Food is the fuel used to power the machine that is the human body. Fueling choices should be conscious, with purpose in mind.
A diet is a style of eating that an individual sustains for a structured amount of time. Ultimately, this misses the mark in terms of longevity nourishment. My approach to a healthy relationship with food is to ensure that what you are fueling with is going to produce the best version of yourself. There are three phases to my approach. If you are just beginning a healthy lifestyle change out or are returning from a long break from purposeful eating, it is recommended that you begin at Phase I. The focus of Phase 1 is prepping the body to becoming a fat burning furnace. The word “paleo” would commonly be used to describe this phase, where the core of fueling choices centers around what early humans had available to them during the Paleolithic era. The main goal here is to have an understanding of what wholesome foods are and to get rid rid of all packaged food products that pollute our modern existence. Phase II is dedicated to allowing the body to burn fat as a primary fuel source. This Phase is designed for the individuals who have followed low carbohydrate or even ketogenic styles of eating in the past or currently. Phase II Part I is a walk-through guide of what constitutes a well executed ketogenic style of eating and Phase II Pt. II instructs how to properly reintroduce carbohydrates when the body could benefit from a transient energy substrate switch up.
PHASE I
The Slow-Carb Diet means the only carbohydrates consumed are slower digesting, complex carbohydrates. Sugars and simple carbohydrates are reduced to a minimal amount, with the idea being to increase the amount of good fats. Carbohydrates increase blood sugar levels and the body responds by releasing insulin (storage hormone) to lower blood sugar. If blood sugar spikes too high or too fast, then more insulin is released and our body stores more fat. Our cells have a small storage capacity, and when overloaded with nutrients, the cells start to store incoming nutrients as fat. The slower the carbohydrates are digested, the slower and less of an insulin response, resulting in less fat storage.
PHASE II PART I
The Performance Ketogenic diet has a macronutrient calorie breakdown of 60% Fat, 30% Protein, and 10% Carbohydrates. This dietary phase is aimed at communicating to your body that fat is the main fuel source for maximizing the burning of fat. It is important to understand that our bodies will always choose to use carbohydrates as fuel if available over the use of fat. This is because the metabolic process for carbohydrates is faster. The body stores carbohydrates in the form of glycogen, first in the muscles, next the liver, and then the blood stream. Once fully depleted, in the absence of carbohydrates, the body receives a signal to seek means of other sources for energy, fat.
PHASE II PART II
Carb Re-feed Days are used to replenish depleted glycogen levels. This can be effective with daily training, as well as supplementing low body fat percentages. In ketosis, the body uses fat for fuel and ultimately burns excess body fat. Reaching ketosis requires nutritional manipulation with low carbohydrate counts. With high fat and low carb protocols, the body's glycogen reservations deplete over time, forcing the body to seek body fat storages for fuel. The body can hold roughly 2,000-2,400 calories (about a days worth of energy) in your glycogen stores. By shocking the body with carbs once every week, it will cause a hormonal surge and supercharge your metabolism.