Becoming fat-adapted is one of the most powerful health and performance goals to strive for. In this post, I 'll cover some of the basic steps, and provide links to an article and a podcost that feature high-level performance coaches discussing the importance of this concept.

When fat-adapted, your body's metabolic engine will work more like a fire burning logs instead of paper. Fueled by fat, your energy production system will run longer, stronger and cleaner. And every other system in your body will benefit from having a consistent, reliable source of energy that can be generated with a minimal amount of metabolic waste (like the ash created by burning paper).  Less metabolic waste means lower levels of internal inflammation—the underlying cause of almost every modern, chronic disease.

When your body learns to recognize and utilize fat as its preferred source of fuel, you'll find that you won't always be hungry in the morning; you may even feel more energetic and focused when you wait a few hours to eat.

Becoming fat-adapted doesn't happen overnight. It takes a few weeks to a few months for your body to adjust the enzymatic and metabolic processes necessary for optimal, fat-burning efficiency. 

How do you become fat-adapted?

By adhering to a healthy lifestyle and eating a nutrient-dense, metabolically-balanced diet. Download our free Seeds of Success and Food for Thought guides to get started. 

Next, start paying attention to when and how often you eat, or need to eat. It will take some training and attention, but you'll soon begin to feel (and see) the benefits. Check out this previous post on why breakfast may not be "the most important meal of the day," and a short quiz that will help you determine whether or not you're a fat-burner.

Here's a summary of the basic steps to becoming fat adapted: 

What's the most important meal of the day?

All together now Breakfast!

Most of us have been conditioned to believe that we should eat the first thing in the morning. But the truth is that (for most people) waiting a few (or more) hours to "break the fast" after waking up can be more beneficial to your health.

The catch is that you can’t implement this practice and derive its benefits until you train your body to burn fat as opposed to sugar (simple carbohydrates). Otherwise, you'll be setting the stage for food cravings, fatigue, and poor concentration because your blood sugar will be low. Sugar burners are required to eat carbohydrates every few hours to maintain a steady blood sugar level, which keeps the hunger and food cravings at bay.

When you become fat adapted (your body recognizes and utilizes fat as its preferred fuel), you'll find that you won't always be hungry in the morning; you may even feel more energetic and focused when you wait a few hours to eat.  Here's why:...

Lobsters die only if they get eaten or injured by a predator, or contract a rare disease.  But they never from old age!  They don’t have a built-in life expectancy in their cells.  And because of this, lobsters constantly get stronger, bigger and more virile as they age.  Older lobsters are actually more fertile than younger lobsters and if left alone, they will live and grow for centuries.

Lobsters, like many other decapod crustaceans, grow throughout life and are able to add new muscle cells at each molt.  While it doesn't happen often, 100-year-old lobsters that weigh somewhere in the vicinity of 40 pounds are occasionally caught.

What's their secret to eternal life?

It turns out it that in lobsters, telomerase (the enzyme that helps rebuild and maintain telomeres) stays active their entire lives.  The telomerase prevents their telomeres from becoming shorter, which stops their cells from aging and dying! ¹  ...

After 20 years of expereince in nutritional medicine, I have learned that the use of nutritional supplements can measurably improve human health and performance. And that the fullest of these benefits are realized by ithose who remain dedicated to following four, simple steps: 

1.  Focus on Quality:  Build Your Nutritional Foundation with Whole-Food Concentrates

The human body doesn’t recognize or utilize synthetic and/or isolated vitamins and minerals well because it has been genetically programmed to thrive on the nutrients found in real food—fresh vegetables, fruits, and herbs.  Unfortunately, the ever-declining quality of our food supply and on-the-go lifestyle make it difficult—if not impossible—to nourish our bodies properly.
The logical solution is to reach for a multi-vitamin.  But most contain isolated, man-made vitamins and minerals.  These chemical-based imitators contain none of the natural co-factors enhancing their absorption and effectiveness that whole-food concentrates have. 

Which would you choose?  A synthetic vitamin C that has been shaped into a tablet with the use of non-nutritive—and often toxic—fillers and binding agents or an orange?...

At Core 4 Nutrition, our goal is to help you improve your physiological fitness because when you improve the health of your cells, you will improve the way you look, feel and perform.  And while we all want to be healthy on the inside, most people also want to look their best on the outside.  Unfortunately, pounds of excess body prevent many of us from looking—and feeling—great.

Facing and overcoming road blocks is an unavoidable aspect of life.   Making the right food choices, managing a difficult relationship, or resolving a financial crisis require both physical and the emotional strength. 

In this week’s blog, I am excited to introduce Dave Greenwalt, a long-time friend who happens to be one of the nation’s most successful health and wellness coaches. Dave has improved the lives of thousands of people by helping them meet their physical and emotional life goals....