I began my low carbohydrate diet in 2012, I added the principles of Paleo in 2013, and by 2014 I was Bulletproof. By 2015, I had lost 40 pounds and kept it off. Then, something strange happened. Work became exponentially more difficult and I switched my focus to optimizing my inbox and getting other facets of my life in shape. Meanwhile, I started to fall back into bad habits, eating and drinking things I should not have. The weight started coming back. A new plan was needed for 2017: I needed to get back into Ketosis.
Ketosis? Ketones? ATP? Wait, what?
Adenozine triphosphate (ATP) is the fundamental unit of chemical energy generated from glucose, fat and, if necessary protein. ATP is essential for a host of cellular processes, including synthesizing protein and contracting muscle. The process of breaking down adenozine triphosphate to adenozine diphosphate and the associated electron transport is very interesting (the body is electric?), but all you need to know for this conversation is that ATP is essential to life and there is more than one raw material from which to make ATP.
Ketosis is the process by which your body converts fat into ketones to be used as fuel for your mitochondria, little organelles within the membrane of many of your cells. Specifically, your mitochondria convert the ketones into ATP. In short, your cells can be fueled by fat.
My Well Formulated Ketogenic Diet
A "Well Formulated Ketogenic Diet" as described by Dr. Stephen Phinney and Dr. Jeff Volek is one that not only produces a state of Nutritional Ketosis, but also is adaptable as the composition of the body changes. I believe this is the failing with most diets. People are instructed to eat a "balanced diet" of protein, carbohydrates, and fat; however, this is rarely properly defined and is often missing one critical point: As you lose body fat, you need to eat MORE, specifically dietary fat.
So, you may be surprised to see that the first phase of my "High Fat" diet, is rather low (25%) in dietary fat. That is the second critical point of a well formulated ketogenic diet: Include your body fat in your macro-nutrient calculations.
That Sounds Like a Lot of Work
It may sound like a lot of work, but it could not be any simpler. I have previously posted about tracking yourself and there I mentioned a wonderful app call My Fitness Pal. The app has a ton of features and customization including your macro-nutrient goals, micro-nutrient goals, and custom recipes. My "secret recipe" for staying in Ketosis? I literally created a recipe for "Body Fat" using it's caloric equivalent in MCT oil. It is the first thing I add to my daily log to ensure that my macro-nutrients are displayed correctly on the app.
Connecting my Fitbit Charge HR and my Fitbit Aria to My Fitness Pal allows me to track my activity, my weight, and my calories with ease. Tracking my blood glucose and my precious Ketones are not quite so easily tracked, but I will be writing on how I have optimized this process as well.
Stay well engineered,
Devon
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If you found this information helpful, I would appreciate it if you clicked my Referral Link and checkout all the great Bulletproof products for yourself.
Connect with me to receive updates when I post next.
Follow @biohackineering
These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These statements or products referenced are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
