Tue, Dec-18-12, 15:36
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Senior Member
Posts: 111
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Plan: Atkins
Stats: 235/135/135
BF:BMI=23.2
Progress: 100%
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
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After I read about "keto adaptation" in The Art and Science of Low Carb Performance, I realized that "one bite" CAN hurt you. According to the research reported by Phinney and Volek in that book, the body takes a minimum of two to four weeks to become fully keto-adapted. Keto adaptation is the process of switching the body from being a glucose burning engine to being a fat burning engine. When fully keto-adapted, the muscles can burn fatty acids directly from fat stores. Most of the muscles can't directly burn fatty acids until the body is fully keto-adapted because it takes a few weeks before the body can completely reprogram its fuel burning system. Ketosis is only the first step toward keto adaptation.
The problem is that the reverse process -- switching the body from fat burning to glucose burning -- happens very quickly. All you have to do is give the body a significant enough amount of glucose to halt the process of ketosis, which ends the period of keto adaptation. Then, there's no shortcut to return to the keto-adapted state. The body will require another two to four weeks to become keto-adapted again.
I've been able to avoid carby foods for the past few months -- when they've been handed to me, when people have told me how "amazing" something is and that I have to try it, when my homegirls bought me my favorite chocolate martini without asking me, when one of my close friends told me how much he misses having nieve (ice cream) with me -- I've been able to say "no" because I haven't been able to bring myself to just throw away all of the effort it took me to reach this fat burning state. Money comes and goes, but *time* never comes back. Once I've wasted time, it's lost forever. That's a HUGE sacrifice to me, and I have not *yet* come across any food that's worth losing the time I've invested.
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