Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Summary
On episode 455 of 40+ Fitness, Coach Allan explains seasonal ketosis, the term he coined for how he personally cycles in and out of a ketogenic diet by season rather than day to day, as part of a broader ancestral-based lifestyle.
His argument is that a strict, year-round keto diet isn't necessary to get keto's benefits, and that a weekly cyclical approach (six days on, one day off) doesn't suit everyone either. He describes himself as a “light switch, not a dimmer,” so he built a system around feasting and famine seasons instead, loosely mirroring how humans would have eaten before modern food availability.
He walks through his own schedule, who this approach is not appropriate for, and why chasing a specific ketone number matters less than how you actually feel.
Links
- https://40plusfitness.com
Key Takeaways
- Seasonal ketosis cycles by season, not by week. Instead of the common six-days-on, one-day-off cyclical keto approach, Allan stays in ketosis for months at a stretch, then eats without restriction for months at a stretch, because he considers himself a “light switch” personality rather than someone who does well with daily moderation.
- Weekly cyclical keto can work, but it wasn't right for him. He found that a weekly refeed day tends to undo several days of progress (losing water weight, then regaining it), which he found more frustrating than motivating, though he acknowledges it can improve athletic performance and muscle growth for some people.
- His actual schedule: feasting from late August or early September through the Super Bowl or his birthday in early February, famine (strict ketogenic eating) the rest of the year. That pattern has held for about eight years, aside from a COVID-19-related slip in 2020.
- Weight swings 10 to 15 pounds between seasons, and most of the first week's loss is water, not fat. When he goes back into ketosis, he typically drops 5 to 7 pounds of water weight in the first week or two before the loss tapers to a pound or so a week as his body settles at its set point.
- Seasonal cycling is not for everyone. He does not recommend it for people with insulin resistance or diabetes, people using a ketogenic diet therapeutically for cancer, Alzheimer's, PCOS, or an autoimmune condition (those protocols require staying in ketosis continuously), people who are significantly above a healthy body composition and using keto specifically to lose that weight, or people prone to eating disorders.
- The ancestral logic: feast in spring through fall, shift to fat-burning in winter. Without food preservation or year-round access to fruits and vegetables, humans likely gained some body fat when food was abundant and burned it for fuel when it wasn't, which is the pattern seasonal ketosis is meant to mirror.
- Whole food quality matters more than which diet camp you're in. Allan has interviewed successful vegan, carnivore, paleo, and keto advocates, and the common thread in all of them is eating whole, high-quality food, not the specific macronutrient split.
- He goes by feel and fit, not by chasing a specific ketone reading. He doesn't obsess over hitting a particular number on a ketone meter; he pays attention to how his clothes fit and how he feels, and considers himself simply “in ketosis” or not, without needing to optimize the number further.
“I don't have a dimmer switch. I'm a light switch, baby. I'm on or I'm off.”
Coach Allan Misner
Another Episode You May Enjoy
Episode 464 – How to end carb confusion with Dr. Eric Westman and Amy Berger
