Most people who are interested in losing weight (fat specifically) have probably heard of Keto.
It's a super popular diet (along with Paleo and Atkins) for weight loss. Here's how it works:
Essentially on a keto diet, you eat no carbs. That means no bread, pasta, rice, sugary foods, or high-carb fruits like bananas and apples. Instead, you focus on high-fat, moderate-protein foods such as meats, fish, eggs, dairy, nuts, seeds, and low-carb vegetables like leafy greens, broccoli, and peppers.
The idea is simple. Deplete your body's stores of glycogen but severely restrict your carb intake, and what happens? Presto. Your body releases ketones and starts burning fat stores to get its energy. It's extremely effective, which is why people who do Keto normally see incredible results!
At least...in the short term.
But there's a downside. Keto is a pretty extreme diet. No carbs at all? Ever again?
That's a commitment that most people just aren't willing to make for the long haul.
And beyond that, there are some health considerations that come into play with long-term diets like keto or Carnivore.
Carnivore is even more extreme than Keto, eating only meat and eggs. Again, it IS effective at triggering fat burning, but it could cause hormonal imbalances and other problems if it's embraced long term. Even the so-called "Carnivore MD" Dr. Paul Saladino has recently switched from Carnivore to "animal-based" to avoid some of these issues.
But is there another way? Are these extreme diets the only option if you're serious about losing fat?
Luckily, no.
Let me introduce you to carb fasting.
What Keto and Carnivore get right is this: To burn fat, you DO need to deplete your glycogen stores. That's true. When we eat carbs, it gets converted to glucose in the blood and stored as glycogen in our liver and muscles.
BUT when we spend energy, our body burns off these glycogen stores.
The thing is, our body always defaults to glycogen as its fuel source, so long as it's available.
Once the glycogen stores deplete far enough, your body instead begins to burn FAT for energy.
This is why Keto and Carnivore are effective at triggering fat burning. They run your glyocogen stores to empty so your body has nothing else to burn except fat. Here's the thing, though: you don't need to do Keto or Carnivore every day for the rest of your life!
Even 24 hours without carbs is enough to deplete your glycogen stores and get your body to start burning fat. It can happen even sooner if you pair it will intense exercise.
The idea with carb fasting is simple. You pick a day, or two (or three or however many you want) based on your goals. For those carb fasting days, you restrict your carb intake to less than 20 grams.
So that means on those days, you're not eating bread, pasta, rice, etc. You're not drinking pop, having fries or pizza. You're sticking to proteins and fats - meat, eggs, yogurt, cheese, nuts etc.
Just 24 hours without carbs is enough to get the benefits of ketosis and fat-burning. But the beauty of carb fasting is that it doesn't mean you can never eat carbs or eat for pleasure again.
It's just about abstaining for a day at a time - enough to deplete your glycogen stores and improve your metabolic flexibility.
The more you do this, the more your body will be able to easily switch between different fuel sources - burning carbs when they are available and quickly switching to fat-burning several days a week when you fast from carbs.
So if you've been envious of your friends losing weight on Keto, but haven't been able to stomach the idea of giving up carbs forever, try carb fasting instead! I fast from carbs 3 days a week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday. It's easy to remember, feels doable, and ensures that I consistently deplete my glycogen stores throughout the week.
If you are serious about losing weight, burning fat and gaining energy, then sign up for one of our 40-day health sprints! It's a 40-day deep dive into transforming your health from the inside out. Find out more and join a community of other like-minded health seekers. Go HERE to join the waitlist and I'll see you on the other side! Live Free,
Greg
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