What A Broken Metabolism Feels Like
Lost some weight doing HCG or some other very low calorie diet and now put on fat just looking at food? Your metabolism might be broken. Let's fix it... Every time I see someone promoting a VLCD (Very Low Calorie Diet) as a lifestyle diet I just want to slap them in the greedy little faces. We once promoted it. We tried it and lost weight. Then we slapped ourselves in the impatient faces when we finished the diet and found we would put on fat eating a f*(n salad. So we got fat and blamed ourselves. "Low self control," we said. Out came the whip of self loathing... Jokes. We don't do that shit. We don't hate ourselves when we try something and fail! That just doesn't help. Instead, we educate ourselves. Which is what I'm going to do here for you. Save you the 5 years of yo-yo dieting we went through... A very low calorie diet should only be done once in your life... ever. Unless you're in the first 3 months post partum, you risk permanently shutting down your metabolism by repeatedly starving yourself. If you've done a HCG diet before, then you should NEVER do it again. And if someone tells you to, especially if that someone profits from you (buying their magic woo-woo potion), run away and never buy anything from that low life, cash guzzling monster again. NOTE: This post is not about doing HCG or a low calorie diet, it's about what to do if you have done one and want to actually eat something again. How to Know If Your Metabolism Is Broken first, let's quickly work out if your metabolism is running ineffectively... Fill in the following form: Gender MaleFemale Age Weight kglb Height cmft Submit Scroll down to the bottom of the results, and you'll see the following table: Your numbers will be different to the above ones, but whatever they are, you sho Continue reading >>
Metabolic Damage And Keto Adaptation – Why And How.
I have been getting questions about how to keto adapt, and how long does keto adaption take etc. and does keeping calories up while keto dieting, does this reduce metabolic damage or adaptation even if your carbs are very low? So what this question is kind of centering on is the concept about metabolic damage and adaptation. My take is that your body becomes very efficient at burning calories when you drive your calories lower and lower and do more and more steady state cardio. I’m not talking about 1 or 2 – 45 min cardio sessions a week, I’m talking more about one or two hours of cardio per day. So this is a high amount of cardio and very low calories. Essentially what you’re doing is you’re just kind of metabolically shocking your system and your body responds by becoming a lot more efficient. Now these mechanisms of efficiency are starting to get studied in the scientific world but that’s basically kind of what we are talking about. Right now there isn’t much evidence, but they do believe something is there. The basis of these adaptations is definitely present. So how this does relate specifically to a ketogenic diet, and you know because your carbs are really low, can you still keep your calories high so you don’t get these metabolic adaptations. And the answer is yes. So what about ketosis? Let’s Get Scientific for a Moment This is a really important key to remember, ketosis is not weight loss, instead ketosis is actually a metabolic state when fat is being burned as your primary fuel source and then ketones are being produced. Ketones are by products of fat metabolism. Fat is getting oxidized at a very high rate, which results in ketone production and then you can measure ketones in either your urine (not recommended as I discuss here in my TOP K Continue reading >>
Metabolic Syndrome
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a medical term for a constellation of health symptoms or markers related to insulin resistance in the body. It is also called Syndrome X, a term coined by Gerald Reaven, the researcher who first identified and described the MetS condition. Having MetS indicates an increase in the risk of developing diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other health disturbances. Insulin resistance is a condition in which chronically high levels of blood sugar and insulin have caused the body’s mechanism for regulating insulin and blood glucose (sugar) to fail. If left untreated, being insulin resistant usually leads to MetS, prediabetes and possibly a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes (T2D). In fact, I believe that people who are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes had insulin resistance which progressed over time to MetS and prediabetes before they were given a final diagnosis of T2D. If someone has MetS, it's a warning sign that more serious metabolic conditions can develop in the future in a linear fashion: Insulin sensitivity becomes damaged: A high carb diet and a lack of exercise causes the cells of the liver and muscles to become resistant to insulin's message to store sugar. Metabolic Syndrome develops. Baseline blood sugars begin to rise, high blood pressure, deranged blood cholesterol and abdominal obesity develop. Pre diabetes is not far behind. The resistance to insulin worsens over more time until pre diabetic symptoms develop and blood sugar and insulin are chronically high. Pre diabetes finally worsens into type 2 diabetes: If left untreated, the pre diabetes worsens, more and more insulin is needed to control blood sugar, the pancreatic ability to function becomes damaged, and eventually full blown type 2 diabetes develops. Diagnosing Metabolic Syndro Continue reading >>
- Diet Soda Intake and Risk of Incident Metabolic Syndrome and Type 2 Diabetes in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)*
- Ultraviolet Radiation Suppresses Obesity and Symptoms of Metabolic Syndrome Independently of Vitamin D in Mice Fed a High-Fat Diet
- Why Diabetes Is Dangerous: How to Recognize the Signs of this Metabolic Disease
Is A Ketogenic Diet Right For You?
I may receive a commission if you purchase something mentioned in this post. Full disclosure here. Ketogenic diets are all the rage right now, unless you’re reading this in 2027, in which case, ketogenic diets were all the rage in 2017. My clients and even friends are starting to ask me about “going keto,” because they’ve heard it will help them lose weight, improve athletic ability, boost brain power, and achieve overall unicorn health status. A quick search turns up multiple headlines claiming a ketogenic diet can reverse epilepsy, cancer, diabetes, insulin resistance, and obesity and bring one to optimal health. So, is it all that? Is a ketogenic diet right for you, or is it just another fad? What is a Ketogenic Diet? A ketogenic diet mimics starvation, allowing the body to go into a metabolic state called ketosis. Normally, human bodies are sugar-driven machines: ingested carbohydrates are broken down into glucose, which is mainly transported and used as energy or stored as glycogen in liver and muscle tissue. When deprived of dietary carbohydrates (usually below 50g/day), the liver becomes the sole provider of glucose to feed your hungry organs – especially the brain, a particularly greedy entity accounting for ~20% of total energy expenditure. (a great synopsis from Scientific American). Going keto basically means your body switches from burning glucose to fat for fuel. When you follow a ketogenic diet for a while, you enter into nutritional ketosis, which means your liver converts fats to ketones for fuel rather than than body burning glucose directly. A ketogenic diet excludes grains, starch, sugar, and fructose. It’s high fat, moderate protein, and very low in carbohydrates (quick lesson: anything that isn’t a protein or fat is a carb. That means Continue reading >>
Do Ketogenic Diets Have A “metabolic Advantage”?
Previous studies show that eating more protein can help people lose weight. Not only does protein increase the amount of calories burned, it also seems to reduce calorie intake by suppressing appetite. The ketogenic diet is usually much higher in protein than the normal Western diet. As a result, it may help people lose weight. However, it is unclear if the weight-loss benefits of the ketogenic diet are merely due to increased protein intake, or if it improves body composition and calorie expenditure irrespective of its protein content. For this reason, a recent study examined the changes in calorie expenditure and weight loss when switching from a high-carb diet to a low-carb, high-fat (ketogenic) diet, while keeping protein intake constant. Below is a detailed summary of its findings as well as some background information. Background The rates of obesity have been rising in the past decades. Multiple aspects of the modern lifestyle contribute to obesity. For example, physical activity has decreased and the consumption of sugar and processed junk food has been on the rise. Eating excessive amounts of sugar is linked with an increased risk of obesity. However, since sugar contains no more calories than protein or complex carbs, gram for gram, it is still not entirely clear how it promotes weight gain. One popular idea is that sugar is addictive for some people, increasing cravings and calorie intake. Although the hypothesis is not yet fully proved, it is supported by several lines of evidence. Another idea is the carbohydrate-insulin hypothesis of obesity. It posits that obesity is mainly caused by elevated insulin levels. According to this hypothesis, elevated insulin levels suppress the use of fat for fuel, promoting its storage in fat tissue. Additionally, scientists Continue reading >>
Ketogenic Diet - A Connection Between Mitochondria And Diet
This article is written by Dr Gabriela Segura, Consultant Cardiologist, and published here with her permission. Mitochondria are an essential part of good cardiac function. Numbers in square brackets refer to references at the bottom of the article. Contents 1 Introduction 2 Mitochondrial Dysfunction 3 Ketosis – Closer Look 4 References 5 External links Ketosis is an often misunderstood subject. Its presence is thought to be equal to starvation or a warning sign of something going wrong in your metabolism. But nothing could be farther from the truth, except if you are an ill-treated type 1 diabetic person.[1] Ketones – contrary to popular belief and myth – are a much needed and essential healing energy source in our cells that come from the normal metabolism of fat. The entire body uses ketones in a more safe and effective way than the energy source coming from carbohydrates – sugar AKA glucose. Our bodies will produce ketones if we eat a diet devoid of carbs or a low carb diet (less than 60 grams of carbs per day).[2] By eating a very low carb diet or no carbs at all (like a caveman) we become keto-adapted. In fact, what is known today as the ketogenic diet was the number one treatment for epilepsy until Big Pharma arrived with its dangerous cocktails of anti-epileptic drugs. It took several decades before we heard again about this diet, thanks in part to a parent who demanded it for his 20-month-old boy with severe seizures. The boy’s father had to find out about the ketogenic diet in a library as it was never mentioned as an option by his neurologist. After only 4 days on the diet, his seizures stopped and never returned.[3] The Charlie Foundation was born after the kid’s name and his successful recovery, but nowadays the ketogenic diet is available to th Continue reading >>
Metabolism And Ketosis
Dr. Eades, If the body tends to resort to gluconeogenesis for glucose during a short-term carbohydrate deficit, are those who inconsistently reduce carb intake only messing things up by not effecting full blown ketosis? If the body will still prefer glucose as main energy source unless forced otherwise for at least a few days, is it absolutely necessary to completely transform metabolism for minimal muscle loss? Also, if alcohol is broken down into ketones and acetaldehyde, technically couldn’t you continue to drink during your diet or would the resulting gluconeogenesis inhibition from alcohol lead to blood glucose problems on top of the ketotic metabolism? Would your liver ever just be overwhelmed by all that action? I’m still in high school so hypothetical, of course haha… Sorry, lots of questions but I’m always so curious. Thank you so much for taking the time to inform the public. You’re my hero! P.S. Random question…what’s the difference between beta and gamma hydroxybutyric acids? It’s crazy how simple orientation can be the difference between a ketone and date rape drug…biochem is so cool! P.P.S. You should definitely post the details of that inner mitochondrial membrane transport. I’m curious how much energy expenditure we’re talkin there.. Keep doin your thing! Your Fan, Trey No, I don’t think people are messing up if they don’t get into full-blown ketosis. For short term low-carb dieting, the body turns to glycogen. Gluconeogenesis kicks in fairly quickly, though, and uses dietary protein – assuming there is plenty – before turning to muscle tissue for glucose substrate. And you have the Cori cycle kicking in and all sorts of things to spare muscle, so I wouldn’t worry about it. And you can continue to drink while low-carbing. Continue reading >>
Ketogenic Diet: 25 Proven Benefits And How To Know If It’s Right For You
The ketogenic diet has been touted for its many health benefits such as weight loss, cognitive function, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer. In this post, we cover: Different ways to get into ketosis Physiology and pathways that are changed when you are in ketosis, which explains how the ketogenic diet derives its benefits Genetic factors that may affect the safety and effectiveness of ketosis 17 Health conditions that may be helped by the ketogenic diet Negative effects of ketosis and how to mitigate them Ketogenic Diets Improve Cognitive Function and Brain Health Ketogenic Diet as a Cancer Treatment Ketogenic diets are defined by a low carbohydrate (typically under 50 grams/day) and high fat intake, leading to an elevation of free fatty acids and ketone bodies in the blood (R). The first ketogenic diets in the medical literature are noted in publications in the 1920s, although wider popularity and increased research was not seen in medical literature until the 1960s (R). Variations of the diets have remained popular for the past 20-30 years, with proponents claiming that the diets boost weight loss and energy while offering protection from certain metabolic diseases (R). A ketogenic diet and fasting affect the body similarly. Both deplete the body’s glucose reserves, so the body starts turning fatty acids into ketones (R). When the body doesn’t have enough carbohydrates from food, it burns fat by producing ketones or ketone bodies (R, R). In non-diabetics, ketosis can be achieved in 3 ways, i.e. Fasting or severe caloric restriction (R) Prolonged physical exercise in fasted state, depending on intensity and duration (R, R2) Nutritional ketosis, i.e. by consuming a very low carbohydrate diet Supplementation, such as by supplementing with medium chain triglyceri Continue reading >>
Ketosis For Metabolism Control
We know that simply counting calories doesn’t work for weight loss. The threadbare ideas of “calories in versus calories out” and “just eat less and exercise more” are outdated concepts, and not effective long-term. However we do know that the quality of your diet has a tremendous impact on your hormones, satiety, and body composition. In this article, we cover how ketosis for metabolic control wins out over other ways to try and lose fat. How Ketosis Changes Metabolism Let’s do a very quick overview of metabolism in the context of ketosis: When the average person eats, their body breaks down carbohydrates into glucose to be used as energy for all functions of the body. In this case, carbohydrates provide the main fuel source for the body. But when someone is in ketosis, either from eating a ketogenic diet or from fasting, their body is instead breaking down fats into ketone bodies for energy. These ketone bodies are then used to provide the body with a constant source of energy instead of carbs. Being in ketosis allows you to literally shift your metabolism. Now, let’s look at some of the powerful ways ketosis can be used for maintaining a healthy metabolism: Calorie Restriction Versus Ketosis As we prefaced above, simply reducing calories to lose weight is not effective. We know this based on research from people like Gary Taubes. And that’s just part of the story: it can actually be harmful to your metabolism and lower metabolic rate (the amount of calories the body burns per day) — just look at the long-term results from past winners of the Biggest Loser. After forcing the body into caloric reduction, the contestants’ metabolisms dropped, leading to weight loss plateaus and weight regain. In contrast, research has also shown that when we fast, th Continue reading >>
How To Fix Your Broken Metabolism By Doing The Exact Opposite
We saw last week with the Biggest Loser study that basal metabolism plummets when you lose weight with calorie reduction. As contestants lose weight, they burn a lot less energy – up to 800 calories per day less than before. Some of that is expected, since there is less body tissue to maintain, but nevertheless, these contestants burn far less than expected even taking this into account. Even 6 years later, their basal metabolic rate (BMR) remains depressed, as do the contestants themselves. The story got a lot of coverage, but one thing was consistently missing. How to fix it.That’s what I’ll show you today, and it’s the opposite of what most people expect. So, let’s think about this problem in the context of the 2 compartment model of obesity that we have used before. There are two compartments for body energy. We take calories in as food. This gets stored in the short term as glycogen, or long term as body fat. Glycogen is easily converted to energy (calories out), but body fat, not so much. So we can consider the analogous situation where short term energy is stored in a refrigerator and long term in the basement freezer. Insulin’s role is to direct food into the basement freezer. When there is excess food that can’t be kept in the fridge, insulin directs it to the freezer. This is body fat and manufactured in the liver by the process of de novo lipogenesis. What causes insulin levels to be elevated depends partly on the foods we eat, but also by insulin resistance. Fructose, for example, plays a key role in elevating insulin resistance which will, in turn raise insulin levels. Insulin resistance leads to high insulin levels, which leads to higher resistance in a vicious cycle. That is, it can be self sustaining. So during weight loss, if we don’t ad Continue reading >>
The Truth About Metabolic Damage
Here's what you need to know... Struggling with lack of motivation, low libido, or just feel you've done all the right things but can no longer respond to diet and training? It could be metabolic damage. You can feel unwell and have metabolic dysfunction without being in an overt disease state. "Eat less and exercise more" can easily lead an advanced lifter into a state of metabolic damage. Your metabolism doesn't work like a calculator. It works like a thermostat. There are three ways to repair your metabolism, depending on what stage of starvation mode you're in. Starvation mode, metabolic damage, weight loss resistance, adrenal fatigue... For some reason, these terms get under people's skin. You hear constantly about this myth and that myth, and how these things are bogus. Sort of reminds me of a saying by Osho, my favorite philosopher: "The less a person knows the more stubbornly he knows it." They are not myths and there are plenty of people dealing with these issues. If you're one of those twenty-somethings with great energy and a perfect body and little real life experience, then you're probably ready to dismiss this article right off the bat. But just do me one favor: bookmark it. You may need it later. On the other hand, if you're someone who has struggled with lack of motivation, low libido, overtraining, illness, or feel you've done all the right things but can no longer respond to diet and training the same way, then this info is for you. Understanding the Terminology Honestly, I don't know where these terms came from. Like many things in health and fitness, there are phrases that get used somewhere and then become part of the lexicon. I'm an integrative physician. I, and many doctors like me, have been dealing with metabolic damage issues for years. Only we Continue reading >>
Your Macros
Most people aim for a specific goal on a ketogenic diet. We aim to make sure the results of the calculator are accurate and can be used by anyone. Our keto calculator uses the Mifflin-St.Jeor Formula which was the most accurate (versus the Katch-McCardle Formula or the Harris-Benedict Formula) in a few studies. In this formula, the gender, height, weight, and age are needed to calculate the number of calories to consume. Our keto calculator uses body fat percentage to calculate your lean body mass. Using this number, we’re able to calculate how much protein you need to sufficiently lose weight without losing excess muscle. Eating too little or too much protein on a ketogenic diet (or any diet) can lead to dangerous or unwanted results. DEXA scans are proven to be the most accurate measurement of body fat. They’re commonly available at gyms and some doctor offices when requested. If you don’t have access to this, you can always go the old-fashioned route and use a good quality caliper. The last resort is using a guide to visually estimate – this can sometimes be a little bit inaccurate, so try to over estimate your body fat percentage. This will give us an idea of how much the minimum amount of calories your body will burn in a day. Our keto calculator uses this to calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). We use this number, along with your body fat percentage, to estimate how many calories you’ll need for your goals. The BMR is simply a number of calories we burn while our bodies are at rest and from eating and digesting food. Together they form what’s known as TDEE, or total daily energy expenditure. This is the keto calculator’s estimate for your total calories burned per day. If you use a heart rate monitor or third party software to monitor your calo Continue reading >>
Ketosis: The Fastest Way To Lose Weight If You Weigh 200 Pounds Or More
You’ve probably tried to lose weight many times with little to no success. Maybe you lost some weight, but it either always came back or your program wasn’t sustainable, so you quit. If you’re looking for a way to lose weight if you weigh 200 lbs or more, you’ve come to the right place. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my 11 years working with thousands of clients, it’s that there is A LOT of emotional and mental pain associated with weight gain, especially when you’re weight has gotten this bad. It might even make you angry or sad thinking about it now, but I want to assure you of one thing before I get into the process: You can either let your past decisions define and/or confine you, or you can choose to move on. Yes, your past decisions (or lack of action) have affected, maybe negatively, maybe REALLY negatively, your current situation. However, your past can’t be undone, BUT your past results (where you are now) CAN (where you want to be). You can choose to move on, leave it behind you and start focusing on your present! It’s going to take time, but it’s far from impossible. In fact, I know you can do it. As with pretty much every thing that’s worth it, the transformation won’t happen overnight. It may take a year or more to lose the weight. The good news? If you follow this article, you’ll lose weight fast and if you stay consistent, you’ll keep losing weight, and then a year will come and go and you would have lost a significant amount of weight. And you’ll keep it off! Diabesity Is America’s #1 Killer: Why We NEED The Ketogenic Diet In Our Lives Obesity and metabolic diseases, like diabetes have become the world’s biggest health problems. In fact, at least 2.8 million adults die from obesity-related causes each year. Met Continue reading >>
Is It Possible To "screw Up" Your Metabolism?
Our brains, in relation to weight, are responding, adapting and planning "machines." Just for a single example, the brain of an anorexic has learned that it is STARVING - that food is very, very, very scarce and that it needs to absolutely maximize any "energy" (food) that it gets. Given that our brains/bodies are not separate, and "metabolism" is a whole-body process/event, this has profound implications.Just because in time the body/brain begins to be fed does not mean that it will just "snap to" and interpret this as the new "normal." It has learned, sometimes over many years that food is extremely scarce and when the next food/energy is coming is unpredictable and can take a loooooong, looooong time from last ingestion and even then will be in a scarcity amount. Thus, it responds accordingly. Even yo-yo dieting brings about huge changes. And that makes sense as well. Our brain is our "regulator." It learns with yo-yoing another version of the above. Who knows when the next time of scarcity with come... The implications are very real for those who have been substantially overweight, eating disordered, have a history of yo-yoing 10 lbs up and down, sometimes many, many times in their lives. One of my favorite pieces on this is Ned Koch's blog piece on compensatory adaptation...which doesn't just apply to eating...but to all behaviors and delves into the less than conscious mechanisms that are at work in response to even subtle signals in this adaptation process. What it boils down to for me, in "person-speak" is that we are constantly signaling and communicating with our bodies/brains and our bodies/brains in turn are continuously responding and adapting...for better or worse. We may not think or know we are "communicating," but we are. For me, Dr. Sharma is high, hig Continue reading >>
Permanent Metabolic Damage – Q&a
Question: Lately I’ve seen a lot of hype regarding metabolic damage that can occur when dieting to very low body fat levels, where individuals permanently “damage” their metabolisms to the point where they are getting fat on 800-900 calories a day. It’s said to occur when losing weight too fast or trying to do too much cardio on top of a very low caloric intake. This sounds like bro-hype but I’m wondering: Is there any truth to this phenomenon? Answer: This seemed a good followup Q&A after last Friday’s Lean Body Mass Maintenance and Metabolic Rate Slowdown – Q&A since it’s semi-related and I seem to have total writer’s block regarding anything approximating a feature article right now. There are several issues at stake here and I’m going to address them in reverse order. Certainly I have seen some weirdness occur (and there is at least one study to support this) where excessive cardio in the face of a large caloric deficit can cause problems, not the least of which is stalled fat/weight loss. In that study, the combination of a very large deficit plus about 6 hours of cardio seemed to decrease metabolic rate more than the diet alone. This is something I intend to cover in more detail at a later date. This, along with personal observations, was what led me to strongly suggest against doing a lot of cardio on The Rapid Fat Loss Handbook program; in fact I’d say that a majority of failures on that program can be tracked to people trying to do too much cardio and it doing more harm than good. Invariably, the folks who minimize activity (beyond the basic weight workouts) and let the deficit of the diet do the work do better in terms of fat loss. So certainly there is an element of truth to that. However, we need to look at magnitudes here and do a bit Continue reading >>
