Metabolic U-Turn – Shift From A Sugar Burner To A Fat Burner

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Here is a simple easy-to-do 7 day plan on how to shift from sugar-burner to a fat-burner. The first step is to change your metabolism from reliance on glucose (sugar) for energy to reliance on fat. The metabolic shift from sugar burning to fat burning can be achieved in 7 days. This period is a one-time feature. Unlike the doctor or dentist who, before performing a procedure on you, tells you that you may experience “a bit of discomfort” only for you to discover that he really meant “a lot of agony,” I will be honest with you: the first 3 or 4 days of this 7-day period is likely to be difficult.

However, equally honestly, when you get past the initial period, you will be well on your way to achieving your fat loss goals. So please, commit yourself. Think of the rewards and remember that 7 days in the scope of a lifetime is like a grain of sand on the beach.

Getting Out of the Sugar-Burning Mode

In order to get out of the sugar-burning mode, you must see to it that glucose is unavailable to your metabolism. This means not only incoming glucose in the form of carbohydrate, but also glucose stored inside your body as glycogen.

Carbohydrate is broken down to glucose and stored as glycogen in the muscles and liver, or converted to fat when glycogen stores are filled.

After about 3 days of strict carbohydrate restriction, liver and muscle glycogen will be depleted.

As glycogen levels wane, your body, being the versatile adaptive organism that it is, adjusts by recruiting energy from a different source – fat. Your body will begin to use the fat from your body and food in much the same way that it currently uses sugar.

Triglyceride, the storage form of fatty acids, is the analog to glycogen, the storage form of glucose. After making the metabolic shift, triglyceride will displace glycogen as the primary energy source in your body.

And, instead of “low-octane” glucose, your body will run on “high-octane” fatty acids.

The Metabolic U-Turn

Energy levels will increase after the first four days and cravings will disappear, as you make the metabolic shift.

However, during the first 4 days you will likely experience some version of the “sugar-burner-deprived-of-sugar” syndrome. Energy levels may sag, and you will probably experience some degree of carbohydrate craving, possibly intense.

And then, you will make the metabolic shift and these symptoms will disappear.

Think of the 7-day metabolic shift period as making a sudden U-turn in your car at a high rate of speed. All of a sudden you slam on the breaks and cut the wheel sharply. There is a lot of screeching and friction. Then, before you know it, you have regained control and you are cruising in the opposite direction.

In effect, your metabolism is going to make a similar U-turn. The screeching and friction may or may not be as bad as I have portrayed it. In either case, you’ll overcome it – I know you will.

How Much Carbohydrate?

During the 7 -day metabolic shift period, you should aim for fewer than 20 grams of active carbohydrate each day. In addition to initial cravings, this period will be difficult from a practical standpoint because carbohydrates are ubiquitous in our sweet-tooth society. Also read the article about “eating to prevent hunger rather than eating in response to hunger” it will be particularly helpful.

By consuming smaller meals more frequently, rather than larger meals less frequently, you will go a long way toward defeating the cravings that will likely arise during the first few days of the metabolic shift period (but smaller meals consumed less frequently can aggravate cravings, so make sure to eat enough food).

What to Eat during the Seven Day Metabolic Shift

Basically, you should focus on meat during this period: steak, fish, shrimp, ribs (without barbecue sauce), lobster, chicken, etc. As well, cheese, eggs, and cottage/ricotta cheese are good choices during the first 7 days.

Don’t worry about fat consumption during this period – eat as much fat as you want. In fact, fat will facilitate the metabolic shift to fat burning and it will help quell cravings (see Chapter 18). The key factor here is the carbs. If you stay under 20 grams, you will make the metabolic shift; if you don’t, you won’t.

What about Vegetarians and Vegans?

If you are a vegetarian, soy-based products, like tofu, are the solution during this period and will prove valuable later, as well. Making it through the first seven days without meat (and especially, as is the case with vegans, without meat-derivatives) will require initiative and creative effort.

Visit your local natural foods store; there you will find an assortment of soy-based “meat analog” products. Some are quite tasty, but check that label. Many such products are dressed-up with barbecue sauce or other sugar-containing flavorings.

In order to stay under the 20-gram carbohydrate limit, I recommend that you limit yourself to the following vegetables, eaten in moderation: cabbage, celery, broccoli, lettuce, carrots, spinach, onions, garlic, asparagus, radicchio, mushrooms, cucumbers, cauliflower, peppers, and radishes.

Although it is not necessary to eat vegetables in order to make the metabolic shift, I recommend that you eat at least one serving per day of fresh vegetables during the metabolic shift period. Otherwise, you may find yourself constipated from the switch to a protein- and fat-based diet.

If none of the vegetables listed above appeals to you, try melting some butter or cheese on them. It’s amazing what melted butter or melted cheese can do to spruce-up the taste of an otherwise unappealing food. You may wish to snack on pieces of fresh broccoli, celery, or cauliflower dipped in high-fat, low-carb dressing. French dressing is out of the question, while most blue cheese dressings are fine. Check the label and be wary of “hidden carbs.”

What Not to Eat

Essentially, everything except those foods mentioned in this article are to be avoided during the metabolic shift period.

Starchy or sugary foods, obviously, should be forsaken.

Less obviously, fruits and nuts, while not nearly as high in carbohydrate as starches and dessert foods, are off-limits during this period.

Remember, we are trying to totally reverse your metabolism in 7 days, and this requires eliminating incoming carbohydrate and depleting internal sugar stores (i.e., glycogen). To achieve this feat, you must be very strict and very vigilant about what you eat.

I cannot emphasize strongly enough how important these first 7 days are. It will reset your metabolism, give you fat-burning momentum, and subdue your appetite making it easier to get into the groove.