Professional diver and nutrition specialist Kārlis Krastiņš shares valuable information with the Daivings.lv team on what to do if you want to get rid of excess weight and lose weight, (Excess weight that accumulated in our bodies during the less active months of winter) and will share five laws of commitment that must be followed to succeed:
Some of this may seem counterintuitive, but as someone who was formerly overweight (110 kg), I managed to reduce it to 77 kg and my body fat percentage from 34% to 6%.
These rules have not only helped me personally, I have been promoting them for many years, and they have helped many people - men and women, of all ages. And these rules work really fast!
Table of Contents
1. A calorie deficit is not a long-term solution
The first golden rule is to understand that a calorie deficit is not a long-term solution. It seems logical that if you take in fewer calories than you burn, you should lose weight. In the short term, it works, but in the long term, it fails 99.991% of the time. If a calorie deficit were the only factor, then we wouldn't have millions of people struggling with excess weight and repeatedly dieting. Unfortunately, many doctors, nutritionists, and fitness professionals still say that it's all about the calorie deficit. I used to think so too.
The problem is that the body is very smart. When you reduce your calorie intake, your metabolism adapts and slows down to match the reduced energy availability. This is because your body’s top priority is survival. When energy intake decreases, your body also decreases its energy expenditure. We were designed to store fat in times of famine, and our metabolism still remembers this, even though food shortages are rare these days.
Additionally, focusing solely on calories can negatively impact your hormones. Leptin, the hormone that signals your brain that you're full, decreases when you're in a calorie deficit, making you feel hungry. Meanwhile, ghrelin, the hormone that triggers hunger, increases. This means that people who are in a drastic calorie deficit are constantly battling hunger and cravings.
Instead of focusing solely on calories, it's more effective to focus on:
- Stabilizing insulin levels by following a diet low in carbohydrates and high in protein and fat.
- Prioritize protein and fat at every meal.
- Improving metabolic flexibility.
2. Snacks don't boost your metabolism, they kill it.
The Second Golden Rule is to understand that snacking does not increase metabolism, but rather destroys it and accelerates the aging process. Every time you eat, especially foods high in carbohydrates and sugar, your glucose and insulin levels rise. Insulin is a hormone that helps transport glucose from the blood to the cells for energy. If this happens rarely, it is not a problem, but most people snack and graze throughout the day. There are studies that show that the average person eats 17 to 23 times a day!
Every time you eat, your insulin levels rise. If insulin levels are consistently elevated, it can lead to hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance, which in turn can lead to diabetes. Several studies have shown that insulin levels can be elevated for 6 to 14 years without any change in blood sugar levels, until a sudden dramatic increase in sugar levels occurs and prediabetes or diabetes is diagnosed.
Snacking also accelerates aging. Constant eating promotes cell division, which accelerates the aging process. Cell division is like running a copy machine – every time a cell replicates, there is a small chance of an error. Over time, these errors accumulate, causing cellular dysfunction and aging. Eating every few hours forces the body to constantly divide cells, which accelerates the aging process.
In addition, snacks destroy the digestive system. The digestive system needs a break between meals to recover and fully process food. Snacking throughout the day doesn't allow the digestive system to rest, leading to indigestion, bloating, and even gut problems like leaky gut syndrome.
Finally, snacking reduces fat burning mechanisms. The body has two main states: the fed state, when insulin levels are high and the body uses glucose for energy, and the fasting state, when insulin levels are low and the body switches to burning fat for energy. Snacking keeps you in a fed state throughout the day, which blocks fat-burning hormones and signals the body to store energy as fat.
3. Fat adaptation is the key to sustainable weight loss
The Third Golden Rule is to understand that fat adaptation is the key to sustainable weight loss. Fat adaptation occurs when the body switches from burning sugar and glucose as its primary energy source to burning fat and in some cases ketones. Both dietary fat and stored body fat can be used as an energy source.
By incorporating fasting and achieving fat adaptation, you burn body fat. When you are fat adapted, your body efficiently uses body fat for energy, which promotes weight loss and provides a long-lasting source of energy compared to fast-burning glucose.
Unfortunately, most people today are sugar burners. It is estimated that 88% to 93% wealthy people are sugar burners, which means their bodies have forgotten how to burn fat for energy. When you switch to fat burning, which usually only takes a few days, your body can more easily access stored body fat for energy. This means you can burn fat even when fasting or not eating for long periods of time, which ensures permanent and consistent weight loss.
To become an effective fat burner, you must:
- Total carbohydrate intake should be reduced to less than 50 grams per day.
- You should increase your intake of healthy fats and proteins.
- Electrolyte and water balance should be monitored.
4. Test, don't fantasize
The fourth golden rule is to test, not guess. We’ve already established that optimal fat burning requires optimal insulin levels. Have you checked your fasting insulin levels? Fasting insulin levels are one of the most important blood tests anyone can have to assess their metabolic health. Unfortunately, most doctors don’t order them because they don’t understand their importance.
Elevated insulin levels can lead to a range of metabolic diseases, such as high blood pressure, obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. A healthy fasting insulin level is in the single digits, ideally between 3 and 7. If your insulin level is above 10, you have signs of insulin resistance. If it is above 20, you have full-blown insulin resistance. As I mentioned earlier, insulin resistance can persist for 6 to 14 years before your blood sugar levels start to change.
So don't just say it, test it! Get your fasting insulin levels tested and make sure they are in the single digits. If you follow this protocol, do the tests the first week and then after 3 months and you will see that it has decreased significantly.
In addition to insulin levels, you can also track your blood glucose levels using a fingerstick glucose meter or continuous glucose monitoring system (CGM).
Ideally, fasting blood glucose levels should be between 60 and 90 mg/dl. After eating, blood glucose levels should not exceed 120 mg/dl after one hour and should return to baseline levels after two hours.
5. Ancient healing strategies work better than today's quick methods
The fifth golden rule is to understand that ancient healing strategies work better than today's quick weight loss methods. What are ancient healing strategies? They are health-improving methods that have existed since the dawn of humanity and have stood the test of time. Your cells are designed to function according to these strategies.
Ketosis and fasting are two ancient healing strategies that can help you lose weight. Ketosis is a metabolic state in which the body burns fat for energy. Breastfed babies are naturally in a state of ketosis because breast milk contains saturated fat and cholesterol, which help your baby’s brain develop. We are designed to burn fat.
Fasting, including intermittent fasting, is another ancient healing strategy. When the body is in a state of fasting, many wonderful things happen. It is one of the best ways to relieve the body of unnecessary stress and allow it to heal itself. Digestion takes a lot of energy, and when you don’t eat, that energy is directed towards healing processes. Fasting speeds up autophagy, the process of cellular self-cleaning. Additionally, during fasting, the body begins to burn stored fat for energy.
There are two main fasting methods that can help you lose weight:
- Daily 18/6 schedule: 18 hours of fasting and a 6-hour eating window.(What I noticed)
- 24-hour water fasting: no more than once or twice a week.
In addition to ketosis and fasting, there are other healing practices that can promote weight loss and improve overall health:
- Folk method - landing: walking barefoot on the ground to reduce inflammation.
- Practicing Gratitude (A Type of Meditation): expressing gratitude can reduce blood pressure, insulin levels, and A1C.
- Walking: At least 10,000 steps a day can help burn fat and improve health.
Considering these descriptions five golden rules and by incorporating classical healing practices into your life, you can achieve your weight loss goals and improve your overall health.
Remember that consistency and patience are key, and the results will definitely show!
