I’ve been trying to understand why Craig seemed to adapt so quickly to a Fat Based Metabolism and yet I have struggled with large swings in ketones and BG since I upped the fat content of my diet. It became very clear that even though I had been eating only meat and fat for several years, the larger amount of protein I was eating provided enough glucose to meet my body’s needs. This got me to wondering what was different about Craig’s environment and mine, and I think I’ve hit on a possible solution to the problem.
Craig is younger than I am and though I don’t think age itself is the major factor, he is still working, and if memory serves, his job is one that has a high level of strenuous activity. With no disrespect and an attempt at some humor, I’ll call this “The Ditch Digging Factor”.
I, on the other hand, am retired and have no real activity other than a leisurely stroll to the market a couple of times a week. I fall squarely in the middle of “The Couch Potato Crowd” complete, when I was working and eating a normal high carb diet, with “Bubble Butt” syndrome (also affectionately known as Secretary’s Spread). Yes, I’m active, but none of my activity is strenuous.
Advice that I’ve received on other groups on successfully transitioning to a Fat/Ketone based metabolism has focused on manipulating both the composition of the food I eat as well as eating many times per day to spread out the effect of one large infusion of protein from a single meal. This approach seems rather contrived and our Paleo ancestors certainly wouldn’t have worried about consuming exactly 5 grams of carbs and 20 grams of protein at each of 5 meals which must be space exactly 3 ½ hours apart, a fat only snack just before retiring, and checking BG when I get up to pee in the middle of the night and consuming more fat if BG is too high.
All this is leading to a hypothesis. I believe that our muscles and liver store carbs in the form of glycogen. My low level of activity draws on these stores when I go for my walks, but there is sufficient time between these minor increases of activity to allow what glucose is manufactured from the protein I eat to replenish these glycogen stores. This means that I’m always using glucose as my body’s preferred fuel as there is always sufficient glucose available. Since Craig is forced to do strenuous physical activity almost every day as part of his job, his glycogen stores are always depleted, so his system had no choice but to convert to using a different primary fuel – fat and ketones. Craig’s level of activity made it impossible for him to eat enough protein to make sufficient glucose to replenish reserves.
I’m in reasonable shape so I’m going to test this idea by increasing my activity enough every day to try to deplete my body’s glycogen reserves. This should have a profound effect on BG and ketones. I’m eating less than 100g of protein per day so I have less than 58g of glucose available to support the glucose driven systems and replenish glycogen stores. I’m going to start off with a slow 2 mile daily jog. This should do a number on any stored glycogen and with less than 58g of glucose available from my daily food intake, there shouldn’t be enough to fully replenish glycogen stores and my body will be forced to use ketones and fat.
If my activity level is high enough then minor differences in protein and fat ratios should make little difference. Also, there should be no requirements to eat more meals or any other artificial manipulation as the total raw materials consumed each day just won’t be enough to allow my body to continue using glucose as its primary fuel. Our paleo ancestors certainly had a much higher level of activity than I do and this may have been the key to their success.
Thoughts?
Lex
