Being fat adapted is great! You become fat adapted after a period of eating a low-carb, high-fat diet and maybe even intermittent fasting in an attempt to train your body to burn fat as its main source of energy instead of burning carbohydrates.
When you are fat-adapted, your body should be metabolically flexible, which means that you can switch between burning fat and burning carbs for energy. You do not have to follow a low-carb, high-fat diet forever to remain fat-adapted and can practise carb cycling where you alternate between periods of eating carbs and being on a low-carb diet.
When I first embarked on a journey to become fat-adapted, it was mostly for the sake of losing fat, but there have been quite a few benefits that I did not expect.
My Blood Sugar Levels Improved
I used to struggle with drastic blood sugar fluctuations regularly. I would eat every two to three hours to prevent my blood sugar levels from dropping and my brain from shutting down as a result.
I would be very productive, but once my blood sugar levels dropped, you would be lucky to get a written paragraph out of me. Brain fog would take over and my brain switched from being able to focus on what I was doing to only being able to think of where I can find food.
I would have to eat within the first 30 minutes of waking up because otherwise, I would not be able to focus. It is important to note that I was also following a reasonably high-carb diet at the time.
When I learned about the idea that you needed to eat fat in order train your body to burn fat for energy, I started adjusting my diet. Then when I learned that I have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), I switched to a low-carb diet.
Something amazing and unexpected happened as a result: my blood sugar fluctuations went away.
I started being able to wait a few hours before having breakfast. I could wait five hours between meals before getting hungry, and it became easier to lose fat.
I Can Go Extended Periods Without Eating
The other day, Jonathan and I had breakfast but then got so busy during the day that we were only able to take a break late that afternoon. It had been eight hours since our last meal and we both realised that we were not even hungry even though we skipped lunch. Why? Because we are fat-adapted.
When your body is able to easily switch to burning its own fat for energy, you can go longer periods of time without eating.
Since becoming fat-adapted, I have even been able to experiment with intermittent fasting, which I never thought I would be able to do.
The person who once had to eat immediately after waking up and had to eat every two or three hours has been able to do 16-hour, 18-hour, 24-hour, and even 48-hour fasts.
I don’t have to stress about not having food readily available because I know my body can easily burn my own fat.
My Carb Cravings Disappeared
In the past, when cravings hit, I wanted bowls of fruit salad, granola, and sugary yoghurt. My go-to foods were carb-heavy cereal, sandwiches, and candy.
I no longer crave these things. Instead, I crave low-sugar dark chocolate, full-cream yoghurt that hasn’t been sweetened, high-fat foods like bacon and macadamia nuts, and fat bombs.
It takes some time for your palate and microbiome to change enough to change your cravings, but once it happens, life becomes so much better.
I Lost Fat
Losing fat became a lot easier once my body became used to burning fat for energy. Before, I had to exercise a lot harder and eat a lot less to see improvements in my body composition.
Now when I don’t have food readily available to eat, I get pleasure from the idea that my body can snack on my belly fat.
I highly recommend that everyone embark on a journey to become fat adapted. You might experience benefits that I have not. It all depends on where you started.
