Episode #8
Boosting Insulin Sensitivity and Workout Performance with a Ketogenic Diet
How do you measure your health? Is it by your weight, your blood pressure, your cholesterol profile, or maybe all of them? According to Dr. Brian Lenzkes, there’s one critical health marker you should pay attention to (but probably don’t): insulin sensitivity. Dr. Lenzkes is an internal medicine doctor who focuses on clinical nutrition and […]
Guest
Rachel Gregory and Dr. Brian Lenzkes
How do you measure your health?
Is it by your weight, your blood pressure, your cholesterol profile, or maybe all of them?
According to Dr. Brian Lenzkes, there’s one critical health marker you should pay attention to (but probably don’t): insulin sensitivity.
Dr. Lenzkes is an internal medicine doctor who focuses on clinical nutrition and helps his patients through lifestyle and nutrition changes. He also happens to be one of today’s guests.
Brian believes mainstream nutrition advice has made people so worried about fat and cholesterol that they don’t pay attention to the damage carbs do to their body.
Insulin resistance — what happens when you lose insulin sensitivity — is a direct result of eating too many carbs and too many meals per day, and it’s a precursor for diabetes and heart disease. However, most people don’t know they have it until it’s too late.
The CDC director admits that over a third of U.S. adults have prediabetes (which involves insulin resistance), and most of them have no idea.
The worst part is, by the time you’re insulin resistant, it’s harder to turn your metabolism back to normal.
When you're insulin resistant, everything changes. It's kind of like instead of having to get an oil change, now you need a major tune up. Share on XToday Dr. Lenzkes explains why insulin sensitivity matters and how you can optimize yours with a ketogenic diet or a low carb approach.
But the fun doesn’t stop there.
Today’s episode is extra special because we have a double feature!
Rachel Gregory is also my guest and she will explain how a ketogenic diet can give you an edge at the gym and radically improve your post-workout recovery.
Rachel is a board-certified nutrition specialist and athletic trainer. She made a giant contribution to the scientific community and keto space by publishing the first ever human clinical trial about the effects of the ketogenic diet on CrossFit athletes.
She’s seen first hand the positive effects a low carb diet has over metabolic flexibility.
Let’s just say that if you care about building strength and losing fat, you’ll love what Rachel has to say about keto and performance.
In this episode, we go over
- Why insulin sensitivity is one of the most important health markers
- How insulin resistance happens and what it does to your body
- How to beat insulin resistance
- The connection between insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease
- Why a high cholesterol doesn’t equal heart disease
- Why you should eat fewer meals a day, not more
- How to use a low carb diet for a faster recovery after a workout
- How a ketogenic diet can improve your workout results
- Metabolic flexibility
- Carb backloading
- Why skinny people have just as much or even a higher risk of heart disease as obese people
- How sleep affects insulin sensitivity
- Why you should be skeptic about mainstream nutrition advice
- Rachel’s favorite foods and her workout routine
- Dr. Lenzkes’ eating and fasting habits
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Mentioned in This Episode
- Rachel’s website, Killin It Keto
- Rachel’s study: “A low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet combined with six weeks of crossfit training improves body composition and performance” (2016)
- Rachel’s 21-day Keto Challenge
- Rachel’s Facebook and Instagram
- Brian’s website, Low Carb MD
- Brian’s Twitter
- Dr. Jason Fung
- Perfect Keto Exogenous Ketones
More Resources
- Insulin Sensitivity: The Secret to Optimal Health
- Carb Backloading: What it Is and Whether it Works
- How to Exercise When You’re in Ketosis
- Top 7 Basic Metrics to Track on a Low-Carb, Ketogenic Diet
- The A-Z of Intermittent Fasting: Everything You Need to Know
- Ketogenic Diet Foods to Avoid: 108 Foods That’ll Slow Your Fat Loss