Basics:
Our program works by putting your body in a “fat burning
state”. This is more technically known as a controlled mild "dietary
ketosis." Ketosis is a stage of metabolism where your body has depleted
the reserves of its main form of energy – glycogen. Once those reserves are
gone, your liver will begin breaking down stored fat in the body for use as
energy. Breaking down the fat yields fatty acids and three types of ketone
bodies (hence, the name ketosis). The ketones are then burned by the cells in
your body as an alternative fuel. This name "ketosis" is not to be
confused with the term ketacidosis, which is an unrelated condition that occurs
in uncontrolled diabetes) So, to avoid
confusion, we will call it “Fat Burning” or the “Fat Burning State”.
Getting Into the
Fat Burning State (FB)
Switching your body from carb burning to fat burning can be
a little challenging for some. Our bodies have done what they’ve always done
for millions of years – they’ve adapted to life as they know it. Our lives have
led to us being overweight by indulging in bad foods in bad quantities. Our
bodies are now used to that type of existence. Introducing a new nutritional
paradigm (fat burn) to our bodies will necessitate it’s adapting to the new
condition.
First, your body will notice a drop in caloric intake. We’ve
gotten our bodies used to abundant calories and carbohydrates for long periods
of time or to an up and down pattern of calories/carbs which our bodies see as “feast or famine”.
Either way, when we decrease the calories/carbs , our bodies may react:
• Hunger – you may feel hunger because your body is used to
having more than it has now. Some people find that the close spacing of
fuelings keeps them from feeling hungry.
• Fatigue – you are taking in less fuel (food) than you used
to and your body will probably try to compensate by getting you to slow down
your expenditure of energy. It does this by decreasing your metabolic rate.
This can make you feel tired, even dizzy. It’s a type of warning that your
body’s giving you saying “if you don’t get some food, I’m going to start
burning fat!”
• Headache – some report headaches associated with
“carbohydrate withdrawal”. Whether it’s truly withdrawal or not, I don’t know.
However, it certainly seems that way to those who suffer its effects. The
typical headache relief methods (ibuprofen, acetaminophen, aspirin) are
allowable while on MF, however your stomach may seem more sensitive to them
because it’s no longer loaded with food. Try to use such products soon after having
a meal and drink plenty of water. • Irritability – when you're hungry, tired
and/or have a headache…you can be understandably irritable. Try to keep in mind
that you may be more inclined to react negatively to things during this short
time. Just know this will pass. The good news is that getting into the Fat
Burning state usually takes only 3-4 days. Once you’re in FB, you’ll feel a
difference in your energy level. It will go up significantly as your body
begins to enjoy having an alternative fuel source – fat stores! This is really
something to celebrate- and it's important if we are health coaches, to be
checking in with our clients each day, making sure they are following the
program correctly until the Fat Burning state is achieved!
Being in Fat Burning
As the fat by products pervade your bloodstream to supply
the cells with energy, your state of FB begins to manifest some side effects. I
will review the most common and please make note that they are not bad for you
or cause any harm.
Ketones show up in your urine, which are sometimes able to
be detected with Ketostix, but the state of ketosis that MF evokes is so mild
that often such tests won’t show a positive result on the Ketostix. And we do
not suggest you use this as a measurement.
One of the three types of ketones is permeable to the lungs
and can pass from the blood through the lung walls and becomes incorporated
into your exhalations, the same way that carbon dioxide passes out of the body.
This can cause “ketosis breath” and a slight metallic or sweet taste in the
mouth. This is unpleasant, but can be easily overcome with frequent brushing of
teeth (a few times a day) and sugarless gum/mints. (watch the carbs in the
mints and the gum!)
Menses for women can also be affected while in fat burn.
Your cycle may be start sooner than you plan, it can be disrupted or cease all
together. While this is an odd occurrence for a woman, it is not completely
unexpected while in this state.
You may or may not occasionally feel hunger while in FB, but
it should be more mild than normal. Since you’re eating every few hours, you
shouldn’t feel that gnawing sensation associated with hunger prior to being in
fat burn. As your body adapts to the new circumstances, it may even develop an
internal clock that will make you mildly hungry right around meal time. For
some, there is no hunger at all and people need to remember or even be reminded
that they need to eat!
Another side effect for some is an increased sensitivity to
cold. Hands and feet can be particularly affected. Warm drinks (tea, coffee, MF
cocoa/chai tea/mocha/cappuccino), sweaters, heat packs, etc can all help with
this.
Breaking Fat
Burning
Staying in Fat Burning revolves around keeping your body
from getting excess carbohydrates. If you give your body more carbs than are
suggested for the Fat Burning state, it will end the FB state and resume using
carbohydrates. This crash out of FB has some side effects as well:
• Hunger – your body will assume that since you’re getting
enough carbs to end FB, there must be ample food available. Coming out of FB
and having food available is exactly the type of situation that the body has
adapted for over the millennia - “Feast or Famine”. Now, it sees it as a time
to feast so that you can replenish the glycogen that you depleted while getting
into FB. That replenishment requires more fuel – more food! Therefore, your
body tells you to eat, eat and eat. You’ll be almost insatiably hungry.
• Immediate and dramatic weight gain – As your body restores
its glycogen, you’re gaining weight…quickly. Several pounds in a period of a
couple days is not uncommon. Resuming Fat Burning
If you fall out of FB for some reason, the best thing to do
is to start working to get right back in it. Resume the program as if you
hadn’t gotten off at all. Keep on your meal schedule and get in your 5 MF meals
and a Lean and Green. Don’t abandon the day, weekend or week by just giving up on
it because you’ve “messed it up”. Just get right back into the program right
away!
Doing this helps to significantly reduce the amount of time
it takes to get back into FB. The longer you stay out of FB, the longer it
takes to get back into it. So, hop right back on the wagon!
Some people I have coached have thought of it this way. If
the 5-1 program costs around $12 per day, and If I choose to eat off plan and
it takes me 3 days to get back into FB, that was a $36 decision. You have to
ask yourself... was it worth that amount of money to make that choice? Or would
a better choice be to Stop Challenge and Choose through that moment of weakness
and stay on plan.
Riding the FB wave all the way in to shore is the quickest,
easiest and most economical way to reach your health goals!
Best of all, once you've reached your healthy weight, you
can use this very same system with expanded variety of foods and calories to
maintain it. And, with the addition of healthy movement, you'll be burning enough extra calories to
stay at your ideal weight indefinitely! This is all part of Dr. A's balanced
plan to move us beyond weight loss to a state that supports us for life-- in
optimal health!
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