“Keto” seems to be the hot new trend.
Maybe you’ve seen people stirring butter into their coffee or talking about the “keto flu,” but you have no clue what they’re talking about.
Don’t worry, I’m about to break it down for you.
Nutritional ketosis is a natural metabolic state in which the body’s primary fuel source is coming from ketone bodies.
Ketone bodies are the energy molecules produced from burning fat.
Long story short – ketosis is when your body uses fat as it’s primary source of fuel.
Well that sounds well and good, but why isn’t our body doing that ALL the time?
Here’s the deal.
Our bodies have 3 primary sources of energy:
1) Sugar
2) Protein
3) Fat
Sugar is the quickest and easiest type of energy to use. Our bodies have evolved to be efficient, so we’re usually burning sugar.
When you think of sugar, candy or soda may come to mind, but do you know where else we get sugar?
Carbohydrates.
Our body breaks down all carbs into sugar, from cake and chips to brown rice and fruit.
The average person consumes enough carbohydrates to rarely -if ever – use another fuel source. (Just think of the typical American diet.)
And when we don’t eat our usual amount of carbs, our bodies send out hunger signals and cravings to make sure we get more!
Our bodies aren’t trying to blackmail us, they’re just trying to function efficiently.
Our bodies even store a little bit of extra sugar in our bodies for emergencies! This is called glycogen and we keep it in our liver and muscles.
When your body runs out of glycogen, it starts to make its OWN sugar, in a process called gluconeogenesis. To make its own glucose, the body needs PROTEIN. If you aren’t getting enough in your diet, your body will eat it’s own protein sources ….it’s muscles!
This isn’t sustainable so eventually your body will turn to it’s FAT stores.
FINALLY, it is in ketosis! Now your body is a fat burning machine and any calories it doesn’t receive from food, will be harvested from your own fat!
There are a variety of ketogenic diets on the market, but here at Quality Chiropractic we stand by the Ideal Protein Protocol.
Ideal Protein not only puts our clients into ketosis quickly, but it does so without compromising their nutritional needs. When our clients have lost the weight we reintroduce carbohydrates in a sustainable way, allowing them to enjoy all foods and maintain their new size.
If you have more questions about ketosis or the Ideal Protein protocol, you can link to our website here IP @ Quality Chiropractic
Also don’t hesitate to schedule an appointment with our Ideal Protein Coach.
Ideal Protein at Quality Chiropractic
Britt Sulkin, Ideal Protein Coach
Ontological Life Coach
703.237.0404