The Path is Too Deep

 One of the core premises of this blog is that my clean keto lifestyle is more than just a diet; it's a fundamental shift in my body's entire operating system. To understand the "why" behind any of my "rules," we first have to look at the fuel. Think of the human body as a high-performance hybrid car. It's designed with two different engines that can run on two completely different types of fuel: The Glucose Engine: A small, high-octane "nitrous" tank. It burns hot, fast, and runs out quickly. The Fat Engine: A massive, clean, efficient "diesel" tank. It burns for days, providing steady, reliable, long-range power. The problem with the "Standard Western Diet" is that it teaches our bodies to only use the small, fast-burning glucose engine. We become "metabolically inflexible," spending our entire lives just lurching from one sugary "refuel" to the next, all while sitting on top of a massive, untapped t...

 I get a lot of questions about my lifestyle, but one of the most common is about exercise. People hear that I eat only one meal a day (OMAD) in a 2-hour window, and they can't wrap their heads around how I function, let alone exercise . "Chris," they ask, "how can you possibly play a 4-5 hour round of golf on an empty stomach? How do you do your daily calisthenics or go on a 15km weekend walk?" They're asking this because they're used to the old "sugar-burner" rules: "You have to 'carb-load' before a big event." "You need a sugary sports drink to 'refuel' or you'll crash." I'm here to tell you that this is one of the biggest myths in nutrition. My clean keto lifestyle doesn't just make fasted exercise possible ; it makes it optimal . All of my activities - my daily walks, my calisthenics, my 15km hikes, and my 9- or 18-hole golf rounds - are now done in a fasted state, often 16-20+ hours after my...

In the last few blog posts, we’ve done the hard work of an investigator. We’ve audited the "dirty keto" industry, exposed the red flag ingredients (like inflammatory seed oils, hidden starches, and gut-disrupting sweeteners), and built a Clean Keto Shopping List of safe, whole-food ingredients. Now, it’s time for the payoff. How do we take that "safe list" and turn it into food that is not just compliant, but also simple, fast, and delicious? A common myth is that "clean" eating is complicated, boring, or time-consuming. I’m here to tell you it’s not. In fact, it’s the opposite. When you stop relying on processed products, you learn to trust simple, powerful flavor combinations. As someone on a 22:2 OMAD (One Meal a Day) schedule, my single meal has to be a nutrient-dense, high-protein powerhouse. These aren't rigid recipes; they are my five go-to templates for building that one meal, fast. 1. The "Powerhouse" Steak Salad This is my defaul...

 I want to tackle the single most important and most obvious question anyone who reads my introductory post will have. It's the "elephant in the room," and it deserves a direct, honest answer. The question is this: "Chris, you've had five heart attacks. How can you possibly be on a high-fat diet? Isn't that just pouring gasoline on a fire?" It’s a valid, logical, and vital question. For 50 years, we’ve been taught that a "high-fat diet" is a one-way ticket to heart disease. And if I were following the standard, "dirty keto" version of this diet, I believe my critics might be correct. But I'm not. The lifestyle I'm building is not just a "high-fat" diet; it's a strategic, anti-inflammatory protocol. My research and my journey have convinced me that the "fire" that led to my cardiac events wasn't just fat—it was a raging inferno of chronic inflammation and insulin resistance caused by a lifetime...

 In my introductory post , I laid out the "highlight reel" of the past dozen years of my life—a story marked by profound grief, intense stress, and a lifelong battle with my weight and health. I also shared how I came to realize that my "comfort food" was, in fact, an emotional eating pattern I (and many of us) learned in childhood. It was a simple, deeply ingrained reward loop: Skinned knee -> Feel Bad -> Get Ice Cream -> Feel Better As I grew, that loop became my primary coping mechanism for everything . Stressful day at work -> Feel Bad -> Order a Pizza -> Feel Better Argument with a partner -> Feel Bad -> Eat a bag of chips -> Feel Better Grief, loneliness, or just ADHD-fueled boredom -> Feel Bad -> Eat -> Feel Better This loop was a temporary fix that created a permanent, spiraling problem. It was the root cause of my 190-pound weight gain and a major contributor to the inflammation that damaged my heart. My medication (Wellb...

In my last few posts, I've audited the "dirty keto" industry, built a clean shopping list , and talked about the crucial role of gut health —our "second brain"—in managing inflammation. Today, I want to get personal and explore how that "second brain" directly impacts my first brain. For my entire life, I've navigated the world with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and, for much of my adulthood, a persistent form of depression called Dysthymia. Medication has been a vital tool, but my journey towards a truly clean , anti-inflammatory ketogenic lifestyle, combined with intermittent fasting, has unlocked a new level of mental clarity and emotional stability I didn't think was possible. This isn't just about weight loss or physical health; it's about feeding my brain the right fuel and quieting the internal chaos. Understanding My Internal Operating System: ADHD & Dysthymia To understand how food impacts my brain, you f...

In my previous posts, we've gone deep into the "why" behind my approach – ditching dirty keto ingredients , fighting inflammation , supporting gut health , and leveraging intermittent fasting . Now, it's time for the "how." The most common question I get is: "How do you actually eat only one meal a day (OMAD) and still get everything you need, especially on a strict 'clean keto' diet?" It sounds extreme, but I promise you, it's not about deprivation; it's about strategic, nutrient-dense fueling. Today, I'm pulling back the curtain on a typical day for me, showing you exactly what my 22:2 fasting schedule looks like and breaking down the one "nutritional powerhouse" meal that fuels my body and brain. My Daily Rhythm: The 22:2 Framework My eating pattern is simple: I fast for 22 hours and eat within a 2-hour window. This long daily fast is key for my goals of maximizing autophagy (cellular cleanup), keeping insulin low...