In today’s article I am going to give you the basics of intermittent fasting and ketosis. You can call it intermittent fasting and ketosis 101. But first, I would like to offer you a free consultation with our weight loss doctors if you are interested in our weight loss program. Just call us at 215-821-7336 and Lisa will gladly schedule you for your complimentary weight loss consultation with one of our medical providers.

Before I get into the basics of intermittent fasting and ketosis I do have to tell you that fasting and ketosis type diets are not meant for everyone and before you start any type of nutritional changes you should discuss it with a medical or health care provider.  Various types of fasting practices and keto or ketosis type diets have been part of our worlds Global culture for decades, if not centuries. Because of this there is an abundance of information available to us for a multitude of fasting practices and Keto – ketosis diets. Some of this information is good and some of it is bad and that is why you should always consult with a medical or health care provider who is knowledgeable in these types of nutrition practices.

Now to begin with the very basics ketosis or keto diet simply means that instead of your body burning fuel for energy it’s burning ketones. Ketones are made by your body burning its own fat for fuel. Simply stated, when you stop eating  sugar and foods that convert to sugar your body will burn its own body fat for fuel.

It breaks the body fat down into ketones and ketones are a superior fuel source for your body as compared to sugar. When following a keto diet, you have to make sure that you are giving your body all of the vitamins, minerals and nutrients that it needs on a daily basis to continue running at peak capacity. And that means that you have to eat quality foods loaded with great nutrition.

Intermittent fasting, simply means that you will not be eating all day long. Intermittent fasting is a protocol of eating in which you are going to eat during a set period of time in the day.   The number of hours you allow yourself to eat during the day varies for different people. Some people allow themselves 8 hours to eat all of their meals and for the rest of the 16 hours of the day and night they are not eating but they are definitely drinking liquids. For most people this usually decreases the number of meals they are eating during the day.

Intermittent fasting and ketosis have a similar goal. The goal is to reduce the number of times in the day that your body is producing extra insulin. One of the reasons for this is because when your body has an increase or a spike in insulin production most of what you are eating and drinking is going to be stored as body fat.

This goal is not to totally stop our body from producing insulin. The goal is to limit the production of excess insulin. When there is continuously an excessive level of insulin in the body, the body eventually becomes insulin resistant.

Most people begin intermittent fasting with just eating three meals a day during an 8-hour period. As opposed to eating 6 to 7 meals a day. They also try not to snack during the day but if they do need to have a snack it is usually vegetables or a good healthy fat. If, a person is truly dedicated to making this lifestyle change they may even decrease their eating to 2 meals a day and a good healthy snack.

Please be aware that these types of diets do not endorse starving yourself or drastically reducing your number of calories per day. Reducing the number of meals eaten during the day does not mean to drastically reduce your calories. Personally with my diet I try to eat all of my calories and nutrients during an 8 hour period of time. Believe me, I am eating during these 8 hours.  I am eating three meals a day during an 8-hour period of time and I am giving my body the total 1600 calories that it needs during this time period. It is said that this type of protocol increases growth hormone production and this helps your body burn fat and maintain your lean muscle.

For your meals, it is usually recommended that you have an adequate amount of healthy protein, lots of vegetables and some good healthy fat. I usually tell our weight loss patients that a simple basic plan is to make sure that when you are having a meal half of your plate is it loaded up with good healthy vegetables and on the other side of your plate 1/4 of your plate should be your healthy protein and the other quarter should be a healthy carbohydrate and if you are following a keto diet it should be a healthy fat, like an avocado.

Before coming to us many of our patients have decided to follow the keto diet but they have had a difficult time with getting rid of the starchy carbohydrate type foods like pasta, rice, pizza, etc…  and that is perfectly normal. We just have them reduce the portion sizes of these carbohydrates over the course of time. The great thing about the body is that it adapts to this type of eating and as you continue with it, most people do not crave carbohydrates or sweets at all. The reason for this is that you’re giving the body all of the nutrition it needs in the form of good healthy protein, lots of nutrient dense vegetables and good healthy fats like olive oil and avocados.

Many people come into the office for the first time telling us that they are trying to follow a keto diet but they are just always hungry and this is usually easy to fix by just adding good healthy fats to the diet. When people first come into the office and tell us that they are constantly hungry, it usually means that they are not eating enough good healthy protein, vegetables and good healthy fats.

For years people have been afraid of eating good healthy fats because it was thought that they cause you to gain weight, but that is not the case. It’s too much insulin in your body and being insulin resistant and or weight loss resistant that is making us overweight.

So you see the keto diet and intermittent fasting, share the common goal of reducing the amount of excess insulin in the body. Excessive levels of insulin in the body can lead to many significant health problems.

Here are some symptoms to be on the lookout for to help you determine if you are insulin resistant and or weight loss resistant: you’re hungry all the time, you are depressed, irritable, grumpy, you have cravings, you have high blood pressure, you have excessive belly fat, you lack mental clarity and focus, your bad cholesterol levels are high and your memory might not be as good as it was in the past.

Many people start a keto diet in addition to intermittent fasting for the purpose of losing weight and these nutritional practices can definitely help you lose weight but they can also help improve your overall health and wellness.

I hope you found this article interesting. Again I must tell you that before beginning any type of nutritional program to speak with a doctor or a licensed healthcare provider.

If you, a friend, a loved one, family member or co-worker need help losing weight I invite you to call us and schedule a free weight loss consultation. Just call us at 215-821-7336 and we will gladly schedule your free weight loss consultation.