Try Keto for Optimal Health, with Robert & Crystal Sikes

I'm not constantly hungry, I'm not craving. I'm not ever feeling those sensations. So it's much more even keel energy. There's not these crazy spikes and then dips. So just from a practical standpoint, I think that's one of the biggest appeals to it.

If you want to live like you matter, ditch the pills, look great, and feel freaking amazing, you're in the right place. I'm Dr. Wendy Trubo.

I'm Dr. Ed Levitan. Welcome to the Five Journeys podcast where.

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Hi, and welcome back to another episode of the Five Journeys podcast, Live like youe Matter. I'm Dr. Wendy Trubeau and this is Dr. Ed Levitan. And today we're talking to Robert Sykes and his wife Crystal Sykes, who are keto experts. So here we go. Robert Orion Sykes is a lifetime natural, competitive bodybuilder. He has since dedicated his life to learning and teaching others the benefit of following a well formulated ketogenic lifestyle. Robert now works along his wife Crystal and their amazing team to continually create content and add a ton of value within his community. His mission is and will continue to be empowering others to believe in themselves and truly tap into their full potential by optimizing their body and mind. Welcome, Crystal and Robert, thanks for being here.

Thanks for having us.

This is really exciting. Yeah, really. First of all, we were just saying before that we never had a couple. We interview us together and it's nice to have somebody else to interview together.

I know. Have your back.

Yeah, she's my better half, so anything that I say, as long as she agrees, we're on the same page.

We're also really like, keto is one of these things that is hugely popular and we want to talk about really what besides what keto is, which we have to define. But why is it so popular? What benefits? And really is it the same for men and women? So we love that you are both on to really give us perspective. So maybe let's talk about what is ketogenic diet and why do we even care?

Yes. I mean, at a very high level, I would say a ketogenic diet is basically just a dietary protocol that forces the body to burn fat and ketones for fuel as a opposed to carbohydrates and glucose. It's kind of hardwired into our DNA. From an evolutionary standpoint, we would become ketogenic in times of food scarcity especially if those foods are carbohydrate based and we're relying more on our stored body fat or fats and proteins in our environment. We've been using it for, I've been using it for seven years. Crystal has been keto for six years now. And we do it from an athletic standpoint as well. But we found it to be very sustainable. She's recovered from a lot of digestive issues. It's helped my performance with bodybuilding. So we're just passionate about the lifestyle and passionate about sharing the information with others.

Pretty awesome. So what are the other advantages? Can we talk about that?

So one of the big ones honestly is just that you get more stable blood sugar and blood glucose being blood sugar obviously. So you're not going to have the crazy swings, the highs and lows from a blood sugar standpoint.

So, so what would I feel in my body? Like what are the highs and lows that I would actually feel? What are the benefits I would actually get?

Yeah, so most people, like for instance, let's think about Thanksgiving dinner. Like people have, you know, go to Thanksgiving dinner, they eat all the pies, the pecan pies, pumpkin pies, all the good desserts. Then they go into like a food comatose. Afterwards they have a massive spike in blood sugar and then they're pretty much like paralyzed for the next few hours because of that drop, huge rise in blood sugar and then that corresponding drop as their insulin secretion picks up. So we basically avoid all of that. We don't fixate on food. We don't think about food all day long. We eat twice, sometimes just once a day. So my productivity is just on a whole other level because I'm not constantly hungry, I'm not craving, I'm not ever feeling those sensations. So it's much more even keel energy. There's not these crazy spikes and then dips. So just from a practical standpoint, I think that's one of the biggest appeals to it. And then you start looking long term from a longevity standpoint and having too high of a blood sugar over time. The glycation that, that you know, brings to the body, that's very inflammatory, it's not really great from a longevity standpoint. So all of my blood markers have improved since adopting a ketogenic diet. My HbA1C is like, I don't know, in the tank. I mean I don't have any inflammatory markers as a result of higher glycation levels. So that can all be mitigated by not having that much sugar. In the diet to begin with. So those are some high level points that people typically look at when they're adopting a kid's e diet.

Yeah, I want to emphasize that because productivity, I think not only are you more productive, I think your brain gets clearer too when you get rid of the sugars, which makes you think clearer and actually make that thing up there work.

Yeah, there's no hangry. We don't ever get hangry either. People get hungry and they get angry and then your productivity is obviously non existent because you're just fixating on food. So we don't really have that either.

Well, actually, I have a friend that just went ketogenic probably two, three months ago. And one thing that he remarked, which was really cool, was before ketogenic, he was constantly thinking of his next meal. So much of his mind was he ate something and then he had a meal and the next thing he was thinking about is where he's going to get his next meal. Like it was occupying so much of his time. And when he went ketogenic, that goes away, or at least that was his experience. And it sounds like it's similar in terms of not having to think about you're not hungry or not as hungry. So you eat when you need to eat, but you're not constantly searching for food.

Right. I mean, if you think about it from just a physiological standpoint, if you're eating carbohydrates and glucose, your body can only store so much of that at a given point. So you eat a meal, your blood sugar rises, your body secretes insulin, your blood sugar drops. As your blood sugar drops, you become hungry. I mean, you have this increase in hunger. Whereas once you become ketogenic and fat adapted, you don't have these swings in blood sugar, so you have that working in your favor. Plus, when you do deplete the little bit of blood sugar that you do have, you don't automatically feel hungry. Your body's able to tap into your stored fat for energy very efficiently. Whereas if even if you have quite a bit of body fat that you're carrying, if you're not fat adapted and your body doesn't know to naturally go to that for fuel supply, you're going to feel hungry and you're going to go for your next carbohydrate meal. Whereas once you become ketogenic, your body is able to use the dietary fat and proteins that you consume. And then after several hours of that meal where you would normally be hungry again, your body just simply transitions to burning stored fat, so there's not really any break in that energy cycle, and thus you don't have those cravings, which is why people can fast for extended periods of time once they become fat adapted without feeling totally distraught as a result of not eating food very frequently. There are definitely a lot of proponents, a lot of people that say that you cannot do a ketogenic diet long term because it's not optimal for hormonal health, or you lose some metabolic flexibility, so to speak, if you do not incorporate more carbohydrates when it comes to that from a hormonal standpoint, a lot of people that have adverse hormonal effects after following a ketogenic diet are experiencing that. Not so much because they're following a ketogenic diet per se, but because with the removal of carbohydrates and the satiating nature of a higher fat diet, many people aren't consuming ample calories. So if they're not getting enough fuel coming in, their hormonal shift will likely downregulate and that will have some adverse effects. So oftentimes clients will come to me, they've been chronically undereating for far too long, and that's gonna be the primary driver for that drop in hormonal health. But if we bring those calories back up, they're taking in more fuel, all from ketogenic sources, but just more fuel in general. Their body's able to, you know, regain that hormonal balance and not really have the same issues. So I would argue it's more an issue with caloric intake and overall energy consumption, as opposed to the fact that they're following a ketogenic diet when it comes to hormones. And then with regard to losing metabolic flexibility, some people advocate that, hey, if you're not eating carbohydrates and sugars on a regular basis and asking your body to be able to assimilate that nutrition, your body's gonna lose its ability to do so. But in reality there may be. Just as you become keto adapted for the first time, there's a little bit of a shift there. Your body has to learn to use ketones and fat for fuel. So there may be a little bit of a transfer lag there, so to speak, but the same is true when you switch back to burning carbohydrates and glucose. Your body doesn't forget how to use glucose. It may be a 24 hour, 48 hour shift, in which case you may not feel optimal, but then your body upregulates those pathways to use Carbohydrates and glucose. It's not like it forgets how to do so.

Yeah.

Do you remember that we were in some IV conference and he started to talk about how ketogenic diet is, has this huge increase in carnitine. But then he said, people who start a ketogenic diet need carnitine. And I went up to him and I said, you said sort of the opposite thing. And he said, well, yes, when you start a ketogenic diet, there's this massive requirement for carnitine. So often people need to supplement. And then once they get to steady state, that ketogenic diet is upregulating carnitine, which helps the mitochondria and improves energy. But in that gap, people often need to supplement right. Sort of at the outset. So before the mitochondria catch up.

Yeah, there's definitely an upregulation in metabolic pathways once you do switch over to keto. It's called like monocarboxylic transporters, MCT transporters. Those all upregulate to help shuttle lactate, pyruvate and ketone bodies. So once that upregulation process occurs, you're able to clear lactate much more efficiently. You have a higher lactate threshold and you're just able to, you know, deliver those nutrients, deliver that energy source to the cells, to the brain, much more efficiently. So, yeah, people that switch over to keto, you know, they're probably not going to feel their best self instantaneously, but once they have time to adapt, they feel much better. Typically, which that adaptation process takes a little bit different length of time for each individual, but if your electrolytes are dialed in, if everything else is dialed in properly, you can usually start experiencing the benefits after about a month or so.

Crystal, can we talk about. You're pregnant now, right?

Yes. Yeah, I'm 37 weeks now.

Congratulations. Are you doing keto?

And you look great.

Yeah, you look. I mean, I said before we started, you don't have that pregnant face. It's amazing. You look fantastic.

Well, thank you. Thanks. Yeah, yeah. I remain keto my entire pregnancy. It's just for me, it's like a lifestyle. So it's not something that I ever go on and off or. Robert mentioned that I've been doing keto for years and I don't ever. I don't really feel the need or it necessary to have a whole bunch of carbs. Even in the first trimester, people get some of those sweet cravings or they want something to settle their stomach. But I Just find alternatives that work really well for our life.

Okay, I have to do a disclaimer because we're talking about pregnant women. So this is not for everybody. Okay. Like people that choose your doctor. Yes, but talk to your doctor. We can't go on the book saying that everybody should. Every pregnant woman should be on keto. That's not good. I actually have a. And Crystal, you can choose to decline, not answer. But breastfeeding.

Can you breastfeed keto?

I'm assuming you can. But have there been a lot of women that I'm assuming? Because if you have a mostly fat based diet, a lot of the hindmilk is fat based. So do kids actually get bigger, faster?

Yeah, that's a good question. So I do have clients that I coach and I've helped a lot of women transition into keto even as they're breastfeeding, and they do extremely well. And I think that the important part is just making sure that if you're going to make that choice again, speak with your doctor. But also, you know, make it a slow transition. Make sure that you're getting plenty of calories in the first place. You still need lots of protein and then lots of fat as well, as well as keeping up with electrolytes and water and things like that. But I have not seen a difference in the size of the child. Whether they're gaining more fat or more, you know, muscle or moving faster or moving slower. It's all pretty relatively about the same.

Let's talk about your day to day. What does it mean to be on a keto diet? What are you actually eating? Because I think most people don't actually know what are you actually eating?

And are you intermittent fasting on top of that or in addition to that or not?

Yeah, so intermittent fasting and keto kind of go hand in hand. I mean, when you switch over to fat and ketones, you don't have near the hunger swings because your blood sugar and blood insulin are much more stable. So we'll typically eat two meals a day. I'll do like a quote unquote fat fast in the morning hours. So I'll wake up, have a cup of coffee with some heavy cream. So I'm technically breaking my fast with that heavy cream because it does contain calories, but it's not really going to have much of an impact on blood sugar. So it's kind of like a fat fast they call it in the keto space. So I'll have that. Crystal pretty much does something similar. And then we'll have our first meal after we train in the morning. So our first meal is typically around lunchtime, somewhere between 10 and 2. And that consists of ground beef, eggs, chicken, some vegetables. Crystal likes yogurt. So something of that nature, basically just higher fats, moderate protein, very minimal carbohydrate. And then we'll typically have a second and final meal in the evening hours. And that's pretty much typical day for us. So not too much to overthink as far as the nutrition goes. A lot of people think of keto as being incredibly restrictive and hard to find foods to make work. But I mean, we just take out the carbs, take out the bread and rice and the potatoes, and it's pretty easy to do.

Yes. Mostly we just like to promote that it's a whole food diet. You know, we stick to a lot of animal based product and then add in some vegetables here and there and that's pretty much. That's pretty much it. We're easy.

So what vegetables work and what vegetables don't work in a ketogenic diet?

Usually all your lower glycemic index vegetables. So your dark leafy greens. I don't eat a ton of vegetables. I kind of gravitate more towards the ketovore carnivore end of the spectrum. I'll have vegetables on occasion. I do some brussels sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, things of that nature. Crystal will have that. Berries, stuff like that.

Yeah. Every once in a while I'll do just a small amount of berries, but I always pour heavy cream on top because it's real good. But we'll have a cauliflower mash or rice, cauliflower or a salad or broccoli, Brussels sprouts, things like that. Mostly we just stick to the green vegetables, asparagus and things like that.

Yeah. And just for listeners, things like carrots are probably out and beets and different zucchinis and things like that.

So it depends who you ask in the keto space. There's a lot of controversy right now. So some people say, hey, look, as long as you're registering blood ketones, then you're technically in ketosis. And there's no foods that are keto or not keto. As long as you're registering those blood ketones, you're doing it right. So by that definition, which is much more lax, I can eat a banana and based off of my activity levels, my body would burn through that glucose in the banana relatively quickly and I'd be registering ketones in that same 24 hour period after consuming a banana. So some people might say that I can tolerate a banana in my ketogenic diet, but for me, I'm a much stricter version of the, you know, I'm not as loose with my, my dietary choices choices because that banana is not doing anything to contribute to my overall health and betterment as it relates to being keto adapted. So I'll skip things like the bananas, I'll skip things like the carrots because there are a lot more natural sugars in there. But I'll have, you know, like some, I mean, what are some other vegetables that we'll have?

Like tomatoes. We do like, do like a Raul's tomato sauce. We just try to choose one with no added sugars to it. But it's, it's kind of up to each individual as far as what you're willing to do or not do. And again, like Robert said, we're a little bit more strict than some of the other people. But again, like, I, I do have some berries every once in a while and for some people that's like a no, absolutely not. Um, but I feel okay with it. Compare or pairing it with a little bit of fat as well. So just some of those are gonna be a good option for some people and then not for others. We don't do things like squash and potatoes and things like that. Whereas other people may use that and use it as like a carb up or a carb refeed or whatnot. But we don't really, we don't really play around with that.

What, what are some of the common pitfalls people hit when they're in keto?

Well, a lot of people just, they don't eat enough food because of the satiated nature of the ketogenic diet. Oftentimes there's been a big push lately. It's interesting because I've been in the space so long that we've seen all these trends come and go. So about two years ago, the trend was incredibly high dietary fat, very minimal protein, because everybody was scared of gluconeogenesis and they assumed that protein would turn into chocolate cake once it hit their bloodstream, which is not the truth. And then now the exact opposite of the spectrum, protein's been given this halo. And you see people just consuming protein in excess at the expense of not enough dietary fat. So really getting that ratio dialed in is incredibly important because if you're trying to optimize from a ketogenic standpoint, you're taking in far too much protein, not near enough Dietary fat, you're not really going to have a great energy level because protein is incredibly important, but it's not a great substrate for energy. Your body can use gluconeogenesis to create energy from that protein and amino acids, but it's not going to be an efficient process. So making sure you're taking an ample dietary fat and not overdoing the proteins, also very important.

So where are you guys getting the fat?

Oh, the fat. We're getting that from the fattier cuts of meat that we consume, from the animal products, like the red meat, fatty fish. We also, we have a product that we make which is largely based out of cacao butter. So cacao butter is the highest source of stearic acid, which is a very high quality dietary fat. So that's an option for. That's one of our sources of fat. But like olive oil, avocado oil, things of that nature.

Cool.

What happens at birthdays? I mean, so maybe we're the only ones where the family member's like, but I made that for you. Right? That emotional blackmail of, how could you not eat my pasta dish? Ravioli, cake, whatever. How do you navigate social events, particularly birthdays, weddings, the bachelor parties, bachelorette parties, when people are behaving differently and expect to cut loose? What do you tell people? How do you do it yourselves?

Or even alcohol?

Well, right?

Go out, drink. Well, you can drink vodka, right? Is that kosher on a cut?

Yeah. I mean, you could have a little bit of alcohol. So, like vodka, you know, whiskey.

You just have to be careful what you're mixing it with and then making sure that you're not, like, ordering a margarita or something like that. Usually just have it with, like, a club soda.

You mean your fifth drink? So four vodkas, you were great. And then you're like, margarita, fifth drink is the problem. So how do you handle those events?

Yeah, so when we. I first started, I think for me it was a little bit harder, especially when I would go visit my family. And it's been a while since I've seen them. And they have all those dishes that you've eaten your entire life, and then all of a sudden you're not partaking. So the first thing I do is make sure I'm set up for success. And I will go to the store if someone has to drive me or if I need to go myself or whatever, make sure that I have the food that's going to sustain me, rather than trying to rely on them to provide what's going to work best for me. And Then the second thing I think is just telling them that it's important for you and your health. This is important to me and my journey. And I understand that you may have made that special for me or special for the family or whatever, but. But really it's not serving me and my body, so I'm gonna choose to not have it. And if they have an issue, then it's probably more an issue with them and their connection to the food than it is you and your choices for your body. Um, and I think that that took a little bit of time to, like, navigate that and put those boundaries on, but once the boundaries were down, people didn't mess with it anymore. They just say, okay, Crystal will bring her own whatever. And it's just. It's really helpful when you are able to put your foot down and just say, you know, that's not going to serve me well. So I'm going to choose to bring my own thing or just not have that item.

I would say I always. So I have celiac and I pretty much don't eat anything unless I can trace it from A to Z. And so I rarely ever eat in people's houses as a result. But I always say ahead of time, I'm going to bring my own food. So I think it's really important to give people a heads up because I've shown up places and I cooked for you. I'm like, I can't eat any of that. So thank you. But I have my own food. So I think not surprising people is really important so that they know ahead of time. And then I always bring my husband as emotional backup so that he's like.

My emotional support dog.

I almost said that. I was like, that's so terrible. I can't say that. No, like the, The. That he. Sometimes I'll be a little lenient. You know, someone will put something in front of me and I'll be like, maybe. And he's like, no, no, not worth it.

No, not worth it.

Bringing a buddy who can advocate on your behalf is often very helpful because you're. You have no qualms about being the bad guy. You're like, nope, nope, not worth it. Well, because you have to live with me when I get exposed. It's terrible. So. So, yeah, I mean, I think bringing. So setting good boundaries, telling people ahead of time, bringing food as needed. And then something you said, Crystal, that's so poignant is like, you made it sound really casual. You know, I go to the store, I have someone take me, but those Moments can be really challenging for people. When you get somewhere and it's all busy and happy and you're trying to fit in, but prioritizing what you need is so critical. And so what you're saying is you have permission and you should do it. You need to, right?

Yeah. If you feel like this is the best choice for you, whatever it may be, maybe taking care of your celiac, maybe being keto, whatever it is, if you truly in the bottom of your heart, feel like that's the right choice for you, stand behind yourself, have that backbone to say, this is what's going to work best for me and that is not going to do my body good. So what other alternative can I make or what kind of choices can I make to make this the best situation for me?

Is there any supplements you recommend? Is there anything specific that you need on the ketogenic diet? I mean, everybody needs vitamin D, right? So that, because we don't get outside as much as our ancestors did. But is there anything specific for the ketogenic diet that you don't get that you need to supplement?

Honestly, our supplementation is pretty minuscule. You're on some prenatal supplements. But from a ketogenic standpoint, the only thing I'd really recommend is just proper electrolyte intake. So a lot of people, 1 gram of glycogen holds about 3 grams of water. So when people first adopt a ketogenic diet, they oftentimes flush out a bunch of water weight. They lose that initial 5 to 10 pounds. And then that's probably why keto is so popular for a lot of these people that don't want to do short term weight loss. But when they do that, they flush out that water. The kidney's also flushing out all their electrolytes, so it's really beneficial to increase supplemental sodium and potassium and magnesium once first adopting a ketogenic diet. And then also probably just good habit to get into continuously after that. So probably increasing your sodium and potassium intake, but other than that, from a supplemental standpoint, I mean, we do vitamin D, creatine, but that's pretty much it.

Yeah, we try to get most of our, our minerals and vitamins and all that through our food. So sometimes introducing some organ meats or things like that is a, it's a good, good choice. And I'm not an organ meat person, but I will eat some like liverwurst or even some desiccated capsules and that is really helpful. And then I think for anyone on any diet being able to test Those. Get those tested and make sure that you're absorbing correctly with the food that you're ingesting, no matter what diet you're on is a big benefit as well.

I always thought it was counterintuitive that organ meat was so good for you, because, I mean, think about it. Your liver's cleaning out your toxins, so let's eat that organ. Makes no sense to me, but it's so good for you. All right, you have a new book. How is it doing?

Hold on. I don't know. So what's the name? Come on, give us some.

It's called Ketogenic Bodybuilding A Natural Athlete's Guide to Competitive Savagery. So basically, it's all I've learned over the past seven years as ketogenic bodybuilder, past 14 years as a bodybuilder, and really how to optimize your composition from a hormonal standpoint, from a health standpoint, from a longevity standpoint, while leveraging the ketogenic diet for bodybuilding. Um, but, I mean, the principles that I use in that book are the exact same principles I use for my clients that are also not bodybuilders. Um, so there's a lot of. A lot of crossover there. I mean, it works. We're all human, so it works whether you're going to compete and step on stage or not.

Yeah, a lot of people are looking. A lot of people start keto not as much for the lifestyle like Robert and I do, but they will start it for weight loss. Um, which is it? It can work for many, many, many people, but they'll start it as a fat loss thing, and sometimes it turns into their whole lifestyle. But he'll use, again, like, the same principles he used in that book for, you know, his clients that are not bodybuilding. And even if you read some of the reviews, they're like, I am not a bodybuilder. But this was helpful because there's just a ton of information. I mean, it's a huge book, but it's awesome.

It's amazing. It's been truly a pleasure to have you guys on the podcast. Yes, I've learned a lot, so thank you.

Where can people find you?

So all of my stuff is going to be at Lady Savage. So Instagram is the lady.savage. my website is ladiesavage.com and then I also have a Facebook group that you can be a part of as well. Only if you're a female, damn it.

Mine's all things Keto Savage. So ketosavage.com, keto savage on social media. Yeah, Keto Savage for me.

We'll put everything in the notes so people can find you both. So thanks for joining us for another episode of the Five Journeys podcast live like youe Matter. Our guests today were Crystal and Robert Sykes. Thanks for being here.

Appreciate the opportunity.

Thanks for having us.

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