Recommended Dietary Changes for X3

To get the most out of the X3 system, it is best paired with dietary changes and protein supplementation. (I know, I know – it always comes back to diet!)

Dietary Changes

The dietary changes that work best with the X3 system are based on how humans evolved: calorie restriction and intermittent fasting.

Some people swear, “I could NEVER not eat 3 square meals a day!!” or “I could NEVER fast for any length of time!” The simple answer is: you can. (You just don’t want to. 😉)

Our ancestors did not eat every single day – they only ate when they foraged or caught an animal to cook. So, the humans who survived were those whose bodies could tolerate fasting (not eating for 1-3 days) and calorie restriction (eating less food).

It was not until farming that humans started to eat more regularly. Once food processing and refrigeration became common-place, humans started eating daily, eating multiple meals per day, eating too much, and eating the wrong things. It seems like it is better than “starving,” but in reality, it is the root cause of most chronic health diseases, such as diabetes type II, high blood pressure, obesity, heart disease, stroke, most autoimmune disorders, and cancer.

Calorie Restriction

There is a plethora of research you can look into on fasting and calorie restriction and their positive effects on our bodies. When you look into ways to extend your lifespan, the only proven way (using scientific studies) is calorie restriction.

But what do we mean by calorie restriction? It means reducing your caloric intake below your usual daily intake while avoiding malnutrition.

So, eating 3 meals but making them smaller every day is just called dieting. Skipping one meal but eating the equivalent of 3 meals in 2 is neither dieting nor calorie restriction.

If you are attempting to calorie restrict, you need to skip at least one full meal (and keep the other two from getting bigger). Opinions vary on how frequently to do this, but obviously calorie restricting for more than one day is more effective than once per week. One study found that up to five days of calorie restriction is ideal.

Fasting

Fasting is when you do extreme calorie restriction (aiming for ZERO intake) over the course of 1-3 days. Aka, NO FOOD. Just like our ancestors who were unsuccessful in taking down that moose.

The benefits of fasting are numerous and well documented:

Weight loss
Improved immunity
Improved insulin sensitivity
Better concentration
Lower cholesterol
Better sleep
Reduced inflammation
Delayed aging
Clearer skin

48-72 hours is the ideal amount of time to maximize the benefits of fasting. Obviously, you will have to work your way up to it, but the best benefits occur in this time frame (improved insulin sensitivity and weight loss at 2 days, improved immunity at 3 days).

Protein Supplementation

I hear some in the audience say, “but our ancestors did not have protein supplements, so why should we?!?!” Well, when our ancestors did not have food available, they had to conserve energy for hunting and gathering.

We are attempting to take advantage of how our bodies react to food restriction while not actually starving and becoming malnourished. At the same time, we are doing the X3 system to build muscle mass, which requires appropriate protein intake, which can only occur with supplementation when you are fasting. That’s where Fortagen® comes in. Read all about it by clicking that link!