Episode 95 | Mark Sisson | Two Meals a Day
What is Metabolic Flexibility?
Mark Sisson, today’s podcast guest is a big believer in achieving “metabolic flexibility.” Here’s how he explains the revolutionary concept…
“Two Meals a Day will help you develop one of the most important health attributes imaginable: metabolic flexibility. This genetically preprogrammed superpower is the ability to burn a variety of fuel sources, especially stored fat, based on your body’s needs at any given time. Paradoxically, you were born with robust metabolic flexibility, but it began to atrophy as soon as you were fed all manner of crunchy and mushy carbs as an infant. The good news is that you can quickly reclaim your genetic fat-burning abilities. Metabolic flexibility allows you to feel great all day long, with stable mood, energy, cognitive functioning, and appetite, whether or not you eat regular meals. I believe that reigniting your metabolic flexibility is the holy grail of all health pursuits. With it, you can naturally derive energy from a range of sources: the fat on your plate of food or the fat on your butt, belly, or thighs; the carbohydrates in your meal, the glucose in your bloodstream, or the glycogen in your muscles; and even from ketones, the superfuel that your liver makes when you’re fasting or restricting dietary carbs. The best part is that your body doesn’t care where those calories came from, because your source of calories to burn will move seamlessly from one substrate (fuel source) to another depending on your immediate energy needs.
Metabolic flexibility allows you to cruise through life not having to think about how many calories or grams of carbs you “earned” because you ran on the treadmill or how much protein you’ll need to consume after your weight- lifting session to avoid muscle breakdown. Most important, metabolic flexibility will free you from the tyranny of hunger, appetite, and cravings, because your body will always be primed to get energy from body fat, glycogen (the stored form of carbohydrate in the liver and muscle tissue), and ready- made ketones. Ultimately, you’ll stop living at the edge of “how much food can I stuff down my face and not get fat” and get to the point where you might want to explore how little food you can eat and still remain completely satisfied and energized every single day for the rest of your life.”
