BJJ Caveman

The Effect of a Ketogenic Diet on Cholesterol Part 3

Posted on April 6, 2013November 6, 2014 by BJJ Caveman

As you can see with my cholesterol numbers, despite cutting back on my saturated fats for 3 weeks by restricting the amount of coconut oil and grassfed butter that I typically eat, my LDL-C and Total Cholesterol have continued to go up!

Here is a brief summary of potential explanation as to why LDL and total cholesterol can be elevated in people who are in ketosis from Part 2:

Increased consumption of saturated fats -> Increased liver production of fats -> High serums cholesterol
Deficiency in certain micronutrients such as choline and copper -> Through some unknown mechanism -> High serum cholesterol
Natural response of the body being in ketosis is to mobilize more fat for energy -> Higher serum cholesterol
Chronic low carb -> Hypothyroidism (low T3) -> Decreased expression of LDL receptors in the liver -> Higher serum cholesterol

So it looks like I’ve eliminated #1 as a potential explanation. … Read More

How little we actually know about our fat and muscle…

Posted on April 4, 2013October 9, 2014 by BJJ Caveman

Great article from Outside Magazine reframing how we should now view fat and muscle. Fat shouldn’t just be viewed as a form of energy storage, it should also be considered as a hormone secreting organ that sends out signals to the rest of the body. This also applies to muscle tissue. It’s much more than just a way to help us move around because it too secretes hormones that can affect the rest of the body.

I’d known that fat cells actually can produce estrogen (which is why obese men develop gynecomastia, or as described in Fight Club with the more politically incorrect term). … Read More

Guard Pass Touchups

Posted on April 1, 2013 by BJJ Caveman

Continuing my work on guard passes. Some brief nuggets:

When using the standard closed guard pass, after I open the legs and my knee is up inside, before I go for the double pass option, I need to sit on my butt down on my heel. This kills the space people always use to De La Riva me. Then I can proceed with my pass.
If I’m in his closed guard, and my arm is being threatened by an omoplata, I need to move my knee in close to his hip so that he can’t open his hip out to attack me.

Nutritional Ketosis and Testosterone

Posted on March 25, 2013December 5, 2016 by BJJ Caveman

One of my favorite blogs to follow is Mark’s Daily Apple, and when I came across this post, one of the letters really caught my attention. One of his reader’s was wondering about his “gynoid” pattern of fat deposition. A gynoid pattern is when there is increased fat in the hips, buttocks, and thighs as compared to an “android” pattern where the fat is increased in the chest and belly. Here is part of Mark Sisson’s response:

“…For you, a male with a more “feminine” pattern of fat deposition, I would suspect low testosterone levels.

Can you trust “fat free” and “sugar free” labels?

Posted on March 18, 2013October 9, 2014 by BJJ Caveman

Things like this in which a bakery was found to have sugar and fat in it’s ‘sugar free’ and ‘fat free’ products make me more and more suspicious, especially with my own experience. I’ve pretty much avoided anything that says ‘sugar free’ except for the occasional cough drop since many ‘sugar free’ things I’ve eaten in the past have inexplicably caused a rise in my blood sugar… and what happened with the bakery may be the reason why.

I ignore anything that says ‘fat free’ because being on a ketotic diet means that I’m trying to INCREASE the amount of fat (healthy fats that is) that I consume.… Read More

Closed Guard Pass

Posted on March 17, 2013March 14, 2013 by BJJ Caveman

Continuing on with the guard passing that I’ve been working on…

Closed Guard Pass

Maintain my posture by keeping head up, flexing my butt and hips to resist him breaking me down with his hips and legs.
Right hand rolls up partner’s lapels and grabs it (makes it harder for him to open up his gi to break my grip). Maintain tension on the lapels so that he feels me pulling him down, controlling his body with my grip (kill all slack).
Left hand grab his gi pants along the outside of his right hip, with my elbow outside of this right knee, this will help protect from triangles.