg/day) to mitigate potential muscle loss.
growing evidence supports the effectiveness of an ad libitum and energy-balanced KD for reducing total body and fat mass... However, no – or negligible – benefits on body composition have been observed when comparing hypocaloric KD with conventional diets resulting in the same energy deficit. Moreover, some studies suggest that KD might impair resistance training-induced muscle hypertrophy, sometimes with concomitant decrements in muscle performance... KD might be therefore a beneficial strategy for promoting fat loss, although it might not be a recommendable option to gain muscle mass and strength/power.
Why this rating
The paper is a narrative review of short-term RCTs (mostly <12 weeks) with mixed results on performance and consistent but modest effects on body composition; long-term data is lacking.
Source
Effects of Combining a Ketogenic Diet with Resistance Training on Body Composition, Strength, and Mechanical Power in Trained Individuals: A Narrative Review
Pedro L. Valenzuela et al. · Nutrients · 2021
DOI 10.3390/nu13093083
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