Does it matter if you are ripped after the cleanse? I mean, relative to your current weight, fat/muscle ratio, your appearance and waist size. Given those variables, and tossing in three days without food, utilizing probiotics and a smidgen of protein supporting this sodium/potassium pump to drive fluid movement in your body… what is the acceptable outcome?
The answer is that YES, you should be ripped (your version of ripped), but then it all depends on what you are doing going into it. I found that this last time I lost over five pounds, the exact number is unknown to me because I don’t have an accurate “pre” measurement. I failed to step on since I began the 60 Day, so I imagine at 8# down, approximately three came from the first two weeks, and 5# from the cleanse. Which is enough for me to think that there was some inflammation as well as some very fast fat loss.
Here is a very good question then, how do you drive “very fast fat loss”? Leptin and activity. The more sensitive your leptin is and the more activity you have during a fast, the more aggressive your weight loss will be. Depending.
Depending on what?
On your other hormone response. When you first enter the path of fasting, your body may drive an elevated cortisol level for a few days to offset the reduction of calories. Cortisol will create sugar to burn, and it can turn any tissue into sugar. So cortisol is the enemy in our controlled fasting. But the good news, is that as you continue to fast, and workout, and fast and workout… as long as you are doing it wisely, then you will produce less and less cortisol. And as your leptin drops and becomes more sensitive, you will be more better and better at burning fat.
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In the image of my abs above, you can see that the lower abdominals are bulging, more than the abdominals above. To me, this is a clear sign that I have inflammation in that area, that could use a combination of intermittent fasting, and also further analysis of my current food sensitivities. It just might be that I need to drop a food or two to reduce inflammation (which will look better but more importantly…), building greater function and health.
It might simply be that in time, with more fat burning done without food supply, that this would change. The reality is that I am not concerned with what that lower abdominal area looks like, as long as I am on top of understanding why it is what it is. Learning which foods I am more apt to inflame from, will help me reduce injury risk to my shoulders. My shoulders have been damaged so many times in my life, that this is perhaps the greatest benefit for me, in knowing my inflammatory foods.
So that is all for this short post. Understanding inflammation, understanding fat burning, understanding that there is no perfect understanding, and realizing that if you do want to get ripped, I can get you there. But lets stay focused on the health consequence.
Be well and Be blessed! – Dr. E