Autophagy Leads to Living
Keto –> OMAD –> Autophagy
In my current battle with the bulge, I discovered the Ketogenic Diet. (KETO ) Luckily, my appetite for reading is as voracious as my appetite for junk food! So, immersed in the Art of KETO, I read more about its benefits. This reading led me to discover One Meal A Day (OMAD), Intermittent Fasting (IF), and Autophagy.
In all of my years, I have *NEVER* felt better than I do RIGHT NOW. The combo of KETO/OMAD/IF, in conjunction with the process known as autophagy, has me feeling better than ever and living my best life.
Down over 40+ pounds, I feel amazing, started running yet again, and am super motivated to write, blog, share, experiment, travel, and do anything except sit on my formerly fat azz!
Getting Fat and Feeling Bad
On April 1st, 2018, after a giant Easter dinner, I felt *TERRIBLE* after overeating as usual. I dragged my fat self up the stairs and stepped on the scale. Here I was, a 5’10 male, 41 years old, and weighing in at 240 pounds. As I am in IT and not a fullback for an NFL team, I realized I needed to make IMMEDIATE changes. My diet consisted of whatever I wanted to eat and drink and that was usually a lot of junk food and gallons of Coca-Cola Classic. To the surprise of absolutely nobody in my family, I was F-A-T…..OBESE!
I have tried a few things in the past with success, but as is the case for many people, I gained it all back, plus a little extra just to remind me of where I come from! (“Body For Life” was my favorite, if you care. Eating many small meals and a great workout plan. But, as soon as I was “finished” with the program, the weight was back quicker than you can say Krispy Kreme. )
Eating Keto and Losing Weight
Once I cut out the carbs, especially the super sugary treats, and increased my water intake, the weight, almost literally, began to fall off on a daily basis. From 1 April 2018 to 4 July 2018 I lost over 40 pounds! On the 4th of July, I weighed in at 200 pounds exactly. This was all from eating steak, bunless burgers (awesome at Five Guys), munching on keto approved veggies, and trying a few new things here and there! I *did* start running again during this time, but there is ample evidence that you don’t necessarily need exercise to see tremendous benefits from Keto.
About two weeks after starting a Ketogenic Diet my constant hunger diminished to a MAYBE once a day occurrence. I guess this is where the “fat adaptation” kicked in as my body stopped relying on and expecting carbs. It was awesome! I eventually began to eat “One Meal A Day” and I never felt better! (OMAD) As I continued to explore and research, I discovered my path was not uncommon. Getting the carb craving out of your system by eating better foods, let to feeling more “satiated” and just not worrying about or feeling like eating every 4 hours or so.
PRO TIP — Three meals a day is NOT necessarily THE best way to eat.
OMAD, IF, & Autophagy
What is autophagy? You can read this link for a good scientific explanation. But, if you are just looking for a quick and dirty explanation…..it’s a cool way the body can keep itself operating better by “taking out the garbage” of imperfect cells in the body. How does one stimulate autophagy so that your cells will begin to clean themselves up and make you feel better and as a side benefit lose more weight? FASTING!! (Or Intermittent Fasting )
Fasting sounded terrible to me when I thought about it in the past. But, as I began to eat a ketogenic diet and my hunger disappeared the transition to OMAD was automatic. As OMAD is a form of intermittent fasting. a transition to longer fasting periods wasn’t an issue. After I read about autophagy and its benefits, I started to experiment with 24-hour fasts. Nothing extreme, but for your average person VERY out of the ordinary.
I can honestly say that I feel AMAZING. My OMAD diet makes me feel good, but getting a few more fasting hours in before eating really helps me think better and run faster. It was completely counterintuitive to everything passed on to me over the years.
A real-life example of “fasting in action” is a half marathon I ran in May. There was *ZERO* “carbo load” before the race. Instead, I ate a nice steak and salmon meal from Longhorn at 2:00 PM the day before my race, which started at 7:00 AM.
If you have ever run a race, you know there are always a lot of folks lined up at the Port o Potties pre-race. (Draw your own conclusions…) Well, fasting since 2:30 PM the day before had me NOT needing that last minute bathroom visit. I broke my 2 hour half marathon goal, felt awesome at the finish, and partied the rest of the day away!
Dr. Jason Fung
I can’t stress enough how important the YOUTUBE videos and the written works of Dr. Jason Fung are to educate, inspire, and motivate to stick with Keto, OMAD, and Intermittent Fasting. In the quest to feel GREAT and to enjoy the benefits of autophagy, Dr. Fung is my guide, mentor, and inspiration.
Links
A couple of links to help your motivation for KETO, OMAD, IF, and Autophagy:
https://www.reddit.com/r/keto/ — KETO info & motivation
Dr. Jason Fung — The Twitter Account of Dr. Fung. Follow him ASAP!
Autophagy Video — Great visual explanation of Autophagy
Recommendation
If you need to lose weight or just want to feel better read up on Keto, OMAD, Intermittent Fasting, and Autophagy. I was so fat and miserable it was depressing, but within one week of eating “KETO” I felt like a new man!
Within 16 weeks I had lost FORTY FREAKING POUNDS!!! I was NEVER hungry or depriving myself of food. No more Coca-Cola, but that’s an obvious MUST when losing weight. However; all of the food I eat is delicious, filling, and never leaves me wanting for some forbidden item!
I will admit, I have “cheated” a few times in a few social situations and my body feels terrible when I am finished. The cakes and cookies I loved are now too sweet for me and I just want a steak as a treat! Do your research, cut out carbs, eat GOOD FOOD, drink a LOT of water, lose weight, feel great, and live a long life!!
Conclusion
If you are considering KETO..do it TODAY. 4 months from RIGHT NOW….it will be 4 months from RIGHT NOW no matter what you do with your life. Either you are 4 months into a life-changing metamorphosis OR you are the same or worse as you are now. MAKE THE CHANGE RIGHT NOW!! DRINK WATER! EAT A STEAK! DO SOME RESEARCH!