CHAPTER 1
More Than Just Ketosis Ketosis is all the rage. Since you picked up this book, I’m guessing you’re on the bandwagon. You’re in good company here! Maybe you’re on a ketogenic diet or considering it. And if you want to jump start ketosis, then intermittent fasting is your ticket. Truth be told, a ketogenic diet can be hard to maintain, simply because there are so many foods you can’t eat. Even kale, the star vegetable of the 21st century, is only allowed in small amounts. I understand when clients say they’re not up for the challenge of going keto. But I will tell you this: ketosis is divine. Thankfully, if you don’t want to do the ketogenic diet (or even if you do), there’s a shortcut to ketosis— you can fast. Ketosis occurs when your body is burning ketones and fat for fuel instead of glucose. That happens in two situations: 1) no food is coming (fasting), or 2) few to no carbs are coming in (ketogenic dieting). When your body is in the fat-burning state, it makes lots of ketones in the process; hence, you are “in ketosis.” It’s completely normal for the body to be in ketosis, and it was certainly a common experience for humans throughout history who had intermittent access to food and periods of fasting in between. But the metabolic state of ketosis is very rare for anyone on a Western diet because (if I may speak for the crowd) we are always eating. When you’re eating anything other than a ketogenic diet, you have effectively zero ketones in your blood. So it’s quite uncommon for our generation of humans to be in a state of ketosis, unless you deliberately seek one out. When you wake up in the morning after 8 hours of fasting, ketones levels are just beginning to rise. If you extend your fast until noon, ketone production will ramp up to supply some of the energy you need and your body will officially be in the famed fat-burning state of ketosis. Hooray! If you want to keep burning through body fat at a high rate, you need to stay in ketosis by sticking with your fast—for 16 or 24 hours, or a couple of days—and not by eating something ketogenic! There’s a lot of attention on achieving ketosis with ketogenic foods, but if you’re consuming keto foods, then where do you think some of the ketones are coming from? Not the fat on your hips and thighs. Fasting for ketosis ensures that the ketones fueling your brain are coming only from your body fat, thus getting rid of it. You’ll learn all about how ketosis works in Chapter 3.
What Fasting Does for Your Body Before we set our focus too narrowly on ketosis, let’s consider the bigger picture. Yes, when you fast, fat will be burned and ketones will be made. But so much more happens when you’re fasting—great things for the cells, tissues, and organs of your body, and some would say your mind and soul, too. If you have never fasted for even half a day in your life, then you may be thinking, “There’s no way I can go 12 hours without eating!” But I am willing to bet that once you get started, you’ll find it’s a lot easier and way more fun than
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