A lot of people think of starvation when you mention the word fasting, but I’m here to tell you that this isn’t the case. Intermittent fasting means that you are eating within a certain window of hours in the day and fasting for the rest.
Although there are others, the most popular intermittent fasting schedule follows a 16 – 8 hour split (sixteen hours fasting and eight hours eating). This also includes your sleeping hours during the night. For example, if you stopped eating at 8PM tonight you would then break your fast at 12PM tomorrow.
Firstly, the most important thing to know is that sixteen hours is the magic number and should be your minimum amount of fasting time for reasons that I will get into later. Personally, speaking in terms of body fat loss, I have had the best results when fasting 18-20 hours per day, shortening my eating window down to six or four hours, and so have many of my clients.
The second most important thing to understand is that intermittent fasting does not mean that you can spend your meal times eating junk food. You will not lose weight by fasting alone. Will fasting give you more wiggle room when it comes to cheat meals? Yes. Will you still get all of the other benefits from fasting if you’re not concerned with weight loss? Meh, yes and no.
Let’s not get it twisted. YOU MUST FOLLOW A KETO/LOW CARB BASED DIET AS WELL. No carbs or sugar is the most important aspect of eating healthily.
Nature has given us two sources when it comes to fuelling the cells in our bodies – glucose (sugar), or ketones. Glucose comes from food and ketones are created naturally within the body from our own fat reserves.
In order to understand what happens during the fasted state we first have to understand insulin, which is a key hormone when it comes to fat storage. When we eat, blood sugars rise, so the pancreas has to release insulin to take sugar from the blood to the liver in order to be processed. This is the body’s natural way of lowering blood sugar levels in order to avoid toxicity. Carbohydrates and sugars raise the blood sugars to levels that are particularly higher than those of proteins and dietary fats, which is why I recommend avoiding them altogether.
When insulin is working at high levels, the body is running on glucose and potentially storing fat, so we refer to this as the fed state. It takes 16 hours of fasting to get the insulin levels low enough to enter the fasted state – where you are producing ketones for fuel (burning fat). That is when all of the amazing stuff starts to happen. Human beings have evolved by way of adaptation to eat far more infrequently than we do today. Getting into a fasted state also allows the body to unlock unique proteins that improve brain, gut, bone health and much more.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF KETONES?
Ketones…
are an appetite suppressant
are antioxidants
will increase oxygenation in the body
will decrease carbon dioxide levels in the body
can improve thyroidal conditions
burn fat
increase energy levels
unclog arteries
increase good cholesterol and reduce the bad
lower blood pressure
improve mental disorders
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU FAST UP TO 24 HOURS?
Although I don’t necessarily recommend it, I’ve known people to fast up to 21 days, but let’s just stick to the first day of fasting for now! Intermittent fasting for 24-hours is the one of the best ways to naturally trigger the anti-ageing, self healing and detoxification processes in the body.
12 HOURS INTO INTERMITTENT FASTING
After 12 hours the body starts to produce ketones.
Growth hormone levels also start to spike at 12 hours. This is beneficial for muscle and bone development.
16 HOURS INTO INTERMITTENT FASTING
Ketosis begins.
18 HOURS INTO INTERMITTENT FASTING
Autophagy – 18 hours into fasting, the body begins to recycle old, damaged and used proteins, organelles (such as mitochondria) and cell membranes, turning them into new ones. A great example of this is the regeneration of Advanced Glycated End Products, or AGEs, which are proteins destroyed by the glycated (sticky) mixture of glucose (sugar) and proteins in the body. It is at this point in the fasted state that the body starts to turn these old, damaged proteins into new amino acids. A person that has undergone dramatic weight loss surgery, for example, could benefit from autophagy if they suffer from ‘loose skin’. That loose skin is only an accumulation of dead proteins that can be recycled into new skin cells, simply by triggering this natural regeneration process.
Amyloid plaque is the dense, insoluble protein that forms between the nerve cells (neurons) and can cause neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s. These proteins get a good clean up when you hit the 18-hour mark. The same applies to all other types of cellular proteins that are no longer working in the body.
24 HOURS INTO INTERMITTENT FASTING
Now you are now freeing yourself of glycogen (stored glucose) built up in the liver. You see, the process of body fat storage looks like this:
GLUCOSE —> GLYCOGEN —> ADIPOSE TISSUE/BODY FAT
In order to get into the visceral (organ) fat, you must burn through the glycogen stores first.
Gut healing from the increase of stem cells. That’s right, you’re now detoxing your gut and you didn’t have to spend a penny on any of those ‘miracle supplements’.
24 hours of fasting improves cardiovascular functions by lowing blood pressure, cholesterol, and reversing heart disease.
The reduction in ‘monocytes’, which are the cells that cause inflammation in the body, helps to eliminate conditions such as diabetes, multiple sclerosis and irritable bowel syndrome.
You’re getting smarter! Stimulating the production of a protein in the nerve cells, called Brain Derived Neurotropic Function (BDNF), will improve learning, memory, and the production of new nerve cells in the hippocampus area of the brain.
CONCLUSION
The scientific world is currently experiencing a lot of breakthroughs when it comes to fasting. It seems as if science is starting to catch up to the ancient knowledge and practices that our ancestors relied on so heavily. Up until about a century ago, people often used fasting as a way to treat a wide range of illnesses. The decline in the practice of fasting can be correlated with the rise of big pharmaceutical companies. As many natural medicines were made illegal by the forces that be, so came the deterioration of the way of life.
It is not in the interest of food, or pharmaceutical companies to encourage fasting as a health option. There is no money in it for them. You have the power.
Get yourself into a 24-hour fast as quickly as possible. That will ensure that you are burning through visceral (organ) fat right away. You will have to get through that before you see anything shift from anywhere else. Try to maintain a minimum 16 hour fast everyday thereafter, keeping it mind that it could take up to one week for your body to properly adjust to the new changes.
Back at you with some ankle stretches & drills to improve your function ability.
Poor flexibility of the ankle can thwart your gains from squats, so it’s an issue that should be addressed, especially if you are new to training. Squatting deep engages glutes, which are probably the most important core muscles. Yes, they are a part of the legs group, but they are also the base of the core, because of the way that they support the pelvis and lower back. Knee problems are 90% of the time either foot, or hip (glutes) related. These drills will help improve, not only, your ankle mobility, but also your overall bio-mechanics from the bottom up.
Included are…
– Calf & Achilles Stretches
– Tibialis Anterior Stretch
– Foam Rolling the Calf and Achilles
– Foam/Ball Rolling Tibialis Anterior
Are you having trouble getting an accurate hip to waist measurement? Well, you’ve come to the right place! I’ll help you through the process, but first let’s get an understanding of why we use this measurement.
WHY IS THE HIP TO WAIST MEASUREMENT IMPORTANT?
Doctors often use waist measurements of a person to determine their possible health risks. Storing a lot of weight around the abdominal area can be a an indicator of high levels of visceral fat, which is the fat that gets stored in and around the organs. When too much fat builds up in the liver, it then gets pushed into the pancreas causing a person to become type 2 diabetic. Luckily, type 2 diabetes can be reversed with a solid keto based diet used in combination with intermittent fasting. For more information about ketosis and type 2 diabestes read this article: https://immortal-training.com/ketosis/
We can also use the hip to waist measurement to determine the body fat percentage of your entire body. All you need for this is your waist circumference, height and sex. If you are part of the Immortal Team then you can plug these numbers into your members area profile, in Body Metrics, to get your own body fat percentage results.
Without further adieu let’s get into it!
Scroll down to be coached through the hip to waist measurement process via video.
WHAT WILL I NEED TO MEASUREMENT HIPS TO WAIST?
Measuring tape
Tight fitting clothes
An assistant (optional, but ideal)
HOW DO I MEASURE HIPS TO WAIST?
KEY POINTS FOR MEASURING THE WAIST:
Measure approximately 1-2″ above the belly button at the smallest circumference of the waist
Make sure the measuring tape is straight
KEY POINTS FOR MEASURING THE HIPS:
Use the joints on the outsides of the hips as a guideline
Wrap the tape around the buttocks and make sure that it is straight
Be sure that you are not including the thighs in the measurement
The overhead squat test is a simple way to assess your overall function ability and biomechanics. It will give us general understanding of how the kinetic chain of energy works throughout the body.
WHAT DO I NEED?
Broomstick
Camera
Barefeet
HOW DO I PERFORM AN OVERHEAD SQUAT?
Watch the video below for detailed instructions of how to perform the movement.
Key Points:
Keep your back straight, chest high and core tight
Your feet should be shoulder width apart
Take a wide grip (outside shoulder width) and hold the stick directly above your head
Squat ass-to-the-grass (if possible) using full range of motion
Keep your feet flat and drive yourself upwards by pushing through the heels
Ketosis is the metabolic state in which one produces elevated levels of ketone bodies. Ketones are produced by the liver from fats stores during times of fasting, in this case from sugars and carbohydrates.
The human body can use two things for energy – glucose (sugar) and ketones. When you are in ketosis the body is forced to use stored fat as fuel by way of ketones.
SHOULD I CUT MY CALORIES?
If you get your information from food companies, or institutions like Slimming World, or Weight Watchers, then you will end up in a vicious cycle of calorie cutting in order to lose a few pounds. Sadly, the vast majority of people on these programs will never get to where they want to be. The only result is less muscle and bone mass and a higher body fat percentage. Restricting calories can help you lose weight, but won’t necessarily help you lose body fat.
Calories are nothing more than a unit of measurement used to determine the amount of energy we get from food – simple as that. If you have 500kcal worth of broccoli in one hand and 500kcal worth of chocolate in the other, which one is going to make you fat? The chocolate will because it’s loaded with sugar. This makes common sense out of the fact that not all calories are equal. Yet companies like Nestle and Cadbury’s will advertise sweets and chocolate bars that are only 100kcal claiming they’re healthy. Wow! Talk about capitalizing on peoples’ ignorance.
SO SUGAR AND CARBS ARE THE ENEMY?
Calories equal energy. We can only get calories from macronutrients – protein, carbohydrates and fats. Carbohydrates and sugars are one in the same. Carbs are, in fact, just complex chains of sugar molecules. This is why refined carbs, such as rice, pasta and bread, raise blood-sugar levels higher than any other food.
The body’s response to elevated blood-sugar levels is insulin. Once released from the pancreas, insulin takes the sugar from the blood to the liver where it is converted into glucose and pushed into the cells. Remember that the body can use either sugar (in the form of glucose), or ketones for fuel. Once in the liver, the sugar gets converted into glycogen – stored sugar – and then into fat.
That’s how we get fat.
The liver can also convert amino acids from proteins into fat, but this typically only happens if you have too much in one sitting, or when simultaneously getting an insulin spike from carbohydrates.
SHOULD I AVOID FAT?
Unlike protein and carbohydrates dietary fats do not pass through the liver. Instead they get absorbed directly into the lymphatic system as chylomicrons. (Remember, the liver controls body fat storage). It is possible to store dietary fats as body fat, but again, mainly when combined with sugar or carbs resulting in an insulin response. With that understanding it should be clear that a low fat/high carb diet is not the way to go about losing body fat. Rather that is should be the other way round – high fat/low carbs.
The original research into diabetes that took place in the 1920s by Fredrick Banting and Charles Best gave scientists the understanding that the disease was caused by excessive fat storage in the liver and pancreas. Understandably, dietary fat became the culprit. Hence the implementation of the low fat/high carb diet and the infamous food pyramid on the mass population. Not soon after came more than a 400% increase in cases of type 2 diabetes due to the fact that doctors treated the disease with more of the same diet that actually caused it in the first place! What a mess.
But a lot has changed since then. Technology has advanced, so we now know that it is the liver that converts things into body fat. Finally, we have the tools necessary to beat obesity and type 2 diabetes.
WHAT FATS SHOULD I AVOID?
Dietary fats can be saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, or trans. Our bodies need all of them excluding the last. Trans fats are a by-product of hydrogenation, which is when hydrogen is used to solidify oils and prevent them from going rotten. They are found in things such as margarine, microwave dinners, fast food, palm oil, etc. They are unnatural and should be avoided at all costs.
Saturated and unsaturated fats should be a part of everyone’s diet. Yes, I said saturated fats as well! The sad reality is that if you google search “is saturated fat healthy?” you will get a couple pages in before you find anything that doesn’t vilify this key nutrient. I can tell you first hand that saturated fat plays an important role in the reversal of type 2 diabetes, in which I have helped countless clients achieve over the years. The research and publications of The Weston A. Price Foundation and many others consistently confirm that chronic diseases have increased dramatically over the past forty years. This is a direct result of the dietary guidelines given to the public – telling them to restrict animal fats and replace them with grains and sugars.
Saturated fats are needed for brain, cardiovascular, bone, immune and nervous system health, so a deficiency can cause problems in more place than one.
WILL FRUIT HELP ME LOSE WEIGHT?
Fruit contains the sweetest natural sugar in the world – fructose. Earlier I mentioned that the cells can use glucose for energy. All sugars (dextrose, lactose, maltose, etc.) can be converted into glucose in the liver to be used as energy except for fructose. Instead fructose gets stored as glycogen and then body fat. Continuous high levels of fructose can quickly lead to type II diabetes. From the 1970s-present day food companies add High Fructose Corn Syrup and Glucose-Fructose-Syrup to just about every sugary drink and most sweets on the market. This has also contributed to the 400%+ increase in Type II Diabetes over the past few decades.
If you’re looking to get into ketosis then you should avoid fruit. However berries have only trace amounts of fructose and will not cause a spike in insulin levels.
HOW WILL I KNOW I AM IN KETOSIS?
Sugar is highly addictive, so expect to experience some withdrawal symptoms and subtle changes from your body switching energy sources. The transition can take up to 48 hours, but once you get through that threshold your energy, mood, sleep, hair, skin, nails – everything should improve. Here’s what to look for:
Weight loss
Obviously, you’re in a fat burning state.
Bad breath
A faint smell similar to methane can be caused by higher levels of ketones in the first 48 hours
Loss of appetite
Protein and veg digest slower than carbs and ketones could suppress appetite in the brain
Increased focus
Ketones can improve brain clarity and brain function
Temporary lethargy
Switching from glucose to ketones as your main source of fuel might take a couple of days
Digestive issues
Diets based on ketosis often involve major changes in food, so detoxification of the digestive system can cause some constipation, or diarrhea
Be sure to consume vegetables high in fibre
Insomnia
Ketosis can also sleeping problems for up to a couple of weeks, but once adapted, quality of sleep is normally improved
CONCLUSION
Diets built around ketosis are the most effective for losing body fat. The keto diet is not a calorie counting, or cutting diet, but it would be wise to avoid eating too many calories in one sitting (as previously mentioned). Good news is that you don’t have to obsess over calories.
Be sure to set reasonable goals. Give yourself a day off at least once per week. It will help psychologically more than anything.
Drop sets is one of my favorite techniques for building muscle mass. Traditionally, drop sets are used on the very last one, or two sets of a workout, but you can get a whole workout of drop sets in using this approach.
Warning: you will feel an insane pump all the way through!
You can use this technique for any muscle group, and any exercise. I recommend starting with a weight that you would normally use for ten repetitions and drop down to a 50% (or close to it) of that weight. This should set you up for 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps with room to super set an assisting muscle group at the end (optional). Obviously, the weight and reps can be tweaked in order to suit your own training regime.
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