The Case For Keto

Where do I start?

It’s so… counter intuitive from everything I know. Everything I learned. Everything I’ve heard.

It’s like when… someone insists the world is round when you know in your heart that can’t be.

Of course, the world is flat! Why on Earth would the Earth be round?

That’s ridiculous!

Of course, like Aristotle and Christopher Columbus, you kind of have to see it to believe it. Right?

In the same way, I want to share discoveries which began to sell me on the ideology of ketogenic viability. This is coming from a harsh critic and doubter, much as I imagine those who swore the Earth was, in fact, flat.

Backstory

So, there’s tons of overweight people these days (pun). But it hasn’t always been the case. Has it?

What changed?

Many things, of course but one of the main changes is how we consume our food.

I mean, we could rant nonstop about all the nuances of modern day food consumption. I may do just that at some later time… but I think it is easy to set this president.

"What we eat plays a significant contribution to how much we weigh."

Agree?

Yay!

Let’s just chew on that that for a moment and shift into obesity.

Obesity

The condition of being grossly fat or overweight. Obesity increases your risk of diabetes, heart disease… a ton of bad stuff. (another pun)

Basically, it’s not an health state or condition to be in, right?

I mean, it wasn’t healthy for me.

I was over 300 lbs. Lethargic, unmotivated, depressed. That’s just 2 years ago!

Over time I could have developed some serious health problems. Maybe you’re in the boat I was. Maybe you already have a few conditions related to obesity. You are not alone!

And you also not stuck. Let’s start considering picking up those health paddles and get to rowing.

 Believe me, you don’t want to mess with the waterfall of declining health. Those rapids are not fun. It’s not something you put on a postcard and mail to your friends.

Speaking of, here’s one condition which freaks me out. I know a lot of people with it.

Type 2 Diabetes

Not good stuff. Your blood sugar is too high.

But why?

Your body doesn’t make enough insulin to energize your cells so your body stores it as fat.

I used to work in receiving at Walmart. That’s where we unload all those 18 wheelers full of cargo and help stock the shelves.

Well, if there is too much product and only so much shelf, we can’t leave the extra product on the truck. It’s has to go somewhere.

It instead goes to the stock room.

The same goes if there are not enough stockers to stock the shelves. The product still has to go somewhere.

Hello again stock room!

The stock room in Walmart was a fixed, finite space. You can only fit so much stock into the stock room until the people who order the stuff stop ordering stuff. You should see how crowded it get before Black Friday! I imagine about as crowded as my belly was when I was over 300 lbs.

The thing is, the stock room of our body is not a fixed space. It can expand.

Look down.

Jiggly tummy?

Flabby thighs?

They are your stock room.

Now don’t curse your stock. Don’t judge it. Because that same overstock is about to become your best friend. You’re about to make profit on all those stores.

Because we are going to help those little stockers in your body.

Let me introduce you do them.

They’re name is Insulin.

Insulin

Isn’t that the shots you need to take when you are diabetic?

But Why? (I ask why a lot)

Because with prolonged high blood sugar, your overworked hormone, insulin, get burned out. You become insulin resistant.

So now sick and tired insulin is dragging his feet and instead of happily energizing cells.

• He’s cutting corners.
• He's taking more (and longer) smoke breaks.
• He's taking power naps in the bathroom stalls.

Oh wait, that was what I did when I got burnt out in Walmart receiving.

I got lazy.

I got resistant to the work I had to do because I did not have time to rest and recharge.

Have you ever had a time where you were expected to continue doing something on little rest? Have you ever got burnt out? How efficient were you?

So how do we give our insulin a break? How do we rest our little energy stockers so they may get recharged?

How about lowering their work load? That’s a good start.

Carbohydrates

Look at these fancy high dollar words!

Where do I even start with this one? Carbo-Hydrate.

Well, it’s a compound of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen and it’s used by us for energy.

Carbo-Hydrate. Let’s call them Carbs.

Well, Harvard University claims our digestive system breaks these bad boys down into sugar, which then enters our blood.

Blood Sugar. The same thing insulin energizes our cells with…. The same overstock which turns into fat in our ever-expandable belly and butt stockrooms. (#lipogenesis if you want to learn more. #science)

What a second!

So, if the digestion of carbs increases our blood sugar...

And over exposure of blood sugar builds insulin resistance...

And insulin resistance leads to increased fat storage through lipogenesis…

Couldn’t you correlate carbs to increased fat storage?

Yes, I know it’s more nuanced than that. It’s a ton more complicated. There are a ton more variables.

But all other variables static. The same. Equal. It is compelling, the path one could take from eating carbs to increased fat storage.

It’s compelling enough to investigate further. Would you agree?

Doesn’t your body need energy?

Of course!

Like a store needs product to sell to stay in business. Your body needs energy to… also stay in business.

Thankfully, we have an awesome body which can do amazing things!

Protein can brake down into energy. Your body doesn’t like to do that.

Fats also can brake down into energy! Your body is okay with that.

Your body prefers carbs, then fats, and then finally proteins.

Let’s frame this another way.

It makes sense if you think about how we were many years ago, before agriculture was a thing. We’d eventually run out of carb things to eat. We would then use the remaining fat reserves while we looked and "hopefully" found more food.

In unlucky times, we’d run out of both carbs and reserve fats stores. Then, our body would turn toward protein. Run out of that and it was pretty much… game over.

Your body was designed not to go after your protein until everything else was gone. If you had no protein and a reserve of fat, your blobby self wouldn’t be unable to catch the rabbit…

Or saber tooth tiger…

Or whatever you may have been going after.

The thing is, your body has a built in backup strategy to when we run out of carbohydrates.

Fat Burning Man

Another interesting thing is…

Even though your body prefers carbs and they can be burned faster...

Fats burn longer.

Think of the difference between burning twigs and coal.

One burns fast and is out but that doesn’t keep the BBQ pit hot.

On the other hand, some good old coal bricks will burn hot for hours!

It’s the same with carbs and fat.

This Sounds Shady

I agree.

I was a harsh critic and doubter.

I’m still investigating this crazy claim.

But so far it’s working for me.

So far it’s making sense! 

And even if it didn’t I’m not going to starve. I could see if we were pre-agriculture. This would be an insane idea. Intentionally starving yourself of carbs to burn your fatty fuel reserve? What insanity would that be?!

But by all accounts, those guys didn’t struggle with obesity and diabetes.

And the grocery store is right down the road. And you don’t have to fight a saber tooth tiger over dinner.

So why not follow the rabbit hole a little more?

Give it a month

I’m on week 3.

Week 1 is weird. My body wasn’t used to running out of carbs. It’s a transition and I had a few bouts of carb fits staring at bread. It wasn’t pretty.

Week 2 is still kind of weird. My body was beginning to adapt to a brand-new process. I’ve fasted before but I never tried to deplete my glycogen stores.

Week 3 is surreal. I’m at the crossroads of I’m just not hungry and why am I not craving that donut anymore.

I also dropped about 8 pounds. That’s significant for someone who’s already lost 100 lbs. That’s significant for a harsh critic and doubter. It’s working. I’m fine.

Conclusions

Try it but have a support system. An accountability network. The first 2 weeks can be rough. Most bodies these days are not used to depleting their glycogen stores. First two week your body is trying to figure out what you’re trying to do to it.

But try it for a month. Commit to it. Find an honest coach to help you walk though it and be honest back to them.

If you’re looking for an honest coach or two. I know some. Hit me up.

I don’t have any prearranged dealing with them but I’ve seen their consistency.

And anyway, it’s a month. The time will pass anyway. Might as well investigate.

And if it doesn’t work.

Or if you have questions.

Reach out to me. Because I’m researching this like mad. Every new day I learn 3 new things.

Maybe I’ll have your answer. If now, I’ll know where to find it.

So what do you have to lose?

Oh yeah.

Fat.