How to Lose 1 Pound of Fat per Day (20,000 Calories in 5 Days)

Summary

In this fascinating interview, Dr. Ian Lake, a type 1 diabetic and medical doctor, shares his incredible feat of fasting for 5 days while running 5 complete marathons (100 miles) during that time. He discusses how he achieved this seemingly impossible task by utilizing nutritional ketosis, a state where the body burns fat for fuel instead of carbohydrates. Dr. Lake delves into the science behind ketosis, dispelling myths around keto acidosis, and highlighting the benefits of a ketogenic lifestyle for diabetics and non-diabetics alike. Through his groundbreaking experiment, he challenges conventional medical wisdom and inspires viewers to explore alternative approaches to health and fitness.

Takeaways

• 🧑‍⚕️ Dr. Ian Lake, a type 1 diabetic medical doctor, fasted for 5 days and ran 5 marathons (100 miles) in that time period to demonstrate that nutritional ketosis is safe.
• ⚖️ The key to fat-burning and ketosis is lowering insulin levels, which can be achieved through carbohydrate restriction and fasting.
• 🔥 During the 5-day fast, Dr. Lake and the other participants reached deep nutritional ketosis, with blood ketone levels as high as 6 mmol/L, without developing diabetic ketoacidosis.
• 💪 Contrary to popular belief, the participants experienced no injuries or excessive soreness, suggesting an anti-inflammatory effect of being in nutritional ketosis.
• 🥩 Dr. Lake follows a low-carb, high-fat diet that includes meat, fish, eggs, and some dairy and vegetables, leaning more towards a carnivore approach.
• 💧 Staying hydrated and replenishing electrolytes like sodium and magnesium is important when fasting and being in ketosis.
• ⏰ It can take 2-3 weeks to become fully fat-adapted and keto-adapted, but the transition becomes easier with practice.
• 🏃‍♂️ Once fat-adapted, physical activity can be performed in a fasted state without the need for extra fueling or carb-loading.
• ❌ Nutritional ketosis is different from and does not lead to diabetic ketoacidosis, a dangerous condition seen in uncontrolled type 1 diabetes.
• 🔑 The key distinction between type 1 and type 2 diabetes lies in insulin production and the need for exogenous insulin in type 1 diabetes.

Q & A

What was the primary goal of Dr. Ian Lake's experiment?

The primary goal was to prove that nutritional ketosis is safe and that people with type 1 diabetes can burn fat and ketones for fuel without the need for insulin or carbohydrates during extended physical activity.

How many people participated in the experiment, and what did it involve?

Eight people participated in the experiment, which involved fasting for five days while running approximately 100 miles (five complete marathons) during that period.

What is the difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes?

People with type 1 diabetes cannot produce their own insulin, so they must inject insulin to regulate blood sugar levels. People with type 2 diabetes have more than enough insulin but have become insulin resistant, often due to overeating, particularly carbohydrates.

How does insulin affect fat burning?

High insulin levels block fat burning by overriding hormones that stimulate the release of fat from fat cells. Low insulin levels are necessary for the body to release and burn fat effectively.

What is the difference between nutritional ketosis and diabetic ketoacidosis?

Nutritional ketosis is a controlled, regulated process of fat burning that occurs when carbohydrate intake is restricted. Diabetic ketoacidosis is a medical emergency that can occur in people with type 1 diabetes when there is a severe lack of insulin, causing a dangerous buildup of blood sugar and ketones.

How did Dr. Lake transition into running on fat and ketones for fuel?

Initially, Dr. Lake fueled up with protein and fat before running. Eventually, he realized he could tap into his body's fat stores and run in a fasted state without needing to consume food beforehand, leading to his transition to running on fat and ketones.

What were the benefits of being fat-adapted and running in a fasted state?

Being fat-adapted and running in a fasted state allowed Dr. Lake to exercise without worrying about managing insulin or consuming carbohydrates. It also provided a sense of freedom and spontaneity, as he didn't need to prepare or plan for physical activity.

Did the participants experience any recovery issues or soreness after the experiment?

Surprisingly, none of the participants experienced any injuries, recovery problems, or soreness after the five-day experiment, which Dr. Lake attributes to the anti-inflammatory effects of ketones.

What is Dr. Lake's current dietary approach?

Dr. Lake follows a predominantly carnivore diet, focusing on meat, fish, eggs, and some dairy. He also includes green leafy vegetables and salads but avoids seed oils, nuts (due to potential insulin resistance), and foods high in oxalates.

How does Dr. Lake's approach to protein intake differ from typical recommendations?

Dr. Lake's protein intake is on the higher side, around 1.2 grams per kilogram of ideal body weight, whereas typical recommendations range from 0.75 to 1 gram per kilogram of body weight.

Outlines

00:00

🏃‍♂️ Introducing Dr. Ian Lake, a Type 1 Diabetic Who Fasted and Ran 5 Marathons

The paragraph introduces Dr. Ian Lake, a type 1 diabetic who fasted for 5 days while running almost 5 complete marathons (100 miles) during that period. The host expresses amazement at this feat and brings Dr. Lake on to discuss how he accomplished this and survived, given the conventional medical wisdom against such extreme practices for type 1 diabetics.

05:01

🔥 Burning Fat and Ketosis: The Rationale Behind the Experiment

The paragraph delves into the rationale behind Dr. Lake's experiment. They aimed to deplete their glycogen stores (around 20,000 calories) to ensure they entered ketosis, a state of burning fat for fuel. Dr. Lake explains the difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes and how, as a type 1 diabetic, he needs to inject insulin to regulate blood sugar. By lowering insulin levels through fasting and exercise, the body can switch to burning fat and producing ketones for energy.

10:04

🥗 Getting into Ketosis: Dietary and Fasting Strategies

This paragraph discusses strategies for getting into a state of nutritional ketosis. It involves severely restricting carbohydrates to around 30-50 grams per day, forcing the body to burn fat. Fasting can also help by increasing insulin sensitivity. Dr. Lake shares his personal experience of combining a ketogenic diet with running half marathons, eventually realizing he could exercise while fasting by burning his body's stored fat.

15:05

⚖️ Differentiating Nutritional Ketosis from Diabetic Ketoacidosis

The paragraph explains the difference between nutritional ketosis and the potentially dangerous diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). DKA occurs when there is a complete lack of insulin, leading to high blood sugar, excessive ketone production, and dehydration. Dr. Lake emphasizes that nutritional ketosis, achieved through a controlled low-carb diet or fasting, is safe and distinct from DKA, which is a concern only for uncontrolled type 1 diabetes.

20:05

🏃‍♀️ The Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Ketosis and Fasting on Exercise Recovery

This paragraph discusses the surprising lack of soreness and recovery issues experienced by Dr. Lake and his team after their extreme fasting and running experiment. Dr. Lake attributes this to the potential anti-inflammatory effects of ketones, citing examples of athletes who reported improved injury recovery after adopting a ketogenic diet. He also mentions completing a 150-mile run the previous year without any soreness or injuries.

25:07

🥩 Dr. Lake's Current Dietary Approach and Thoughts on Protein Intake

In this paragraph, Dr. Lake describes his current dietary approach, which tends towards a carnivore diet with some plant foods like leafy greens and salads. He avoids seed oils and is wary of nuts due to potential insulin resistance and joint pain issues. He discusses his thoughts on protein intake, currently consuming around 100 grams per day, which is on the higher side but within a reasonable range for his body weight.

30:09

🍷 Reflecting on the Experiment's Significance and Challenging Medical Dogma

The final paragraph reflects on the significance of Dr. Lake's extreme fasting and running experiment. It challenges conventional medical wisdom that discouraged such practices for type 1 diabetics. The host expresses appreciation for Dr. Lake's insights, which contradict some fixed ideas in the medical profession that may not always be accurate. The interview aimed to shed light on alternative approaches to managing type 1 diabetes through dietary and lifestyle interventions.

Keywords

💡Ketosis

Ketosis refers to a metabolic state where the body uses fat as its primary fuel source instead of carbohydrates. When carbohydrate intake is significantly reduced, the liver starts producing ketone bodies from fatty acids, which can be used as an alternative energy source for the body and brain. In the video, the participants aimed to achieve deep ketosis through prolonged fasting and exercise to deplete their glycogen stores and force their bodies to burn fat.

💡Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition where the body's immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. As a result, people with type 1 diabetes cannot produce enough insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels. They must inject insulin to control their blood sugar levels. In the video, some participants had type 1 diabetes, making their prolonged fasting and exercise experiment particularly challenging due to their inability to produce insulin naturally.

💡Glycogen

Glycogen is the storage form of glucose (sugar) in the body, primarily found in the liver and muscles. When we consume carbohydrates, excess glucose is converted into glycogen for later use. During exercise or fasting, the stored glycogen is broken down into glucose to provide energy. In the video, the participants aimed to deplete their glycogen stores through exercise and fasting to force their bodies into ketosis and burn fat for fuel.

💡Keto-adaptation

Keto-adaptation, also known as fat adaptation, is the process by which the body becomes efficient at using fat and ketones as its primary fuel source instead of carbohydrates. This adaptation occurs after several weeks of following a ketogenic diet or prolonged fasting, allowing the body to shift its metabolism and enzymes to better utilize fat for energy. The participants in the video underwent this adaptation process to enable their bodies to run on fat and ketones during their prolonged fasting and exercise.

💡Insulin resistance

Insulin resistance is a condition where the body's cells become less responsive to the hormone insulin, which regulates blood sugar levels. As a result, the pancreas must produce more insulin to keep blood sugar levels within a normal range. Insulin resistance is a key factor in the development of type 2 diabetes and is often associated with obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, and a diet high in processed carbohydrates. In the video, the role of insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes is discussed, and its relationship to carbohydrate intake and fat burning is explored.

💡Ketogenic diet

The ketogenic diet is a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet that aims to induce a state of ketosis in the body. By drastically reducing carbohydrate intake and increasing fat consumption, the body is forced to burn fat for energy, leading to the production of ketone bodies. This diet has been traditionally used for treating certain neurological conditions, such as epilepsy, but has gained popularity in recent years for its potential weight loss and therapeutic benefits. The participants in the video followed a ketogenic diet to achieve deep ketosis and facilitate fat burning during their prolonged fasting and exercise.

💡Diabetic ketoacidosis

Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a life-threatening complication that can occur in people with type 1 diabetes when there is a severe lack of insulin in the body. Without enough insulin, the body cannot use glucose for energy, leading to the breakdown of fat and the production of high levels of ketones. However, without insulin to regulate the process, ketone levels can become dangerously high, causing a metabolic acidosis. In the video, the participants aimed to demonstrate that nutritional ketosis, achieved through fasting and exercise, is different from the pathological state of diabetic ketoacidosis and does not pose the same risks for those with type 1 diabetes.

💡Fat-adapted

Being fat-adapted refers to a state where the body has become efficient at using fat as its primary fuel source for energy instead of relying on carbohydrates. This adaptation occurs after several weeks of following a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet or through prolonged fasting and exercise. In this state, the body can easily switch between burning glucose and burning fat for energy, depending on the metabolic demand. The participants in the video aimed to become fat-adapted through their prolonged fasting and exercise to demonstrate the body's ability to run on fat and ketones without the need for carbohydrates.

💡Nutritional ketosis

Nutritional ketosis is a controlled, physiological state of ketosis that is achieved through dietary modifications, such as a ketogenic diet or prolonged fasting. In this state, the body produces ketone bodies at safe, moderate levels to be used as an alternative fuel source. This differs from diabetic ketoacidosis, a potentially life-threatening condition where ketone levels become dangerously high due to a lack of insulin. In the video, the participants aimed to achieve nutritional ketosis through fasting and exercise to demonstrate its safety and benefits for those with type 1 diabetes.

💡Intermittent fasting

Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that involves alternating periods of eating and fasting. It can take various forms, such as time-restricted eating (e.g., 16:8 or 20:4 fasting windows) or complete fasting for 24 hours or longer (e.g., alternate-day fasting). Intermittent fasting has been associated with various health benefits, including weight loss, improved insulin sensitivity, and the promotion of ketosis. In the video, the participants engaged in a prolonged fast of five days, a form of intermittent fasting, to deplete their glycogen stores and induce a state of nutritional ketosis.

Highlights

Dr. Ian Lake fasted for 5 days and ran 5 complete marathons (100 miles) in those 5 days while being a type 1 diabetic.

The goal was to deplete glycogen stores (around 20,000 calories) to enter deep nutritional ketosis and demonstrate its safety for type 1 diabetics.

Type 1 diabetics cannot produce enough insulin to regulate blood sugar, while type 2 diabetics have insulin resistance due to overfueling.

In nutritional ketosis, the body can switch between using glucose and fat/ketones as fuel sources, depending on insulin levels.

Fat adaptation takes 2-3 weeks, where the body naturally prefers burning fat and producing ketones over glucose.

Diabetic ketoacidosis is different from nutritional ketosis and occurs when there's no insulin to regulate high blood sugar and runaway ketone production.

Non-diabetics cannot develop ketoacidosis from a ketogenic diet since they have baseline insulin production.

During the experiment, Dr. Lake's ketone levels reached 5-6 mmol/L, similar to the non-diabetic participants, indicating safe nutritional ketosis.

Fasting and exercise became easier after the initial adaptation period, with no hunger or soreness experienced.

Dr. Lake had approximately 85,000 calories of stored body fat, sufficient fuel for extended fasting and exercise without needing additional calories.

Consuming carbs or 'gels' during exercise is unnecessary when fat-adapted, as the body can easily access its abundant fat stores for energy.

Dr. Lake follows a low-carb, high-fat diet with emphasis on meat, fish, eggs, and some leafy greens and dairy, avoiding seed oils and excess nuts.

Protein intake is around 1.2g per kg of ideal body weight, which is on the higher end of recommended ranges.

The anti-inflammatory effects of nutritional ketosis seem to aid in exercise recovery and injury prevention.

Dr. Lake has run up to 35 miles in a single day while fasted and keto-adapted, with no need to 'carb up' beforehand.

Transcripts

not only did he fast for 5 days but he

ran five complete marathons but not only

that he was a type 1 diabetic I brought

him on today to talk to him on how the

hell he did it and how he survived I

would argue it's more difficult to get

into ketosis a type one because we have

to inject insulin a fat burning body has

to have low insulin levels in order to

release the fat do they ever advise to

go 5 days without any

food I think you know the answer to

that so I have a fascinating interview

today I mean this is going to be a

bizarre interview because here's a

person a doctor Dr Ian Lake who did some

wild wild crazy things that he probably

shouldn't even have survived this but

what he

did not only did he fast for five days

but he ran five almost complete

marathons 100 miles in five days but not

only that he was a type one diabetic so

I brought him on today to talk to him on

how the hell he did it and how he

survived welcome Ian thanks for coming

on Hello thank you nice to meet you nice

meeting you so first of all you're a

medical doctor you're a type 1 diabetic

if we take a look at like the the main

consensus of the medical community with

type one um do they ever advise to go

five days without any

food I think you know the answer to that

um it's very difficult to persuade um

anyone to um ask us to fast and Skip one

meal so um I was trying to work out a

workaround for uh how we can convince

people that one meal skipping would be

safe so this was an extreme version of

skipping a meal

really you know to to prove this point

um you you went to the extreme and you

did this with how many

people uh eight people eight people did

this so you you basically uh did a

combination of a few things that were

very difficult to do on their own let's

first talk about how many calories you

actually burned within 5 days was it

roughly about what 20,000 calories yeah

it was roughly 20,000 calories so we

worked out how many calories we'd need

to if you believe in the glycogen

storage depletion idea to exhaust our

glycogen storage tfold to make

absolutely sure we were in ketosis so we

worked out about 20,000 calories would

be required I think we used a little bit

more than that from memory but we didn't

actually physically record it um the the

other thing we wanted to do really was

to um show how safe um nutritional

ketosis really is so we wanted to put

ourselves into very deep ketosis so that

was the rationale for doing this ready

okay so so just to back up on U just for

those people that don't know what the

word um glycogen is you depleted your

glycogen that's just the stored sugar in

your liver right so when you when you

exercise you're going to use that as

fuel and then after that's gone you're

going to tap into your fat reserves

right exactly yeah yeah so um typically

first let's start with a diabetic what

is the difference between a type one and

a type two someone with type one

diabetes cannot produce their own

insulin in enough volume to maintain

blood sugar because one of the key

features of insulin functions of insulin

is to reduce blood sugar and keep blood

sugar at at an even rate um and someone

with type 2 diabetes has more than

enough insulin in fact most people with

type 2 diabetes have too much insulin

and theirs is due to an overfueling

issue such that their body cannot handle

the amount of fuel that they're putting

into their bodies mostly carbohydrates

so there's a big difference between the

two conditions type ones we need to

inject insulin because we don't produce

any and in type twos they need to adopt

a lifestyle strategy that naturally

reduces the amount of insulin they're

producing so they're not at all

comparable conditions so if insulin

lowers blood glucose and a type two has

high insulin shouldn't they have low

blood glucose they become insulin

resistant this is the problem people

with type 2 diabetes um the various

ideas on it but their fat cells sort of

stop the body sort of taking on more fat

and they become resistant to the amount

of insulin they've got because as well

as lowering blood sugar insulin is a

hormone that stimulates fat deposition

so it's a fat storage hormone as well as

a glucose luring hormone and the two

things work together so in order to

lower blood sugar you either exercise or

you you put it into your into your liver

initially and then into your adpo tissue

or fat tissues as fat so we think of is

insulin as a glucose lowering hormone

and a fat storage hormone primarily okay

so when someone um is a type one they

don't have the insulin to regulate blood

glucose so what's what's going to happen

when they start exercising and not

eating they don't have fuel they

obviously they they have to tap into

their fat reserves right um and um talk

a little bit about that as well as a

really key issue which is is um adapting

to running on fat or ketones explain

that process our body can multifuel so

we can use sugars and we can use um fats

for our fuel and of course fats will

break down into Ketone bodies and we can

use Ketone bodies as fuel as well so in

the ideal situation our bodies can flick

between whatever fuel they need for the

requirements at the time so whether you

have type 1 diabetes or not if you're

performing exercise as like a Sprint

without any Oxygen you will have to use

glucose for your for your energy source

but if you're doing a more aerobic or

more relaxed um uh amount of physical

activity you're burning oxygen and you

can choose really whether you're using

um glucose or fat as your fuel however

um you're limited a little bit as to how

you can select your fuel because if you

have too much insulin on board you're

blocking fat burning so fat burning is

impossible if you've got too much

insulin on board now people do burn fat

when they are exercising and there's

this fat burning Zone which is otherwise

known as Zone 2 because there's a

hormone that called hormone sensitive

lipase which is which um enables fat to

be burned and that is also stimulated by

um uh lowering insulin or adrenaline

cortisol growth hormone things like that

so stress hormones will release that but

if you have too much insulin it will

override those hormones and block fat

burning so then you become entirely

dependent on on glucose so most people

with type 1 is will be dependent on

glucose because they're not encouraged

to burn fat so we tend to have too much

insulin on board so our bodies are

multifuel we can flick between fuels as

we need them and if we if we're fat

adapted all that means is that your your

fueling choice for your for your just

your food will be low carbohydrate so

low carbohydrates um require less

insulin in to to either be injected or

for your own body to ruce insulin

because because as type 1es we're

exactly the same as people with with no

diabetes and our insulin requirements

except we just know how much insulin a

non-diabetic body would need for the

same for the same requirements so a fat

burning body um has to have low insulin

levels in order to release the

fat am are you still with me that yeah

so basically um in order to get into the

fat burning we must lower insulin that's

really the key factor right exactly so

then then we can free up the fat burning

and and when we're adapted and takes

about 2 to three weeks to fully adapt

some people would say it takes even

longer and then the your body will

naturally burn fat quite happily produce

Ketone bodies and have a very low

requirement for sugar the important

thing about glucose or sugar is that we

don't need to eat sugar in order to

produce it our body will produce more

than enough for our requirements and

obvious example of that is those poor

people that get pulled out of disaster

zones like earthquake zones and they

haven't eaten for six or seven days but

they haven't expired because they are

producing enough energy for their body

requirements some of which will be sugar

so we we we respect the fact that our

body is multifuel and we wanted to show

in this um 100 mile run that we can

safely use um Ketone bodies and fat as

fuel and have no requirement for insulin

uh sorry no requirement for sugar at all

incredible okay so um there are a lot of

people they're trying to um lose more

weight they're plateaued you know I've

been telling people the most you can

lose per week is two pounds of fat uh

that's if you're healthy but this

experiment that you did if I'm not

mistaken correct me if I'm wrong but I

think um on average um all of you lost

about what almost almost seven pounds of

fat in five days right yes okay so um to

get into this keto adaptation obviously

you're going to have to either lower

your carbs and of course fasting is

lowering your carbs yes and um and then

on top of everything else you're

exercising so if someone were even to

think about doing a

fast do you have to um work up to it I

mean you're not going to just start

running and not eating right away I mean

you're going to have to you said it

takes um weeks to get into the keto uh

adaptation more or fat

adaptation um tell us a little bit about

how someone can work on getting

themselves into the keto adaptation

state is it just a matter of low carbs

or do you have to maybe combine fasting

at the same time both are very useful to

do um the only way you're going to

produce ketones being ketosis is to burn

fat and and and ketones are a natural

product of fat burning so in order to

fat burn you have to lowerer your

insulin in order to lower your insulin

you have to reduce the the main fuel

that stimulates insulin namely

carbohydrates so carbohydrates are the

prime driver in our diet for insulin

production so cutting down your

carbohydrates is is very important and

severely restricting your carbohydrates

to what we call the ketogenic zone so

your body has then to burn fat you have

to force your body into fat burning

that's around about 30 to 50 gram of

carbs a day which is about a tenth of

what most people would naturally eat

right it it's not difficult to do but

you have to sort of you have to

concentrate on it especially if you're

um you you like sugar or you're a little

bit addicted to Sugar it takes a little

bit more willpower um don't forget when

your insulin levels drop um naturally as

a result of not eating carbohydrates you

will actually um urinate a little bit

more because your your insulin will

enable your body to excrete salt or

sodium

and with the salt goes the water so it's

important to replace the fluids and just

drink more some people say constipation

is an issue fluids are very very good

for that and it doesn't last it only

lasts a few days if if at all and the

other thing is you may need to think

about replacing some of your salt

magnesium sodium you know table salt or

whatever because of this salt excretion

caused by the the lower levels of

insulin and after that it's pretty

straightforward you go into ketosis

within within days um type ones we can

go into ketosis after the first meal

because we have to inject our insulin so

we don't have to wait for it to reduce

in some ways um

and fasting is is useful because it

makes you much more insulin sensitive so

if you're fasting you become more

sensitive the insulin you've got so

you'll naturally be be more able to get

into ketosis and that's it really um one

of the big breakthroughs I had so when I

learned about the ketogenic diet just

completely by accident thank goodness

through the internet you know I'm a

medical professional I've never heard of

it in in the training materials that

we're given um I started doing a half

marathon a month I thought that was good

for me because I'm not really an athlete

in many ways I'm just an enthusiastic

jogger and I thought well if I do a half

marathon a month as Keo that'd be a

great experiment so the first two I

actually fueled up with with with

protein bacon eggs or whatever and I

thought well you've got to have some

energy before you start running you know

that's what we're all was told you got

to carb up you know you got to have your

pasta and your bananas or whatever if

you're carbing up so I thought well I'll

have that and then I got involved in the

bulletproof coffees which were a bit of

a fat at the time in the sense of butter

and coconut oil in your coffee and then

on the third one finally finally you

know stupid me I thought well why am I

actually giving myself energy before I'm

running filling my stomach up and they

diverting blood flow away from my

muscles if you like when I'd worked out

that with my body fat Mass I had 85,000

calories of fat and I have a body mass

index of

23 uh plus I have um so 85,000 calories

I have 17% fat Mass so it worked out

about 85,000 I think so that's our

average sort of fat mass and um so I

thought well why can't I just burn the

fat that I've got or I take it in if you

see what I mean so it took a while to

get out of the habit of doing physical

activity for pH doing s sorry fueling up

for physical activity I thought well

I've got the fuel all I all I'm doing is

just burning it at probably you know my

slow jogging speed twice the rate that

I've burning it when I'm walking so it

wasn't a big deal to think well you can

fast actually when you're doing physical

activity of course that that that was

wonderful from the point of view of type

1 diabetes because there's none of this

complicating worry about injecting

insulin when you're having carbs so that

really freed things up so on top of that

I well let's just extend the half

marathon and try to just sort of nudge

the envelope to to put Beyond doubt this

concern that type ones need insulin U

need car carbohydrates if they're taking

insulin and put Beyond doubt the fact

that if you're in nutritional ketosis

it's not a risk for what's called

diabetic keto acidosis which is a very

severe complication of type 1 diabetes

and the two aren't the same thing but

they're often confused by by clinicians

as as as

nutritional ketosis will lead to

diabetic keto acidosis oh okay so let's

talk about this because this is a

complex topic we'll simplify it tell us

in simple terms to a fifth grader what

is keto

acidosis okay so if your body is not

producing insulin at all um you cannot

then um put glucose anywhere so any food

that you eat or any sugar that your body

is producing natur natur Al um cannot be

put into cells actively so you can't get

rid of sugar in the blood so if the

sugar can't be removed from the blood

into the cells the cells are relatively

starved of energy so then because

insulin is not existent so this is a

type one problem it's it's purely a type

one problem if insulin is not existent

then you you cannot store fat you have

to burn fat so not only do you get build

up a blood glucose but you get a runaway

fat burning now ketones normally feed

back on all of this process and stop the

KE stop themselves Rising all the time

but if you've got no and they make the

body produce more insulin but if you got

no insulin you can't stop that process

so you get a combination of high blood

sugar high ketones which the body tries

to vent by getting you to breathe them

out or pee them out and and also you

pass a lot of urine because your your

sugars in in your kidneys is so

concentrated it drags the fluid out with

it and that makes you thirsty so um that

becomes a medical emergency um even

people like myself who are in

nutritional ketosis are a risk because

sometimes if you get a septicemia or a

very severe infection it means you need

a huge amount more insulin and a lot of

us are a little bit resistant to taking

that so for example when I had covid

which was only like a cold for me

luckily uh my insulin requirements went

up from 20 units a day to 60 units a day

if you mean so so person with no

diabetes would have the same insulin

requirement and but they would not go

into keto acidosis because they've got

natural insulin on board to protect

themselves we have to inject it so it's

totally different to nutritional ketosis

which is just a a lowering of the natur

of the insulin that you inject or your

natural insulin and and it's just a

regulated process if you got insulin in

your body sufficient you will not going

to diabetic keto acidosis so the risk of

getting keto acidosis really is if

you're diab IC and you do forget to take

your insulin yes an average person a

healthy person starts a ketogenic diet

and someone mentions well usually you're

G to see this in the news oh yeah you're

gonna you might develop keto acidosis

that's pretty much a myth yes 100% it

doesn't it doesn't um it doesn't work

with the science got it yeah I know I

I've seen that so many times um now as

far as um this adaptation into just keto

adapted or fat adapted you work with

patients I'm guessing you probably help

them with their getting on a ketogenic

diet I'm guessing um do you find that

some people have a harder time fasting

for a longer period of time than others

or is that dependent on insulin

resistance and it's just a matter of

time and and and doing it over a period

of time where they can go longer and

longer without eating or what's your

experience on that my personal

experience of fasting was that it was

quite difficult in the early stages it's

difficult getting through the first 24

hours because I think psychologically

you you're you're geared to have a hard

time you think you're going to have a

hard time uh and and I think when your

body suddenly gets this shock of not

eating um you know it makes you want it

makes you hungry and and but I think

most of it is psychology um and

certainly when I did my first fast I was

lying around in the afternoon you know I

started my fast in the morning think oh

pull me I'm hungry I must drink and I'm

feeling weak but after day two and three

you get used to that effect and it

becomes it becomes normal and from day

two onwards um with subsequent fast

there's no hunger at all and the choice

to break the fast was just really you

you got to eat at some point if you see

what I mean so subsequent fast became

much easier to do um and um because you

were aware of the changes in your body

the trick was to dial down your insulin

because you were not requiring as much

insulin when you were fasting so the

trick was to get the insulin levels down

to to a safe level for you to not have

high pose when you're exercising but it

was not difficult to do okay and then

what about so then we put this layer on

top of fasting this

exercise um you know people are they

have this idea that they have to eat

like like you mentioned they have to eat

to get the energy to exercise but once

your keto adapted after some weeks you

probably can then exercise and fast at

the same time

and um get your fuel from

fat that's exactly what I do all the

time it's so much easier to to manage

physical activity when you're fasted I

mean if you think about it the wild

animals I mean you never see an eagle uh

flying to hunt if it's if it's not

hungry I mean we tend as humans to go

and get our food when we we're hungry

because there's more of a desperation to

go and get it so and then we will eat

our food satiate ourselves and then and

and then you know we we're just

naturally lazy aren't we humans so we

wouldn't actually go out if we've got a

covered full or if if our tum is are

full so I I don't think it's unusual to

be exercising when you're fasting and

because you have such a store of fat in

your body you know it's it's 85,000

calories compared to say 2,000 calories

of of stored sugar which is there more

for uh you know sudden energy

requirements um it it you don't need to

worry about burning you know a couple of

thousand calories of fat which will be

around 20 miles of of of walking or

running and you'll put that back on

again when you when you get your food

source so you're not talking of

depleting your energy source to any

significant amount so I think that is

the key to it you just have to

understand that nothing's going to

happen in in a two three days five days

of fasting the reason we didn't go

further than five days was because we

were starting to worry then about are we

going to start breaking down protein

because at some point you're going to

run out of your sugar stores and you're

going to start to need to burn another

fuel to get the sugar that your body

naturally needs to produce so we wanted

to restrict it to 5 days so we were we

were pretty sure we wouldn't be burning

any any protein because at some point

you're going to be burning your muscle

mass or your protein stores and and we

we generally think that muscle mass is

is is use useful to have have more of

than less of so we didn't want to get

into the situation where we were

criticized for starving ourselves

because this wasn't star it was sort of

starvation because we weren't eating but

it wasn't what I would call serious

starvation because we were controlling

the fat burning and not encouraging

protein um degradation we had some

breath testing to to show that we're in

fat burning mode our our respiratory

quoti test and it showed that all of us

were in fat burning mode all of the time

so was quite good and then you also

tested your Ketone so typically I know

there's a couple different values um um

but the the values that they use in in

the US would be probably a little more

helpful but if you're just doing a low

carb diet you're going to be within a

certain range what like maybe3 to maybe

one to maybe two and then you start

fasting you're going to be higher if you

had exercise you're going to go higher

can you can you just tell me roughly

kind of how that works a little bit

yeah so 75% of people with type 1

diabetes are in the range 0.5 to 1.5

that's the blood ketones be that's

that's pretty average I would argue it's

more difficult to get into ketosis a

type one because we have to inject

insulin and we tend to have to use more

insulin because we put it into the skin

and it doesn't act as as naturally as it

does in some of no diabetes so that does

tend to block a bit of fat burning but

we can get safety into

ketosis when we did the run my ketones

went up to six five and a half six or

something like that for a couple of days

and my other friend John the other type

one who was running with me uh he's went

up to around about the same we wanted to

test ketones twice a day for 5 days and

we wanted every one of the the eight uh

participants to do the same because we

wanted to show that you don't go into

deep diabetic keto acidosis if you're in

nutritional ketosis so when we pulled

the graph of eight people twice a day

for five days and just did bar chart you

could not tell the type ones from the

non-type ones out of that group of eight

so we we we were confident that we were

in the same nutritional ketosis State as

our non-diabetic peers the other

interesting thing that I I heard or I

read in your your website that um as far

as you would think that uh people would

get extremely

and very very have to you know really

have to spend more time

recovering wasn't there a point about

there was there was not much soreness

going on which is very

unusual it was unusual when we started

we were we were pretty confident that

we'd be okay when we started um it was a

bit tricky in the early stages but not

one of us had any injuries at all and

none of us had recovery problems uh we

all managed every single day to to

complete our task

and none of us had any aches or pains

the next day which was remarkable but

last year about this time of year I did

a 150 mile run in a week it was along

the canal network of Britain so it was

flat and and equally it was keto is I

was on a keto diet then I wasn't fasting

but equally I had no injuries or no

soreness at all it seems to me that the

anti-inflammatory effect of ketones is

is is very powerful with in sport and

I've met lots of people I've interviewed

a professional Rugby Union player uh in

the UK and he said when he went keto he

was a type had type 1 diabetes he had

his best year as far as injuries went in

the year after he started his diet so

there's something about keto which is is

anti-inflammatory and and good for

Recovery fascinating what's the uh

longest you ever like I know um you know

we're talking about 100 miles or 150

miles what's the most you've ever ran

and uh over period of days I guess in a

row well that was the uh in a the

longest distance I've ever run is 35

miles that's the longest I've ever run

that's in one day one day that was a run

walk rather than the run more like an

ultramarathon type of thing uh mostly I

just do 10K 15K I'm not I'm not a great

fan of long distances in that sense um

you know I I'm not worried about doing

20 miles a day it wouldn't worry me but

um it takes a lot of time to keep

practicing for that so I'm a bit lazy in

that sense I mean you're pretty a lean

guy right yes so you and and you still

had how many calories of fat on your

body with your lean body mass well I had

a normal body fat mass for for my type

and and it was 85,000 calories 85,000

calories and someone who doesn't have a

weight problem so that's plenty of extra

energy to be able to you know do this

activity I think that's exactly it isn't

it it's just getting the mindset right

and as I said it was a it took me quite

a long time to realize that I can

actually do physical activity without

without fueling it first I could fuel it

when I was doing it and not have to

worry and that is so freeing especially

anyone here have type one diabetes you

don't have to worry so if someone came

up to me said now would you like to go

for a run or would you like to go for a

cycle ride and say yes let's go I

wouldn't say oh my goodness what am I

doing with my insulin I'd obviously

check it and I'll carry sugar glucose if

I needed it but I wouldn't I could go I

wouldn't need to prepare for it and it's

that spontaneity certainly in type one

that is so freeing for people wow when

people do marathons I know they um they

consume I guess it's called is it called

goo or this gel it's some type of starch

or or glucose that creates a lot of uh

digestive issues and a lot of side

effects when they're running I I've

heard anyway I don't know if you've

observed that certainly I mean before I

went into the ketogenic lifestyle diet I

I used carbs the same way as everyone

else because no one had told me and

obviously the conventional way of

managing diabetes with physical

activities to manage your insulin on

board which is the big problem so if you

got too much insulin on board which most

of us have most of the time because of

the way we inject it under our skin not

into a natural space um You're

vulnerable to host so the the protocol

for managing type one sports is to

reduce your insulin even the night

before and add carbohydrates to your

fueling regime 60 grams of carbohydrates

per hour is recommended and imagine

trying to eat that much when you're

trying to to do physical activity

because you know as stomachs really

should be empty even my mom told me you

know when I was eight that I shouldn't

go swimming after after a meal because

our bodies don't we can't exercise as

well when we've got fuel uh in our gut

really it needs to be in in the right

place so it's so much easier yes and and

you don't have that anymore that's not

an issue if you do happen to go hypo

it's it's six grams of carbs or

something it's absolutely nothing

there's a lot of different versions of

Keto I'm just curious what kind of um

plan are you on now or in the past yeah

I I I go

from different ideas to different ideas

at the moment I'm more carnivore than I

have been for a while um I will eat

green leafy vegetables and salads I do

eat fish and dairy nuts I'm a little bit

wary of because I think they cause

insulin resistance some of the nut oils

in in me personally um and probably some

of the oxalates cause joint pains a

little bit wary of that um I I avoid all

seed oils of any sort and um obviously I

don't I don't eat sugar or or anything

like that I I do take Dairy I find that

milk and cream aren't very good but

cheese is okay and and for some reason

yogurts seem to be okay so it's a mixed

diet at the moment tending to carnivore

I can never make my mind up on protein

I'm still the jur is out for me on

protein I've been doing the Burnstein

type of more protein than fat type of

thing for a while and then I felt that I

don't know I mean I've gone more fat

than protein for now but I always stick

roughly within I'm 75 Kg and I last time

I I estimated the amount of protein over

a week it was 100 grams of protein per

day so

1.2 uh grams of protein per kilogram of

ideal body weight most people would say

.75 to one so it's on the higher side

but um yeah that's what I do I I find

that some foods certainly the leafy veg

can be a little bit Carby and you have

to be a little bit more careful with

your with your blood sugar control I do

find that meat fish eggs um are the

easiest foods to use there's no doubt

about that but but you know but but I do

eat um a variety of foods as well um

alcohol I've gone off it Strangely I

used to drink like red wine prco I love

beer but I can't drink it anymore I'll

have probably two two glasses if I'm out

on a nice summer's day with friends or

something because that's just what you

do you know especially in the UK take a

h you have to live your life that's

right sunny in the UK yeah and um but

alcohol I find just my body tells me I

don't need it but I have drunk it in the

past and I I will drink it but it's not

something that features heavily in my in

my diet anymore you used to more five

six years ago probably yeah me me too I

I I can't tolerate any any more than a

sixpack on a weekend I can't tolerate

any more than that but um no I don't I

don't drink at all anymore but uh wow

this has been fascinating I think um um

I want to send a lot of people to your

website I'm going to put your link down

below but thank you for coming on and I

really appreciate this these insights on

this crazy thing you did which actually

is not very crazy you know it goes

against what's called what medical

wisdom which I don't even think is

wisdom right it's just again the certain

fixed ideas that the medical profession

has that end up you know not being 100%

true so uh this has been fascinating

thank you so much thank you very much

thank you