Metabolic Switching: The Missing Key to Weight Loss

Did you know that every 7 years, every cell in your body is replaced, arguably making a whole new body? Every cell in your body goes through regeneration of the cell, each one holding a different lifespan. The cells in your stomach lining, your skin cells, and the cells in your liver all eventually regenerate new cells.

The tricky part is that this process happens to healthy cells AND diseased ones. Therefore, if you have circulating cells that are not healthy, they replicate more unhealthy cells as well. Your physical, emotional and chemical stressors will determine if these cells stay in a healthy, vibrant state or move into a more diseased, fatigued state.

The most effective way to encourage the production of healthy cells is through fasting. Specifically, practicing metabolic switching! As we are learning, metabolic switching is a shift from using glucose for energy to fatty-acid ketones for energy. This act of going in and out of two fuel sources triggers a healing response in your body. Other examples of metabolic switching include ice baths, hypoxic breathing, and fasting!

As previously mentioned, our hunter-gatherer ancestors evidently thrived even in harsh conditions. Hunting on an empty stomach helped them have more clarity and focus during their hunt, allowing them to be successful because their body was releasing ketones that energized them! The feast-famine cycle increased their chance of survival. In the modern world, we have access to food 24/7. It’s no wonder that it is making us metabolically sick.

Here are the four major healing effects that it taps into:

• Alternative between autophagy and mTOR
• Creating a hormetic stress
• Healing your mitochondria
• Regenerating neurons in your brain

Alternates Between Autophagy and Cellular Growth

Lesson one

Now that we are becoming more familiar with Autophagy, it’s time we talk about its sibling mTOR (also known as cellular growth. They can both be identified as healing processes, but they never happen at the same time. You can think of these two healing processes like the sun and the moon. Essentially, they can’t exist at the same time. When one comes up, the other goes down, and they take turns performing completely different rituals.

Autophagy occurs in the absence of glucose, while mTOR occurs in the presence of glucose.

When you stimulate your mTOR, cellular growth pathway, you are putting your cells in a state of growth. However, the more you stimulate growth, the shorter that cell’s lifespan will be. Too much mTOR stimulation ages your cells quickly, while a little bit of mTOR stimulation is much more beneficial.

One highly debated topic is whether fasting affects your gym progress, aka muscle growth, for all my dedicated gym rats out there.

“Fasting decreases Protein Synthesis.”

Decreased protein synthesis means the cell is temporarily making fewer new proteins, usually in response to low nutrients or mild stress. While that might sound negative, it actually helps the cell conserve energy and shift focus toward maintenance and repair instead of growth. This is often linked with lower mTOR activity and increased autophagy, allowing the cell to recycle damaged proteins and improve overall quality control. As a result, decreased protein synthesis can enhance cellular efficiency, reduce the buildup of faulty proteins, and support healthier aging and stress resistance.

The body isn’t “losing gains,” it’s just pausing growth to focus on repair and efficiency. During this time, processes like autophagy clean up damaged proteins and improve muscle quality. Then, when you eat again, especially protein, protein synthesis rebounds, often more efficiently.

You’re not losing muscle, you’re improving the quality of your muscle and making your body more responsive when you do eat and train. Short-term fasting does not cause meaningful muscle loss if overall protein intake and training are solid

Conclusion?

Resistance training itself helps preserve muscle mass, even in lower-insulin or fasting states. As long as you hit protein targets and train consistently, these temporary dips in protein synthesis are part of a healthy cycle, not a setback. 😉

Creates a Hormetic Stress

Lesson 2

The second reason to metabolic switching works is because a hormetic stress on your body.

Hormetic Stress definiton: a low-dose stressor that encourages your body to adapt, forcing your cells to become healthier and more efficient.

As a personal trainer, I will give you a weight training example. You’ve probably experienced a hormetic stress when trying a new workout. Every time you strength train and challenge your muscles, you are breaking down your muscle fibers and forcing them to rebuild stronger and better. This is why personal trainers will always encourage you to increase your reps, increase your weight, and continuously try to challengr your body and mind. Because if you only lifted the same weight every time you went to the gym, your muscle fibers would know what to expect and not grow from this practice. Only through discomfort and challenging your cells to new forces, allow you to gain muscles and produce body recompositions.

This hormetic stress happens with fasting, as well. When you first go from 6 meals a day to intermittent fasting you stress your body into a healing state. In Dr. Mindy’s 30-day fasting reset she will explain how to take that first step properly.

Often times, the first time someone tried intermittent fasting they notice weight loss changes, better sleep, and improved mental clairty. This momentum can be seductive at first, causing them to stay comfortable with their new fasting lifestyle.

But here’s the catch: the more someone stays in this consistent routine, the less you will get the benefits from hormetic stress, causing fewer results. In order to see true progress long-term, one must be willing to change the length of their fasts in various ways.

Aka your cells. Don’t be predictable. In a lovingly and encouraging way of course so that they build metabolically stronger.

Moving in and out of different lengths of fasts creates a continual hormetic stress on your cells.

Heals your Mitochondria

Lesson 3

Metabolic switching is magic to your mitochondria. One thing my grade 12 biology class driled into my head is that our mitochondrias are the POWERHOUSE of he cell!

Mitochondrias two key functions: they provide you with energy and detoxes your cells.

They take in glucose and nutrients from the foods you eat and turn them into adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, the biochemical term for energy. Every function of your body needs ATP to work properly. Without a proper surplus of ATP you will feel depleted, run-down, and stuck with your health.

Some of the hardest working parts of your body, like your heart, liver, brain, eyes, and muscles, have many mitochondria. Signs that your mitochondria may be struggling include chronic fatigue, less energy during workouts, trouble concentrating, or difficulty going without food. Our health is often reflected by the condition of our mitochondria.

Metabolic switching has a positive impact on your mitochondrias. This encourages our organelles to use ATP more efficiently, and help your body detox.

Regenerates Neurons in your Brain

Lesson 4

Every thought you think, memory you have, or emotion you feel travels across trillions of your brain’s neurons. When neurons degenerate you can see all kinds of mental cognitions. Walk into a room and forget what you were there for, or learn something new and can’t remember… Neurons get impaired by poor diet, toxins like heavy metals, and lack of use. The most notorious example of what can result from neurodegeneration of Alzeimer’s disease.

In a fasted state you’re body can repair these malfunctioning neurons, and encourage new growth of new neurons. Eating foods that are rich in good fats, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals, you power up your neurons so they function at their best.

Now that you understand the four healing principles that metabolic switching provides, I will highlight the specific conditions metabolic switching works BEST for. Although your body will always thrive with this type of switching, there are seven very specific times when you will find moving in and our of metabolic switching to be a miracle cure you’ve been searching for!

• Slows the aging clock; one form of fasting called alternate day fasting (ADF) increases the expression of anti-aging gene known as SIRTI2. It has been reported that as little as 3 weeks of ADF can significantly increase the expression of this genem slowing down the aging process in your body!

• Offers lasting weight loss; To target the stored fat and excess sugar in your muscle liver and fat, you must fast for lasting weight loss. If you finish eating at 6pm and don’t eat until 11am the next day, you have given your body 17 hours to go after all of that stored sugar. The more times you move into the fasted state, the more you will force your body to release the excess sugar.

• Powers up memory; when your brain senses the presence of ketones, it will increase a powerful neurochemical called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF for short. BDBF stimulates the production of new neurons, and helps your brain hold onto information better. This surge of ketones also stimulates the production of GABA, another neurotransmitter. When these two neurochemicals are present you are in the optimal state for learning.

Did you know that your brain relies 50% on glucose for energy and 50% on ketones for energy? Meaning if you have never entered a fasted state in your life you’ve been depriving your brain of 50% of it’s energy. Crazy! Therefore, moving in and out of both energy systems provides your brain with 100% of it’s energy giving it the necessary fuel to perform at it’s best!

• Balances the gut; there is a term used when speaking of your gut microbiome called (your gut terrain). This refers to the environment in which good bacteria can grow. You can improve your gut terrain by fasting. The positive effects include your muscuol lining doing a better job at digesting food, and making key neurotransmitters such as seratonin to keep you happy. You can support this good bacteria by consuming foods rich in polyphenols, probiotics, and prebiotics. Moving in and out of intermittent fasting and fed states can leave lasting healing effects.

• Keeps away cancer; did you know that cancer begins with dysfunctional mitochondria? Foods that positevly impact your mitochondria are organ meats, and veggies and fruits from a wide variety of colors. But ketones heal the mitochondria best. And as we are beginning to learn, the production of ketones happen when our body goes into a fasted state. The fat-burning energy system.

Furthermore in Dr Mindy’s book, she shared a study that proved woman who fasted 13 hours every day after conventional breast cancer treatment had 64% less chance of recurrence of cancer. This result happened because their 13-hour fasting window allowed them to repair the dysfunctional mitochondria that started cancer in the first place. Now pair a 13-hour fast with a nutritious diet, and it would most likely go down even more!

• Mobilizes toxins; The body detoxifies through 5 organs: liver, gall bladder, gut, lymphatic system, and kidneys. When these are congested, symptoms like rashes, brain fog, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, or low energy may occur. Fasting helps remove toxins from cells. It takes 17 hours to activate autophagy, and fasting longer than this triggers the body’s “cell doctors” to repair and recycle damaged cells. Toxins are excreted into the bloodstream to be removed from the body.

• Alleviates autoimmune conditions; Autoimmune conditions happen for 3 very specific reasons: a dammaged gut, an overload of toxins, and genetic predisposition. Upward of 70% of your immune system is in your gut. Given that fasting can cure your gut terrain, and your mitochondrias, not only will your cells detox antioxidant glutathione but your cells will become more proficient at moving toxins out of the cell.

Antioxidant glutathione is a key tripeptide antioxidant made of glutamic acid, cysteine, and glycine. It is produced by the liver and exists in every human cell. Known as the “master antioxidant,” it protects cells from damage, helps the immune system, detoxifies the liver, and renews vitamins C and E. It is essential for slowing aging, keeping mitochondria healthy, and lowering the risk of chronic diseases.

When you train your body to go in and out of fed and fasted states, you create a healing response in the body like no other. This is amazing news to woman BECAUSE-

We can lose weight, build muscle, balance hormones, power up our brains, repair our guts, slow down aging, and overcome autoimmune conditions all by just applying the fundementals of metabolic switching.

So there! That concludes understanding the science behind fasting and why your body THRIVES with metabolic switching

We’ve graduated. It’s time to officially learn HOW TO FAST LIKE A GIRL.