How can you maintain high performance, ensure quick recovery, and keep a low body fat percentage? 

In today’s world, there’s a lot of confusion surrounding nutrients and diets. While many professionals cater to chronic conditions, finding specific advice for niches like dance or athletics can be challenging. This leaves healthy individuals who aim to get shredded and perform at a high level feeling confused. In this article, you’ll learn about the basic processes that occur in the human body and how you can use this knowledge to achieve your health goals.

Fasting, blood sugar, proteins, and fats: How are they related?

Fasting is a big trend. Everyone is suddenly talking about it, but is it something new? We all know that sleep is good for recovery, with various professionals suggesting we get between 7 and 9 hours each night. How is sleep related to recovery, you ask? One factor is fasting.

Fasting supports recovery by reducing inflammation and oxidative stress, enhancing the body’s ability to repair tissues. It also triggers autophagy, a process where cells remove damaged components and regenerate, promoting overall cellular health and recovery.

However, when I wake up after 7, 8, or 9 hours of fasting, my blood sugar is very low, but most people just head to their fridge and spike their blood sugar with a carb-heavy breakfast.

What happens when we skip breakfast and continue fasting for 12-16 hours? Let’s say you ate your last meal of the day at 8 or 9 PM, went to sleep at 11, and woke up at 7 AM. If you skip breakfast an hour or two after waking up, your body starts to burn fat, using this resource as your breakfast. Sounds nice, right? Without any physical activity, your body balances itself.

The 12-16 hour fasting window is crucial because this is when your body burns a lot of fat and replenishes your glycogen stores (energy stored in muscles). Each person has a different lifestyle, so some may need to eat after 12 or 13 hours of fasting, while others can wait until 16 hours. 

Midday Energy: Staying Focused and Energetic

Between workouts or rehearsals, what should you eat to stay focused and energetic?

The first meal of the day 

The first meal should be based on fats and proteins. Why fats? Fats and proteins have a much lower impact on your blood sugar compared to carbs. When blood sugar rises, insulin is secreted into the blood, and your body starts to store these nutrients as fat or muscle glycogen. Remember: fat tissue cannot grow without insulin.

By avoiding high blood sugar spikes during the day, your body stores less fat. Carbs and sugar aggressively impact blood sugar, but fats and proteins do not.

Additionally, when consuming fats instead of carbs, your body switches from using glucose to using ketones (fat) as the primary fuel. Ketones are a preferred and more sustained fuel source. Avoiding carbs in the first part of the day will make you more energetic, smarter, and leaner.

The second meal of the day 

This meal should come after physical activity. To ensure your body recovers before the next physical day, it should include carbs and proteins.

Why proteins? Proteins are essential for muscle repair and growth. 

Why carbs? Carbs release insulin, which helps store energy as glycogen and amino acids, both crucial for muscle recovery and growth.

Amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, are essential for repairing muscle tissue damaged during exercise and promoting muscle growth. They stimulate protein synthesis, reduce muscle soreness, and aid in quicker recovery. Our body needs nine essential amino acids, all of which can be found in animal products like meat, chicken, or fish. Carbs help the body absorb these amino acids more effectively.

Ok, sounds good, but what now? 

Two simple habits to implement based on your new knowledge. 

Habit 1: Fasting Let go of breakfast; it’s not the most important meal of the day—in fact, it can be counterproductive. Eating in the morning keeps you hungry all day as your body tries to maintain high blood sugar levels. Skipping breakfast improves brain, gut, and liver health and supports your immune system, helping you stay vital, sharp, and healthy.

Habit 2: Fats During the Day, Carbs at Night Proteins will always be part of your diet because you’re physically active. This life hack of eating fats instead of carbs during the day is a breakthrough for health on all levels. Not only will you consume healthy fats that improve your hormonal system and keep you happier, but you’ll also lose belly fat without extra workouts and with plenty of calories. Fats like avocados and almonds are also high in fiber, which is crucial for our health. Make sure you eat the right fats.