389 Dave Asprey | Fast This Way: Burn Fat, Heal Inflammation, and Eat Like the High-Performing Human You Were Meant to Be

Mar 23, 2021

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I wrote Fast This Way to explain both the spiritual as well as physical side of fasting but what people get wrong is that they will try to use the spiritual practice of fasting in the middle of a work day. There's such a thing as a working fast which you do for more energy, high performance, and anti-aging and then there's something called a spiritual fast which is something that you do for spiritual development and they're just fundamentally different. Until you do a longer fast with rest, relaxation, meditation, and introspection, you're not going to see it. So, I see a lot of people trying fasting and then it doesn't work and they say they couldn't do it right because it sucks. Well, when you do intermittent fasting right it doesn't have to suck. - Dave Asprey

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Wellness Force Radio Episode 389

New York Times bestselling author, podcast host of Bulletproof Radio, as well as Founder and Chairman of Bulletproof, Dave Asprey, returns to discuss his latest book, Fast This Way, how mitochondria dictate our willpower, the benefits of prebiotics and soluble fiber supplements during a fast plus whether you should fast alone or with a group.

What is the right way to do a fast? Can fasting really help you burn fat and eat like the high performing human being that you are?

Join us as Dave shares the truth about fasting, his top biohacks from Fast This Way, and how to have a successful experience.

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Listen To Episode 389 As Dave Asprey Uncovers:

[1:30] The Spiritual Side Of Fasting

Belcampo
Dave Asprey
250 Dave Asprey
Fast This Way by Dave Asprey
Bulletproof
Game Changers by Dave Asprey
Bulletproof Radio with Dave Asprey
Bulletproof Upgrade Labs
Head Strong by Dave Asprey
The Bulletproof Diet by Dave Asprey
His past health problems and why he sought out alternative practices to help heal them including going to a cave to meet with a Shaman and do a vision quest.
Previous programmed thoughts he had about food and how often he should eat and why he was afraid of being hungry.
The importance of having a spiritual practice for fasting and the most appropriate time to do it for personal development.
What a working fast is to help you achieve more energy, high performance, and anti-aging.
How to properly do a longer fast with rest, relaxation, meditation, introspection, and journaling.
The trap that people often find themselves in when they do intermittent fasting, keto, paleo, or exercise without proper preparation when they first begin a new practice.
Why you can't follow specific diets like ketogenic for long periods of time.
Breaking down the best way to fast for your personal health goal.

[16:30] The Science Of Self-Care Practices

Why going to the extremes can sometimes bring us back to the middle and become centered once again.
His journey to seek inner peace and wholeness with guidance from all over the world.
What we can learn from ancient practices that do work and how to apply them to our lives.
How he got into biohacking and what it has proven to him about wellness practices such as meditation.
Molecules Of Emotion: Why You Feel The Way You Feel by Candace Pert
How Your Attachment Type Defines Your Sense of Self – Daniel P. Brown, Ph.D., with Dave Asprey – #719
The fact that people have been meditating for thousands of years and why we should include it in our daily wellness practices.
What guidance Dave gives in his book, Fast This Way, to help you fast during the workweek to make it an enjoyable experience.
The reason why groups from all over the world do traditional spiritual fasting.
How spiritual fasting opens you up to ketosis, space for thoughts, an elevated energy state, and heightened sensory awareness.

[25:00] How To Do A Successful Fasting Practice

Why it's our mitochondria that's really dictating our willpower.
Mitochondria—Fundamental to Life and Health
What happens when you start a fast but your mitochondria are untrained to go without food.
Why the calories in, calories out model does not work and it's actually mean-spirited because all calories are not the same and it's denying people reality.
Unpacking the top benefits of fasting: insulin doesn't rise and you maintain autophagy.
Common fears and concerns about fasting that make people hesitant to try it at first.
Why a safe environment is important when setting up a space for fasting.
How trauma passed on from generation to generation can impact your mitochondria.
The importance of recognizing that your family's trauma and passed on thoughts, feelings, and beliefs aren't you.
Programming that we all have wired in us including "hunger equals fear" and if we don't eat all the time, we're going to die.

[36:00] Exploring Emotional Intelligence & Fasting

40 Years of Zen
What insight he can give us to begin a fasting journey when we have experienced trauma.
The fact that 15% of the average person's thoughts every day are about food.
Food trauma that we may experience during our lifetimes.
Why we feel hungry if someone else is hungry because "hunger equals death" and this is why parents force their children to eat breakfast when they don't want to.
Why there is no food trauma in Dave's household because he has made hunger not be a scary thing for his children.
The two different states that people have mixed up around hunger: cravings and actual hunger.
Why most cravings are caused by eating inflammatory foods that also make fasting harder to achieve.
The science behind charred meat and browned onions and direct inflammation in mitochondrial membranes.
Exploring the relationship between the microbiome and the mitochondria and how they drive hunger together.
What happens when you eat something that stresses out your gut microbiome.
How to tell if you ate the wrong thing if you're hungry 30 minutes later after your meal.

[46:00] Should You Fast Alone Or With A Group?

Josh's plan to do a 5-day vision quest with a group and what he's excited to receive from the experience.
His recommendations on fasting with a group compared to doing it on your own.
Benefits of doing intermittent fasting alone; especially for women.
The best way to start fasting and why you shouldn't do it in the middle of a workweek.
Why it's totally safe to do a 3-day fast and whether or not you should do a longer one with assistance.
How to do a self-inventory and know if you're a candidate to do a longer fast.
The power of taking small steps and starting with something simple like an intermittent fast to build healthy mitochondria before getting into longer fastings.
What the "Keto Flu" is and how it's similar to the "Intermittent Fasting Flu."
How activated charcoal can aid your fasting experience especially during a Fasting or Keto "Flu."
The three biggest biohacks in Fast This Way for during your fasting experience.
Valter Longo

[55:00] The Benefits Of Prebiotic Soluble Fiber

297 Mike Mutzel: The Truth About Fasting
Dr. Jason Fung
What surprised him the most from his findings as he wrote, Fast This Way.
Taking a closer look at the body's metabolic expression when it's in a fasting state.
Prebiotic fiber: What it is, how it helps with fasting, its association with anti-aging, and why people are not getting enough of it.
Why soluble fiber is so important for our gut's health to feed the good bacteria.
Super Human by Dave Asprey
365 Dr. Paul Saladino
Kick Veggies to the Curb and Go Full Carnivore – Dr. Paul Saladin‪o
Good sources of prebiotic soluble fiber to include during your intermittent fasting practice.
Why soluble fiber dramatically reduces your hunger by making you feel full while also increasing the number of different species of good bacteria.
Breaking down leptin and ghrelin and how they impact your hunger and fasting experience.
You’re Actually Not a Badass and Here’s Why – Scott Barry Kaufman, Ph.D., with Dave Asprey – #775
How he defines wellness now compared to when he was on Wellness Force for episode 250.
breathwork.io
M21 Wellness Guide
Wellness Force Community

Power Quotes From The Show Can You Ever Fast Too Much?

"I know intermittent fasting works but I also see this trap that I've been in several times. There's a fasting trap, a vegan trap, a keto trap, and an exercise trap and they're all from the same basic human behavior which is, 'You know what, if something is good, more is better.' If you go into keto and you stay in keto all the time, you will hate your life eventually. You'll feel great for a while and then when it stops working, you'll think it's because you're not keto enough and you'll go from 15 grams of carbs to 12 and wonder why it's still not working and then you'll be stuck there and fasting is the same way. If you fast heavy every single day, it might not be the best idea. Fasting in moderation and learning how to have less stress and more energy during a fast is sufficient." - Dave Asprey

Building A Stronger Mindset

"In Fast This Way, I found this study that 15% of the average person's thoughts are about food every single day. So, if you turn off your hunger - Wow! You just got 15% more of your thoughts back. If that's just our thoughts on food, then it's a lot more for our fearful thoughts. Is it half your thoughts? Are two-thirds of your thoughts about the fear-running thoughts, inner critic, and angry voices in your head? If most of your thoughts are hunger and fear, there's just a little bit left for personal development and self-improvement." - Dave Asprey

Cravings vs Hunger "From a somatic perspective, understand that there are two different states people have mixed up around hunger. One of them is cravings and the other is actual hunger. Most people only have cravings and they never get to feel hunger. A craving is, 'If I don't eat soon, I'm going to die;' you have to have it and it's an intense feeling. Cravings can be caused biologically when you eat certain foods; in fact many or most cravings are caused by eating the wrong stuff. Then you have hunger which is that mild feeling of, 'Yeah, it's probably about time to eat but it'll be okay if I do or don't." - Dave Asprey

Links From Today's Show

About Dave Asprey Dave Asprey is the Founder & Chairman, Bulletproof. He is a three-time New York Times bestselling science author, host of the Webby award-winning podcast Bulletproof Radio, and has been featured on the Today Show, CNN, The New York Times, Dr. Oz, and more.

Over the last two decades Dave, the “Father of Biohacking”, has worked with world-renowned doctors, researchers, scientists and global mavericks to uncover the latest, most innovative methods, techniques and products for enhancing mental and physical performance. Dave has personally spent over $2 million taking control of his own biology – pushing the bounds of human possibility all in the name of science, evolution and revolution.

Bulletproof Diet & Coffee

The creator of the Bulletproof Diet and innovator of Bulletproof Coffee, Collagen Protein supplements and many more advances in commercial wellness products, Dave’s mission is to empower the entire globe with information and knowledge that unlocks the Super Human in everyone at any age. The proof of these advancements are better sleep, energy, and expanded capacity for all. Be a better partner, parent, provider, and overall human being in every aspect of life. Be Proof. Be Bulletproof.

Through the Bulletproof Diet, Dave has maintained a 100-pound weight loss, improved his sleep cycles, and upgraded his brain, ultimately transforming himself into a better entrepreneur, a better husband, a better father, and overall better human being.

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