At this point, we’ve covered the tools you will need and the tests you should have done before you adopt a fat-burning diet. Now it’s time to review how to start making healthy food choices and creating the conditions for you to heal your mitochondrial metabolism.
Here are the steps to take to make your experience with MMT as successful as possible, right from the start.
STOCK YOUR KITCHEN WITH MMT-FRIENDLY FOODS
As soon as possible, get to the grocery store and buy plenty of MMT-friendly foods to stock the shelves of your cupboards and fridge. It’s crucial that you do this before you start getting rid of carb- or sugar-laden foods, because you want to avoid that “I’m starving—what can I eat?” feeling that drives you to make poor choices.
Allow yourself plenty of time for shopping so you can carefully read labels and explore parts of the market that may be unfamiliar to you.
Refer back to Chapter 5 for a full discussion of the foods that are integral to MMT. I’ve also created a one-page shopping list you can refer to quickly when making your grocery list so you know which items should go into your cart. For extra credit, decide on two or three MMT-friendly recipes that appeal to you (see the sidebar for good sources) and then be sure that the ingredients for these meals or snacks are on your shopping list.
Once you have several fat-burning foods in your refrigerator and on your pantry shelves, you can proceed with purging your pantry of any carb-, starch-, or sugar-laden foods. Following this order of tasks will help you feel supported during your transition to a new way of eating, and feeling supported will motivate you to keeping going. Let your benchmark be progress, not perfection.
MMT-Friendly Foods
Photocopy this list and take it with you to the grocery store on your first few shopping trips to help you restock your kitchen with foods that will ease your transition to fat burning.
Vegetables:
After you are fat adapted, you can add back limited amounts of these foods:
Fruits:
Proteins:
Nuts and Seeds
Snacks
Sweeteners
REMOVE TEMPTATION WITH A PANTRY SWEEP
It is so much easier to resist the urge to eat carbs if they aren’t in your home. An essential part of your preparation for adopting MMT is going through your pantry and cupboards and removing anything that is not compatible with the plan. Give it away to friends, or take it to a food bank. You may even be able to return unopened packaged foods to your grocery store and use the money you get back to purchase foods that are MMT friendly. The more quickly you work through this step, the less likely it is that you’ll run into temptation.
As you’re doing your pantry sweep and evaluating new foods to bring into your home, it’s important to upgrade your label reading skills so you can determine whether a food is appropriate for your fat-burning diet. Start with the most important line on any nutritional label: total carbohydrates. This is even more important than looking at the sugars because the sugar that makes up starch chains is often not listed on the label. Amazingly, the convoluted and confusing rules that govern what’s called a sugar allows a free pass to starches that contain chains of glucose that are more than three molecules long. This sleight of hand won’t escape detection by your body, though, and this glucose will ultimately circulate in your bloodstream in exactly the same way as the glucose in table sugar. So if the label says 0 grams of sugar and 20 grams of carbs, that food will not be appropriate for the MMT diet.
The second most important line to read is the fiber. Although fiber is a carb, the glucose molecules are bound in a way that can’t end up in circulation so it doesn’t have an impact on glucose or insulin. Bonus: fiber contributes to your overall health, in part by feeding your good gut bacteria. To determine net carbs, subtract the number of grams of fiber from the total grams of carbohydrates listed on the label. The one caveat that Miriam points out is if the food is highly processed and contains a lot of supplemental fiber—such as a low-carb tortilla—you want to subtract only half the number of fiber grams listed from the carbohydrate total, as some of that added fiber might be the type that can cause a rise in glucose or insulin. With few exceptions, this is not true with the fiber found in whole foods.
Returning to the label, you also want to make sure there are no hydrogenated fats listed in the ingredients. Through yet another loophole, manufacturers can include these health-destroying oils, but as long as the amount per serving is below 0.5 g, they can list the amount of trans fat as “0 grams.” You want polyunsaturated fats to be low because polyunsaturated fats are omega-6s and most of those come from highly refined and inflammatory sources. It doesn’t take much to tip the omega-6-to-omega-3 ratio in an unhealthy direction. Pay attention to the saturated fat line too, but know that saturated fats are welcome on the MMT plan, although they are typically demonized by all traditional nutritional advice.
Don’t buy or eat a food unless you know and recognize each ingredient on the package.
Organic cane syrup, maple syrup, honey, and agave nectar are no more appropriate on this diet than table sugar. Look for the list of sneaky sugars included in the sidebar. They include ingredients like modified food starch. Even soy sauce can contribute small but significant amounts of carbs. Don’t waste your allotment on these empty foods!
GET THE SUGAR OUT OF YOUR DIET
Whether you have been eating a typical American diet, or even a whole foods–based diet, it is highly likely that more than half of the calories you’ve been consuming are derived from foods overloaded with carbs. And not just obvious sugars like those in sweet treats and desserts, but the glucose and other sugars that are contained in the starches, grains, fruits, dairy, and legumes you’ve been eating.
Remember that to train your body to burn fat for fuel, you have to dramatically reduce your intake of all forms of sugar. You will need to reduce your net carbs (total carbs minus fiber) to lower than 40 grams a day. It will take at least a few weeks to a few months before your body fully adapts to burning fat as your primary fuel.
You may be able to understand this concept intellectually, but it can be difficult to truly root out and remove all forms of sugar from your diet, for four main reasons:
As Miriam describes it, “Eating carb-rich raises glucose, which then triggers the release of insulin. Then insulin pushes glucose out of the bloodstream, causing your blood sugar levels to drop. This change sends signals to your brain that you experience as hunger. It’s a vicious cycle that you will have to push past. For some people, the cravings only last a couple of days, for others it’s a week or more.”
The good news is that once you have made the transition to fat burning, your cravings for sugar and starches, including junk foods, will evaporate as if by magic, and you will effortlessly go for hours between meals without experiencing the slightest pangs of hunger.
The even better news is that once you have shifted your body to burning fat as its primary fuel, you will regularly introduce several feasting days a month in which your net-carb intake can climb to 100 to 150 grams of net carbs per day. This will prevent your insulin levels from becoming too low.
Keep referring back to your list of MMT-friendly foods and make sure you have those foods on hand. I find that a handful of macadamia nuts or pecans stave off hunger quite nicely and are easy to bring with me wherever I go. Find a couple of go-to foods and make sure you have access to them at work, in your car, and at home so you aren’t tempted to grab a bag of chips.
The good news is that once you have made the transition, you will effortlessly go 13 to 18 hours without the need to eat during your daily fast because you will be burning fat stores for fuel so your body won’t be sending out hunger signals. During the transition, fat bombs, avocados, and macadamia nuts come in very handy, as they are tasty and convenient ways to consume a tablespoon—or more—of healthy fats to fill in that energy gap.
IT’S BETTER TO GO COLD TURKEY ON THE SUGAR PURGE
I know there are many occasions where it will be tempting to have “just a bite” of a cake or dessert—a child’s birthday party, a family celebration, or even dining out at a fine restaurant. But eating any sugar is setting yourself on a slippery slope. Sugar is addictive and not easy to resist using willpower alone. Also, eating a few too many carbs here and there will make it harder for you to transition to full fat burning, which interferes with the elimination of your cravings for sugar.
Also, you’re not likely to be successful with the plan if you’re willing to make exceptions—there’s just not that much leeway in MMT, particularly in the beginning when you are trying to train your body to burn fat. The best way to stay committed to your plan is to build new traditions that don’t revolve around food.
For a variety of reasons, you may want to hold on to some traditions, such as Thanksgiving dinner, so challenge yourself to find a great low-carb dish to bring to the table. Your friends and family might view your plan differently if they see that your foods are just as tasty as the standard offerings. Plan ahead by doing a quick Internet search using search terms like “ketogenic coconut custard” or “zucchini noodles.” There are great recipes out there already and new ones are added daily. Your social occasions will be much more enjoyable if you are fully adapted to burn fat as your primary fuel. If the foods there will be a challenge, be sure to consume most of your food for the day before you leave home and you will sidestep cravings, helping you resist any unhealthy temptations.
Remember: you can’t live in both worlds. If you continue to eat carbs and attempt to combine that with high fat, you will remain under the control of insulin signaling and that combination is dangerous to your health. Working with a health coach can go a long way toward finding ways to navigate the temptation to sneak in carbs here and there.
As I have mentioned, MMT is a high-fat, low-carb, and adequate-protein diet, and I covered the specific foods within each of these broader categories that are included on MMT in Chapter 5. Now it’s time to drill down a little deeper and choose exactly how many grams of each of these macronutrients you’ll consume on your version of MMT. By taking the time to calculate some specific targets, you’ll have some invaluable guidelines to follow as you transition to burning fat.
I say “your version of MMT” because there is no one-size-fits-all answer to exactly how much of each macronutrient you should eat each day. These numbers need to be customized to your body and your state of health. Here’s how to do that:
Protein
This is one of the key differentiating aspects of the MMT program. Unlike Atkins and most Paleo recommendations, MMT provides very precise protein recommendations to minimize the impact of activating mTOR and other biochemical signaling pathways and restore health to your mitochondria.
The general rule of thumb for determining how much protein to eat each day is to follow the formula of 1 gram of protein for every kilogram of lean body mass. To determine that number, you will first need to calculate your lean body mass. The simplest and easiest way is to compare yourself to pictures of people with varying body fat percentages. Although this is not precise, it is better than guessing or not entering any estimate at all (see Chapter 6 for information on the different assessment tools).
Once you have your body fat percentage, convert your weight in pounds into kilograms. Simply divide your weight in pounds by 2.2 to arrive at kilograms or use an online calculator (type “pounds to kilograms” into a Google search). Then multiply your weight in kilograms by your body fat percentage—that total is how much fat you’re carrying in kilograms. Subtract that number from your total body weight to determine your lean body mass. Then multiply that number by 1.0 to get the number of grams of protein you should aim to eat in a day.
For example, for a 146-pound woman with 33 percent body fat (a typical amount for women at this weight):
146 pounds equals 66.22 kilograms
66.22 × .33 equals 21.85 kilograms of fat
66.22 − 21.85 equals 44.4 kilograms lean body mass
44.4 × 1 equals 44.4 grams of protein
In this example, 44 grams of protein divided over three meals means nearly 15 grams at each meal. For meat servings, a portion equal to ¼ of the size of a deck of cards contains 5 to 7 grams of protein. For fish, each ¼ of a checkbook-sized portion contains 5 to 7 grams. There is also some protein in vegetables, nuts, and seeds.
So, to get 15 grams of protein at lunch, this woman’s meat serving should be about ½ to ¾ the size of a deck of cards.
Once you’ve determined the number of protein grams you’ll need, it’s helpful to start teaching yourself some visual cues for making sure that your portion sizes keep you on target. Weighing your portions and then entering them into Cronometer will help you train your eye to assess the proper portion size for each type of protein food you eat and give you very precise feedback on how much protein you’re consuming. Being able to visualize portion sizes will also simplify eating out and make occasional travel less likely to derail your fat-burning food plan.
Again, MMT is highly individualized. If you have a serious illness, such as cancer, you may need to lower your intake of protein to minimize activity in the pathways that can contribute to disease. Work with a knowledgeable health coach or nutrition professional to help you determine what protein target is right for you, and understand that your needs may change over time.
A guiding principle of MMT is to limit your intake of net carbs to under 50 grams per day, or 4 to 10 percent of your daily calories. Keep in mind that this number varies widely between individuals. The exact number of carbs that works best to keep your body in a fat-burning state may be much lower, especially if you’re insulin resistant, mostly sedentary, or have type 2 diabetes. Then your upper limit may be as low as 20 grams, at least at the start of the plan.
Some people will need to keep their net-carb intake very low, 10 to 15 grams a day, to enter and stay in the fat-burning zone. Others will be able to go higher, to 40 grams or more. Even when you find the amount that works for you now, you may need to either tighten or loosen that over time, based on your health or goals and the feedback your body is providing you.
A good way to find a starting target is to consider these guidelines that Miriam uses with her clients:
Once you have switched your body over to burning fat as your primary fuel, you may be able to consume a bit more, from 40 to 80 grams of net carbs per day, or if you are an athlete with high energy needs, perhaps even as high as 100 grams. Take care here, though, as you want to stay in that fat-burning state. This is where monitoring glucose and ketones as you experiment with introducing more carbs will come in handy. If glucose trends upward and you drop out of nutritional ketosis—that is, if your blood levels of ketones fall below 0.5 mmol/L—you have exceeded your carbohydrate tolerance.
Also remember that the carbohydrates that you reintroduce should still come mainly from fibrous, low-net-carb vegetables with perhaps a bit more fruit or a small portion of legumes or root vegetables—not grains or added sugars.
Your metabolism and activity levels can vary from day to day or week to week, so be realistic about your target and test the impact of these changes by keeping an eye on your blood glucose and ketone levels. Whatever the actual number of net carbs you aim to eat each day, the bottom line is that your personal ideal number of net carbs is likely far less than what you are currently eating.
Once you have a target number of grams of carbs, remember: this is net carbs. To determine your net carbs merely subtract the grams of fiber from the total grams of carbohydrate. Cronometer makes this very easy for you and calculates to the tenth of a gram so you know precisely where you stand.
You will find that that carbs add up fast if you aren’t thoughtful in your food choices. For example, if you keep using your favorite sugar-free creamer in your coffee, you could easily spend six grams of your precious allotment before you’ve even had breakfast.
To familiarize yourself with the carb content of nutrition-packed foods, do an Internet search for “low-carb fruits and vegetables.” Look for those you like or are willing to try. You won’t find many low-carb fruits, though, so for now be content with berries (always choose organic). Also, develop the habit of carefully reading nutrition labels. Keep lists of foods you like that are also low carb; these will come in very handy when you’re shopping for groceries and planning meals.
One important point: the lower your carbs, the more likely it is that you will quickly transition to a fat-burning machine. That said, you will also initially be more prone to experience transition side effects such as nausea, fatigue, brain fog, and constipation. (See more information on how to handle side effects.)
Fat
Now that you’ve set your targets for protein and carb consumption, the majority of your remaining daily caloric intake will be in the form of healthy fat. Remember: as I discussed in Chapter 1, you want to avoid all refined vegetable and nut oils. They are pro-inflammatory, and most commercial ones are contaminated with toxic herbicides and solvents. Focus on adding saturated fats (like those found in animal proteins and coconut oil) and monounsaturated fats (avocado and olive oil), with the only polyunsaturated fats in your diet coming from nuts and seeds (see Chapter 5 for a list and other information on nuts and seeds and remember that flax seeds need to be ground before you eat them to improve the bioavailability of their nutrients).
Also remember that you do not want to consume more than 3 to 4 percent of your total calories as omega-6 fats because they will damage your cellular and mitochondrial membranes. And keep in mind that animal-based saturated fats are generally high in protein—be sure to count that so you will not exceed your target protein levels.
You want to aim for having 70 to 85 percent of your total daily calories come from healthy fats. In general, that means you are taking in two to three tablespoons of added fat at each meal, and one tablespoon in at least one snack. (Of course, this will vary one way or another according to your personal energy needs.) Although this guideline is simple, eating this much fat is so far outside the boundaries of what you’ve been taught that, once you pull out the excess carbs and protein, it can be hard to take in enough calories unless you get into the habit of eating more fat. Give your palate and your mind time to adjust to eating this much fat at every meal.
This is clearly a high-fat diet and many people simply can’t properly break fats down. This is especially true if you have had your gallbladder removed. If you fall into this category, it is imperative that you take two supplements—ox bile and a digestive enzyme with plenty of the enzyme lipase. Take these every time you eat a high-fat food, and they should radically improve your ability to digest healthy fats.
To help increase your daily fat intake, go online and find recipes for simple fat bombs (a quick web search will provide hundreds of options). Having these on hand can make your early days of a fat-burning diet a lot more enjoyable. If you stick to it, you will transition to burning fat, and you will enjoy reduced hunger and a dramatic reduction in cravings for sweets. And if you are like most people, you have struggled with that your entire life.
CHOOSE YOUR STARTING POINT
I realize that I have referred to MMT as a “fat-burning diet.” Although it is a comprehensive eating plan, MMT is less of a diet and more of a continuum of health and lifestyle improvements. It evolves, but it doesn’t necessarily have an end (although, once you have been in fat-burning mode for a while, you should go through periods where you raise your net-carb intake, something I will explain in Chapter 10).
Since following a fat-burning food plan is a continuum, there are many ways to get started—I like to think of them as on-ramps. I’ve worked with Miriam to outline your three basic on-ramp options, the reasons why one might make more sense for you, and the particulars of what that course of action will look like in your daily life.
Multiple factors go into helping you decide which on-ramp is best for you. They include:
You need confidence in order to stay committed, and occasionally you will need a boost of support to keep going. If you don’t have strong support, you can still absolutely adopt this style of eating, but understand that you are more likely to be successful if you give yourself time and space to get organized first. Once you experience some of the early benefits, such as freedom from cravings and increased energy, that will naturally fuel your excitement and provide the motivation you need to keep going.
Working with a health coach who specializes in helping people make the transition to burning fat for fuel can be an extremely powerful way to boost your odds of success. Family members, friends, or other caregivers committed to helping you can also serve as coaches if they are willing to do the research that will help you wisely choose the on-ramp best suited to your health and current diet. At the very least, call on your team to help you gather supplies, shop for the right foods, and prepare delicious meals.
There’s no one right way to get started. The right choice is the course of action that helps you make steady progress. Meaning, how you start doesn’t matter as much as how you move along the continuum, so choose what feels like the best match for you at this time.
On-Ramp #1: Ease In
Pros: Gives you a chance to get organized by slowly purging your pantry, shopping for new ingredients, and researching a couple of recipes that you’ll use in the beginning. Prevents feeling overwhelmed by giving you a chance to test meals and master each new skill before moving on the next. It also allows you to gradually adjust your palate and switch your food-prep habits to include more high-fat foods in your meals.
Easing in also helps you avoid the side effects of rapid weight loss, which can include the release of a surge of hormones and toxins, previously stored in the fat cells, into the bloodstream all at once. It can also reduce a set of symptoms commonly referred to as the “keto flu” that include nausea, fatigue, muscle aches, and brain fog, which can occur as your body switches from one primary fuel to another.
Cons: The only major disadvantage of this approach is that you could lose precious time if you have a serious illness that is causing a rapid deterioration. But if that is not your challenge, a gradual start to MMT may even have some advantages over diving in or jump-starting with a fast: a 2005 randomized prospective study found that children with seizures who were assigned to a gradual start of a fat-burning food plan had fewer side effects and better tolerance than children who started the diet with a fast.1
How to do it: Start with one high-fat, moderate-protein, low-carbohydrate meal a day. Miriam suggests breakfast: two eggs cooked in one tablespoon of butter or ghee and one tablespoon coconut oil. The eggs will absorb the oils and won’t feel overly greasy. Be sure that you are also working through the “Getting Started Checklist”.
Enter this breakfast into Cronometer so you can view the important feedback regarding your nutrient intake.
As your breakfast routine becomes well established, you can move to eating high fat at lunch too. Have a salad consisting of several cups of leafy greens, half to a whole avocado, some form of protein (portion size will depend on your daily protein needs, which I covered earlier in this chapter). Include other low-carb vegetables (such as broccoli or zucchini) drizzled with pastured butter. Miriam believes it’s okay to sprinkle some grated cheese over the top of the salad too, so long as you keep it to a condiment-sized portion and count it as part of your day’s food intake.
Enter all ingredients, with their weight in grams, into Cronometer. If you use the same basic salad ingredients every day, you can save time in the long run by entering these as one recipe. You can then add the protein food separately, depending on your choice for that day.
Next, move to making dinner a high-fat meal as well. If needed, add in some high-fat snacks between lunch and dinner until you are eating high fat all the time. At the same time, you’ll be pulling away from the high net carbs that made up a large part of your former way of eating.
Feel free to experiment with a variety of high-fat recipes. As you add more high-fat foods into your regular rotation, start entering your favorite combinations into Cronometer as full recipes so that later, when you are eating high fat all the time, it’s almost effortless to record your most common choices.
Sample One-Day Eating Plan for the “Ease In” On-Ramp
Measure your glucose level when you first wake up. If you aren’t hungry yet, don’t eat anything. Wait until you’re truly hungry.
Time: When your hunger becomes noticeable.
What: Mostly protein and fats, such as two eggs cooked in one tablespoon ghee and one tablespoon coconut oil, or one egg with two strips of bacon (to keep your protein intake adequate but not excessive). If you need something faster, try a smoothie made out of unsweetened almond milk, unsweetened protein powder (check the carbs on the label), cream, a tablespoon of coconut milk or a teaspoon of MCT oil, two strawberries or a small handful of blueberries, and stevia to taste.
Time: A few hours after your first meal.
What: A typical lunch for you, although you’re aiming to reduce the number of carbs. If you usually have a sandwich, make it open faced. If you usually have a bowl of pasta, get a hearty soup instead.
Time: Start to eat dinner a little earlier than you usually do—perhaps as long as three hours before bedtime, but any change here is good.
What: Eat a normal dinner for you, but include more low-net-carb vegetables than you would normally eat and a smaller protein serving than you would normally eat.
Time: As needed.
What: A handful of macadamia nuts, or a tablespoon of almond butter mixed with a teaspoon of coconut oil spread on a celery stick.
Test and record your glucose level so you can track how it trends over time.
Good Online Sources of High-Fat, Low-Carb, Moderate-Protein Recipes
www.ketodietapp.com (search for “60 amazing fat bombs”)
www.ketogenic-diet-resource.com
You can also search online using the keyword “keto.” Don’t use “low carb” or “high fat,” as it will often yield recipes that are too high in protein.
On-Ramp #2: Dive In
Pros: You may be highly motivated to start eating differently and improving your mitochondrial metabolism, and this approach lets you get your feet wet while making progress right away. This is also a useful strategy if you have a serious health challenge that requires immediate intervention.
Cons: You may feel overwhelmed if you attempt to dive in before you’ve stocked your refrigerator and pantry with the right foods. You may also experience more side effects as you make the switch to burning fat as fuel, including nausea, brain fog, fatigue, and muscle cramping. Also, if you dive in you are more likely to experience rapid weight loss, which may or may not be desirable based on your current weight and health status.
How to do it: Reduce your net carbs to between 20 and 25 grams a day, limit your protein to 1 gram/kilogram of lean body mass (see more information on setting your carb and protein targets), and replace a significant part of those calories with high-quality fat sources. You will really have to challenge yourself to consume enough fat in the beginning. Depending on your calorie requirements, you may need to add the equivalent of three or more tablespoons of fat with each of your three main meals, and one or more tablespoons in your snack.
In addition, you’ll want to consume these meals within a compressed eating window, as I discuss in Chapter 10. It’s also very important to mitochondrial health to stop eating at least three hours before bedtime, allowing for a 13- to 18-hour window before the next time you take a bite of food. (For example, if your last meal is at 5 p.m., your first meal the next day might be at 9 a.m.)
Start by keeping your meals very simple—see the sidebar for a guideline on meal planning.
Begin tracking your blood glucose levels using your home glucose monitor (described in Chapter 6). Test three times a day according to this schedule:
Many glucose monitors will store your previous readings, but I recommend recording your results, ideally in Cronometer. As you first embark on the diet and your body makes the transition to fat burning, you will likely get readings that jump from high to low. But as your body gradually learns how to burn fat as your primary fuel, you will see your numbers stabilize and trend downward over time. This is incredibly empowering and will give you a strong sense of gratification along with the motivation to stay committed to your new plan.
Start tracking your food intake at Cronometer.com/mercola. Start with one meal a day and work your way up to recording everything you eat. If you spend some time entering your most frequent meals as recipes, you will find that entering your daily foods takes only a few minutes a day. The program will not only help you see your progress, but also easily allow you to share your food record and nutrient profile with your health care professional or coach. (Remember: if tracking is too overwhelming for you, you can plan what you eat instead, using Cronometer to check nutrient values.)
Setting up your profile and entering some specific meals that you plan to use often will take a few hours of your time. But after that initial effort, it will only require a few minutes a day to enter your foods and track your data.
Sample One-Day Eating Plan for the “Dive In” On-Ramp
Measure your glucose level before you eat or drink anything. Then enjoy your coffee or tea with one to two tablespoons of grass-fed butter, coconut oil, or MCT oil melted into it. Optional: froth it with an immersion blender.
Time: Delay this first meal until you feel truly hungry. As I will discuss in Chapter 10, extending the periods of time you go without food has many metabolic benefits. Over time, you’ll work up to going 13 to 18 hours between your last meal of the previous day and your first meal of this new day.
What: predominately protein and fats. Examples: eggs cooked in one tablespoon of ghee and one tablespoon of coconut oil. Optional: add in shredded zucchini or spinach. Or enjoy a coconut milk smoothie with half of an avocado, a tablespoon or two of heavy cream or coconut oil to boost the fat, and about one ounce of a mixture of freshly ground seeds. Add stevia as needed.
Time: ideally, when your glucose reading is 80 or lower, or a few hours after your first meal.
What: two to three cups of salad greens, half an avocado, an appropriate-for-you-sized portion of protein (such as chicken, fish or lamb—use your scale for precise measurement), two tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, a splash of white wine vinegar, and (optional) two tablespoons of a hard cheese (such as Parmesan) grated over the top.
Time: at least three hours before bedtime, as eating at night, when your energy needs are low, can flood your mitochondria with ROS. I will discuss this more in Chapter 10, but for now, aim to eat dinner a little earlier than you typically do.
What: start with a right-for-you portion of protein such as salmon, beef, or chicken, cooked in plenty of high-quality fat—duck fat, bacon grease, lard, or ghee—plus a low-carb veggie served with plenty of butter or olive oil or coconut oil. Ideally, this should be a lighter meal than breakfast and lunch. Remember: you will generate more unwanted free radicals if you eat large amounts of fuel just before sleep, at a time when you need them the least. It will also result in mitochondrial damage because it prevents the overnight housekeeping activities that contribute to cellular health.
Time: as needed during your eating window.
What: macadamia nuts, pecans, celery, avocado, fat bombs.
On-Ramp #3: Jump-Start with a Water Fast
If you are basically healthy or don’t have weight to lose, I believe this is not the best strategy because it will clearly result in weight loss. If, like the majority of the population, you are overweight, this may be the best choice as it will help jump-start your body’s ability to burn fat as your primary fuel. So rather than taking a few months or longer to achieve fat-burning capability, you might be able to achieve this state after a few rounds of a few days of fasting (see Chapter 10 for more details on how to fast).
The time you save in food shopping and preparation you can put toward a pantry sweep (discussed earlier in this chapter), removing unhealthy foods from your home and replacing them with those that are more aligned with helping you succeed in burning fat as your primary fuel.
Sample Water Fast Protocol
A water fast isn’t limited to just water—there are other fluids (and even some seeds) allowed. Here’s your guide to what you can use to stay hydrated and derive some nutrients while giving your digestion a rest and your body a chance to jump-start fat burning:
Fluids allowed:
What you can add to your water:
What you can add to your coffee or tea (up to one tablespoon):
What you can add to your broth as it cooks (strain before eating):
Tips for a Successful Start
As you get more comfortable with the basic points of a high-fat diet, you can begin to incorporate new recipes and food options. Remember: MMT is a continuum—there will always be new things to learn and recipes to try. Simply start at the level that makes the most sense for you, and refine from there.
Resist the urge to reach for sports drinks or even coconut water, as the sports drinks contain heaps of sugar or artificial sweeteners. Even coconut water contains a hefty dose of carbs.
Miriam’s transition tip: if you experience any side effects, such as fatigue, brain fog, or muscle cramps, simply sipping on some homemade salted chicken, fish, or beef broth may be all you need to set yourself straight! Also, many new studies show that vitamin K2 (as MK-7) will radically reduce nighttime muscle cramps, so it is best to take the K2 before bedtime.
All that being said, if the idea of weighing your food, recording everything you eat in Cronometer, and monitoring your glucose levels multiple times a day are more than you are willing to take on right now, there is another option.
Instead of tracking your food consumption, you can plan it instead. Do this by following the Sample One-Day Eating Plan for the on-ramp you’ve chosen and simply write out what you will eat for the next day or few days, and then stick to that plan. Whether you are a planner or a tracker, you will have a record of all the food that you ate, so that you or your health coach can see at a glance what your intake is relative to your target allotments of carbs, protein, and fat. However, this method will not give you as clear a picture as tracking your overall nutrient intake, which is helpful if you are trying to determine if you are getting enough quantity, variety, and balance in your diet.
Getting Started Checklist
To help make this initial phase more manageable, Miriam and I created this checklist so you can clearly see what you need to do:
____Start avoiding eating at least three hours before bedtime.
____Start pushing the time of your first meal back to extend the window of time between meals (experiment with adding coconut oil and/or heavy cream to your morning coffee or tea to make it easier to wait longer before eating).
____Get your preliminary blood work done.
____Purchase your glucose meter, glucose testing strips, lancets, and keto strips if you choose to monitor your ketone levels (see Purchase a Few Choice Supplies).
____Purchase a kitchen scale and candy molds (for making fat bombs).
____Determine your macronutrient targets.
____Make a copy of the MMT-friendly foods to hang on your fridge and take with you to the grocery store.
____Buy MMT-friendly foods.
____Purge your pantry of foods not on the high-fat diet, or clear out space in a cabinet designated specifically for MMT-friendly foods.
____Begin testing your glucose levels three times a day—as soon as you wake up, just before your first meal, and just before bed—and tracking your results.
____Start eating as many high-fat, low-carb, moderate-protein meals per day as matches the on-ramp you have chosen.
____Open a Cronometer account and log your most frequently eaten meal.
____Bookmark websites with recipes and information.
____Compile three to five recipes you want to start experimenting with.
____As you get comfortable with each step of your new eating plan, keep refining it—seek out more recipes, log more of the food you eat, and do more research.
Clearing Long-Term Health Annoyances and Enjoying Renewed Energy
Jessica had a host of bizarre health issues, including recurring eczema, an inflamed eye, multiple allergies, hormonal issues, and struggles with weight loss. She had spent significant time and money on seeing physicians, but they had been able to offer her only marginal relief.
Jessica decided to consult with one more specialist before giving up, which is how she came to be in an office with Dr. Dan Pompa, a Salt Lake City health coach and cellular detox expert. To Dr. Pompa, Jessica’s list of symptoms wasn’t mysterious once he heard her health history.
Growing up, Jessica had been exposed to many toxins and molds and described herself as “a sick kid.” As she had moved into her teens, she experienced depression, which intensified after her children were born. Her symptoms had been steadily piling up over a lifetime.
Dr. Pompa addressed her diet first. Jessica already leaned toward low carb and dabbled with higher fat because it made her feel better, but she had never felt confident that she was doing it right. With a few refinements to her existing diet, Jessica transitioned to fat burning right away. She then added daily intermittent fasting for five days a week, followed by one day of feasting and then one day of fasting.
In the beginning, Jessica would sometimes get off track. It helped that she kept tabs on her fasting blood glucose and ketones and also tested before meals. The feedback from this testing helped Jessica learn to pay attention to what her body needed instead of what she wanted.
For Jessica, putting all these elements together was magic. “The changes only took about five weeks. This was no time compared to all the years that I dealt with the bad stuff.” (Frankly, oftentimes it takes longer so Dr. Pompa encourages patience.)
Although Jessica didn’t lose many pounds overall, the inches melted off and she went down a couple of sizes. But the best effects had nothing to do with weight loss: “I have much more energy now and feel more purpose driven. My skin is clear and I feel healthy and very balanced in mind and body. Best of all, these are strategies I can continue for a lifetime.”