Tim Ferriss’s 3-day fasting protocol and a week of ketosis.

New year’s resolution week 2.

For my second week of new year’s resolution to carry out weekly one-week challenges, I chose to make a re-boot my body with Tim Ferriss‘s 3-day fast and for the rest of the week adhere to a ketogenic diet while running 45k for the week, and drink no beer or wine.

What is Ketosis?

Usually, the carbohydrates we consume are broken down to glucose, used as energy directly, or stored in the liver and muscles as glycogen.  If you stop supplying glucose in the form of carbohydrates (<50g of carbs per day), glycogen from the liver is broken down to serve the brain and other vital organs.  The brain can’t use fat directly as a source of energy, but fat, digested or stored, is broken down in the liver to beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), acetoacetate, and acetone, released to the bloodstream and taken up the brain and other organs as fuel for the mitochondria. Excess is released with urine or in the case of acetone when breathing as it is volatile. (Acetone smelling breath is typical of a person in ketosis). Meanwhile, blood sugar levels remain normal due to the breakdown of amino and other fatty acids.

Why Ketosis?

What is the big deal with ketosis? It has become a trendy way to lose weight fast. But it is not the only benefit. It does wonders for those with Diabetes II, reducing all the insulin spikes and, in several cases, have cured Diabetes II. It also cleanses the body from dead cells as it reduces inflammation. Additionally, it inhibits the growth of and reverses several types of cancer and reboots your immune system due to stem cell-based regeneration. If one wants to stay in ketosis for long periods of time, it is best to consult with a physician, as there could be renal disfunction with too much animal protein, dehydration for not drinking enough liquid, and mineral and vitamin deficiencies if the diet is not sufficiently balanced.

How to get into ketosis?

There are two ways of getting into ketosis: fasting or a keto diet.  For short bouts like I have done, it should be perfectly safe.

Ketogenic diet

For the body to switch to burning fat rather than carbs, one has to eliminate practically all carbs from the diet (<50g carbs allowed) and make around 70% of the energetic value (the calories) comes from fat alone (remember fat has 4x as many calories per gram than do carbs or proteins).  Of course, there is a risk of eating too much unhealthy saturated fat with dairy and meat. Personally, I don’t have this problem as I usually ingest very little saturated fat, as a pescatarian. During my keto-days, I ate canned  Caballa (Chub Mackerel ), a fat fish with olive oil, nuts and seeds, olives, avocado, and eggs fried in coconut oil with turmeric and thyme. The only saturated fat was that of the eggs.

Fasting – general considerations.

There are several ways of doing fasting.  One of the most popular is the so-called intermittent fasting.  There are various protocols from the very popular 16/8 and 14/10, and more extreme 18/6 and even 23/1. That is fasting for 16 hours (overnight when sleeping and skipping breakfast) and only eat during a window of 8 hours. In the extreme case of fasting for 23 hours  – it means only one meal in 24 hours. While 16/8 and the less harsh 14/10 protocols becomes a habit, the extreme 1 meal per day is usually thrown in a few times per week in a regular diet. Let’s have a look at what happens physiologically while fasting for up to 5 days.

1. When you eat, the normal scenario is that your insulin levels rise, which allows uptake of glucose to the muscles and the brain. Excess first stores as glycogen in the muscles and the liver, and further excess is converted as fat. Too many carbohydrates will make you fat—no doubt about that.
2. When fasting 6-24 hours, insulin levels drop, and glycogen is converted to glucose for energy.
3. After 24h to about 48h, the liver starts manufacturing glucose from amino-acids. During this period, excess proteins are broken down and converted into glucose. It is not necessarily muscle. There are connective tissue, skin, old cells, and other junky cell parts that can be destroyed. This is the process of autophagy.  It is often misunderstood as it breaks down muscles but should really be seen as a cleansing mechanism rather than losing important muscle mass.
4. After 2-3 days, you enter ketosis. There are low insulin levels, which stimulate breaking down body fat to energy as fatty acids, which can be used directly by the muscles as energy. The brain is a bit more complicated, but the fatty acids are further broken down to ketone bodies such as beta-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate, capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier.
5. Finally, after 5 days of fasting, the body enters a protein conservation phase when high growth hormone levels maintain muscle mass and lean tissues.  Adrenaline levels increase. People on this long fasting report high energy levels.

Much of what I have learned about fasting comes from Dr Jason Fung’s writing and podcasts in which he has participated. First, a great article which explains the above in detail. Attached to the article, there is also a video series with Dr Fung, explaining the theory in detail.  Secondly, his two books can be recommended. The first The Obesity Code states that your body has a fixed body-weight thermostat, which will regulate you to maintain the weight (and fat reserves) you are currently at, regardless of whether you eat fewer calories or exercise more. The base metabolism will adapt and decrease as the caloric intake decrease and your physical activity increases. You are caught in a trap. Fasting, on the other hand, increases metabolism after a few days.  Different fasting techniques are discussed in his second book called The complete guide to fasting.

3-day fast

I have done 3-day fasts three times before to fight inflammation. Those have been strict water-fasts with no additional caloric items added.  I would only drink coffee and water with some minerals and salt for 72 hours. Although you feel OK after two days, the time leading up to this is often gruesome.  I have gotten somewhat dizzy, forgetful, and have a hard time concentrating.

This time I did a slightly different protocol to avoid the lack of focus in the intermittent time that the body switches from using glucose as a source of energy to ketones. This makes it less a true fast but it is less taxing to do. The main purpose of the 3 day fast in this context is to get into ketosis as soon fast as possible.
I followed the method is described in Tim Ferriss’s book Tools of Titans in the section about  Dr. Dominic D’Agostino. The difference compared to the water fast is the following:

• A glycogen depletion workout of day 1.
• Quench hunger an exogenous ketones or MCT oil (Medium Chain Triglycerides) such as Brain Octane. Alternatively, use Coconut oil, which is cheaper but not as pure.  This helps against carb-withdrawal – and with this hack, I noticed there was really nothing to it. I didn’t lose concentration when allowed to consume up to 4 tablespoons of fat daily.

Here is the protocol:

• Day before: plan to make phone calls during the morning or listen to podcasts and audiobooks for about 4 hours. 
• Have a low carb dinner around 6 pm the night before.
• During the three following mornings, plan to sleep in. The sleeping does some of the work for you.
• Have ketones, MCT oil, or Coconut oil when you wake up and then 2 more times every 4 hours.  I had mine as a bulletproof coffee by putting coffee, oil, turmeric, a pinch of black pepper (piperine helps for better absorption of the curcumin), and cinnamon in the blender. It is an acquired taste but a fantastic brain boost for the morning.  Once you are in ketosis, you can stop using the oil, as you will not feel hunger.
• Brisk walk for 3-4 hours to deplete glycogen reserves and drink lots of water with a salt pinch for sodium. I also took additional magnesium to avoid cramps. It is imperative to drink a lot.
• Repeat the walk the next day if necessary
• Keep on taking MCT oil or Ketones if you feel hunger.
• You can add 1.5g of BCAA (Branch-chain Amido Acids) if you are concerned about losing muscle mass.  I took 1.5 g the first two mornings.

Results.

I had the best fasting experience yet. It surely helped with the MCT oil. The second day I did a shorter run, but that did not turn out well.  My HR spiked even though I did not run fast. So I cut it short to only 2K. It is safer to do another long walk. For the remainder of the week, I stuck with the Keto diet. I trimmed down about 1kg, which is less than I had hoped, but at least I got a feel for the protocol.  I did not run much during the fasting, so the bulk of the 45 km for the week was done Friday-Sunday, which I had planned.

During the week, I listened to the two amazing audiobooks from Audible in my headphones during the walk and my additional running. Both books were very motivational.

The first one The Power of Full Engagement, I mentioned in my last blog post. Jim Loehr – a legendary sports coach who has carried over his knowledge of sports coaching to apply to other business goals, personal life, health, and purpose. Get your work/life balance together.

The other one, 12 Lessons for Life by Jordan Petersen – read by the author + was fabulous!

No!
Jordan Petersen is not alt-right!
Those who think that have obviously not read or listened to him.  The main message is to think for yourself and take responsibility for your own life. Show confidence! Do the right thing!

So if any of my left-wing peers argue that one shouldn’t read alt-right authors, I’d rather find out for myself. I find Petersen to be a true humanist and his teachings are reasonable.

You get up to two free audiobooks when you sign up for Audible Premium Plus.

No alcohol week.

It turned out that I managed to complete a second one-week challenge in not drinking beer or wine. Of course, carbs should be limited, and many but not all alcoholic beverages are no go. Technically, however, a shot of whisky, a glass of red wine, or a Michelob Ultra would still have kept me in ketosis,  but I thought I’d go for a complete alcohol-free week instead – and managed. As I went to the supermarket on Sunday, I noticed my favorite beer Leffe was on sale, so I bought five to put in the fridge, with the sincere promise that for five weeks to come, I would reward myself with a bottle for each challenge I completed. I only had ONE LEFFE BEER on Sunday night when I broke the fast. A proof of the self-control character I have developed during the week. 😎

This week’s challenge

I decided to wake up at 5 AM every day this week, which will inspire me to perform many other good habits. As resources and inspiration, there are three books I have read before. “Miracle Morning” and “5 AM Club,” and Morning Make Over.

I have had the goal to get up at 5 AM for a long time. In fact, it has been constantly on my mind since 2015, when I first started to make notes to plan my day. But I have had a hard time living up to it since I am really a night owl. I have often gone to bed between 1 and 3:30 AM. This week I will nap during the day to recover if I don’t get enough sleep. I’ll let you know by next week how I did.

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