The Keto Reset Diet

The book has three parts.

Part I focuses on “Building the Metabolic Machinery” in which we learn about why we want to shift from burning carbohydrates as our primary source of fuel to fats.

Part II is our first step in the plan: The 21-Day Reset in which we reboot our metabolic systems to “return to our original factory settings.” In this phase, we shift to burning fat for fuel. We’ll talk more about “the best way to ditch grains, sugars, and refined vegetable oils.” (btw: Know that EVERY nutritional philosophy will agree that you should ditch the sugars and refined vegetables oils so even if you’re not ready to go all in on the keto approach, see what you can do to reduce/eliminate those foodlike substances.)

Then Part III of the book focuses on step two of the plan: Going Keto. After the 21-Day Reset we go deep into a six-week foray into nutritional ketosis.

That’s from Chapter 1: “The Keto Reset Diet 101—What, Why and How.”

First thing to know? Mark tells us that fat and ketones have been the “preferred human fuels for 2.5 million years of our hunter-gatherer existence.”

“On the other hand, the high-carb, high-insulin-producing Standard America Diet (SAD) causes you to burn glucose, a.k.a. sugar—the primary human fuel since the cultivation of grains and the consequent advent of civilization around 10,000 years ago.”

The fact is, our ancient ancestors didn’t have access to food (let alone massive amounts of carbs) all day every day. It was only 10,000 years ago when we domesticated grains that we had access to such a large quantity of carbs on such a consistent basis.

For a couple million (!) years before that, there were periods of time in which there was NO food available. Yet, our ancestors had to function. How’d they do that? Mark tells us that it was by burning fat and ketones.

And, I love the image of twigs vs. logs. Which would you use if you wanted to build a strong fire? In addition to burning dirty with a lot of smoke, you constantly need to add twigs to the carb fire. Which makes me think of David Ludwig and his book Always Hungry?

One of the main points of that book is the fact that when we use carbs as our primary source of fuel we are, as the title of his book suggests, ALWAYS hungry. Personally, my energy was up and down and I was “always hungry” when I followed a low-fat, high-carb approach. Although I haven’t deliberately tried to get into ketosis for an extended period of time (yet), since I’ve become what Mark and others would call “fat adapted,” I can easily go for long stretches without food and my energy has been incredibly more stable. It’s actually kinda astonishing.

How about you? How are you fueling your metabolic fire?

P.S. One of the (valid) pushbacks on the keto approach is the fact that some of the longest-lived people on the planet eat grains so how can they be bad for us? Here’s how Robert Lustig puts it in Fat Chance: “Can low-fat and low-carb diets both be right? Or both wrong? What do the Atkins diet (protein and fat), the Ornish diet (vegetables and whole grains), and the traditional Japanese diet (carbohydrates and protein) have in common? On the surface they seem to be diametrically opposite. But they all have one thing in common: they restrict sugar. Every successful diet in history restricts sugar.”

So, again, whether you choose to go all in on a keto experiment or stick to whatever approach might be working for you, limit the sugar!! (And the veggie oils. :)

Ready to reset your metabolism and become what Mark calls a “fat-burning beast”?! Fantastic. Step 1. “Ruthlessly purge your pantry and fridge (and office desk drawer . . .) of all sugars, grains, and refined vegetable oils.”

Why do we need to ruthlessly (!) throw away all the food we’re no longer going to eat—from the pantry and desk and every other little place those foods might be hiding? Well, let’s go back to our recent Note on the science of how to Stick with It by Sean Young.

Recall his SCIENCE model of the seven psychological forces in which our first “E” is for “Easy.”

Let’s have fun applying that science of behavioral change to our (potential) Keto Reset:

• Stepladders

  : You’d want to have the Dream of getting fat-adapted/going keto, the Goal of completing the first 21 days in style and the next Step of throwing away all the junk.

• Community

  : Science says you’re more likely to crush it with social support so find a friend or relative to do it together.

• Important

  : WHY are you fired up and committed? Amazing, stable energy? Easily get to and maintain your optimal weight? Disease-proof yourself by getting insulin Optimized?

• Easy

  : Throw out the “edible foodlike substances” (as per

  ) and follow the plan. Make a 100% decision to NOT eat stuff that’s off the plan.

• Neurohacks

  : ACT like a fat-burning beast who has mastered this approach NOW and maybe set up a password FatBurning@B3ast.

• Captivating

  :

  Make the whole thing a fun game by tracking your % calories on an app and watching your percents get Optimized.

• Engrained

  :

  Stick with the program. Day after day after day so it’s just who you are and it’s harder for you to eat the old junk than it is to not eat it. (For example, you couldn’t pay me to eat the stuff that I used to think was kinda sorta good for me—from rice cakes to “healthy” chips to Coconut Bliss ice cream.)

In terms of WHY we want to get rid of sugars + grains + veggie oilshere’s a quick look:

Sugars: Let’s remember that INSULIN is the hormone connected with metabolic diseases we don’t want (ranging from diabetes and heart diseases to cancer). And, know that SUGAR is the best way to mess up your insulin. (See: Fat Chance + The Case Against Sugar.) From Mark: “Chronically high glucose and insulin promote a condition known as systemic inflammation, which health experts are increasingly realizing represent the root cause of virtually all forms of disease and dysfunction in the body, particularly autoimmune conditions, heart disease, and cancer.” Plus: “Individuals who produce the least amount of insulin generally live the longest.”

For grains, let’s go to It Starts with Food where Dallas and Melissa Hartwig tell us: “The marketing from big cereal companies would have you think that cereal grains are highly nutritious—and that if you don’t eat them, you’ll miss out on all sorts of vitamins, minerals, and fiber that you can get only from grains. That’s simply not true. Grains are not (we repeat, not) nutrient-dense when compared with vegetables and fruit.”

(Yes, some long-lived cultures consumed grains. But they never had their insulin tweaked by sugar and other refined carbs like flour and… So…)

Then we have veggie oils. Recall that, although they now constitute a crazy percentage of calories, they didn’t exist pre-Industrial Revolution. How about this gem from The Happiness Diet: “The second largest source of calories in the MAD [Modern American Diet] are added fats—refined vegetable and seed oils that have high amounts of omega-6 fats as well as trans fats, which have been linked to an increased risk of depression.”

That’s from a chapter called “Ditch Toxic Foods and Replace with Nutrient-Dense Foods” in which we learn the recommended macronutrient intake to Reset and go keto.

First, to help deal with any lingering bias against fat, check out the Notes on Gary Taubes’s Why We Get Fat and The Case Against Sugar. If you’re only going to read one of his books, I’d recommend The Case Against Sugar—his newest and a concise, compelling look at the root of our chronic diseases. (I still can’t believe I get most of my calories from fat and I’ve never been leaner. Scale says 8% body fat these days…)

Key things to note: The bulk of your plate will be nutrient-dense greens and veggies. The bulk of your calories will be from good fats like avocados, olives, olive oil, coconut fats, etc. (Mark cites stats that ~40% (!!!) of oils used in restaurants is veggie oils so, he says, ask for butter instead!)

Your carbs will be restricted to less than 150 grams during the 21-Day Reset which helps you become fat-adapted. With that base, you’ll then have less than 50 grams of carbs during 6-week Keto phase. (Mark makes the point that most plans have people jump into keto too fast.) (Note: You just ditched fast food and your mocha-sugar-whatever.)

Finally, you’ll have a moderate amount of protein. Around .7 grams per lean body weight. I laughed out loud a bunch of times as Mark pokes fun at guys chugging down their protein drinks chatting about what he calls “bro science.”

As per our Notes on Dr. Mercola’s Fat for Fuel: “Of all the nutrients that stimulate mTOR, amino acids—which are derived from protein—are the most potent. Stimulating mTOR by eating large amounts of protein is also one of the quickest ways to suppress cellular and mitochondrial autophagy, which prevents your body from effectively cleaning out debris and damaged cells. Even if you are optimizing everything you can to keep glucose and insulin levels low, eating excessive protein will still activate the mTOR pathway. If your goal is to treat disease and live long, doing this chronically is something you want to avoid.”

That leads us to the “Macronutrient breakdown for keto: Dr. Dom D’Agostinio suggests that the modern ketogenic diet for general use would come in at 65 to 75 percent fat, 15 to 25 percent protein and 5 to 10 percent carbs. The leading experts all quote similar macronutrient ratios.”

Week 2 of our Reset features Optimizing our Exercise + Sleep + Stress. Super quick hit:

Exercise: “My Primal Blueprint exercise philosophy entails a blend of moving frequently, lifting heavy things, and sprinting once in a while.” Keys here include MOVING throughout the day (a la our Wisdom Pack on Movement) and chilling out on our exercise if we tend to chronically overdo it.

Sleep: “While I offer an assortment of tips and techniques for optimizing your sleep in this section, the essence of the problem is this: excess artificial light and digital stimulation after dark. Our delicate circadian hormonal processes have been synchronized with the rising and setting of the sun for millions of years.” (In short: Digital Sunset.)

Stress-Management: Connect with loved ones, discipline yourself digitally, focus on one task a time, oscillate, practice gratitude and create personal time!

Those are the last words of the book. One of the things I most admire about Mark is his commitment to enjoying his life. I had a couple thoughts as I read that.

First, he’s pretty much Seneca’s wisdom personified: “How much better to pursue a straight course and eventually reach that destination where the things that are pleasant and the things that are honorable finally become, for you, the same.”

<— In other words: How awesome to get to a point where doing the optimal thing is the most enjoyable thing?! Answer: Very awesome.

And… I’m *so* sensitive that I actually think eating junk food/edible foodlike substances is kinda like trying to power up our Tesla with gas. It’s just not going to happen. (Laughing.)

So… There ya go. That’s a super quick look at this great book. If you’ve ever thought of going keto, I say go with this book! In any case, I’m sending love and high fives and here’s to Optimizing our energy and using it to enjoy a life of connection and service!