Tag: mitochondria

Ketones & Mitochondria

I don’t have a weight loss journey that led me to keto.

That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with that but it’s my belief body composition is just scratching the surface and is a by-product of prioritizing brain health.

Because we can’t see our brain, I find we often dismiss how we harm it on a daily basis. I learned this the hard way and it’s my life’s mission to shift perspectives through the lens of my life journey so others can choose to make changes from a state of joy and gratitude rather than pain and suffering as I experienced and was forced to reactive to a situation to save my life.

The profound benefits from ketones in regards to 🧠 health & performance come from optimally performing mitochondria and sufficient, superior, and efficient fuel to the 🧠 and body that produces less damage as a natural byproduct of metabolism.

When we’re running off of glucose for fuel predominantly, we produce more free-radicals and inflammation in the body, which damages mitochondria and create more free radicals and inflammation, which creates a damaging cycle.

Over time, from chronically elevated glucose levels and trauma to the brain (TBI, toxins, stress, depression, anxiety, etc.), the mitochondria can also become dysfunctional and begin producing less energy, storing fat, and can lead to more serious issues.

The problem with getting this message across?

There’s no way to measure WHEN issues may occur.

That’s why I share my story. I was 21 when I was diagnosed with a brain tumor even though my external looked “healthy”. Educate yourself and choose to change for the health of your 🧠 and from a state of gratitude.

Josh P. 💚🧠✌️

Reboot Fot Keto Adaptation

August 18th starts the next Prüvit Rebøøt, who’s in?

”Give me 2-3 days 100% effort and you won’t crave sugar” (Dr. Eric Westman), especially if you use the Rebøøt to initiate the keto adaptation process.

Keto and fat adaptation is the process of your body recognizing how to burn fat for fuel, make ketones from said fat, and learn to uptake and utilize ketones for fuel efficiently over time.

Being fat and keto adapted can be a game changer for your physical and mental performance, body composition, disease risk factors, recovery and ability to handle stress, reduce your rate of aging, and help support so much more undesirable ailments we as a society suffer from on a chronic basis.

The epigenetic (ability to influence and change gene expression) effects of ketones are truly profound as Dr. Ryan Lowery and I have been showing with medical imaging and testing, and Dr Andra Campitelli presents and she mentions how 75% of our genes may be influenced due to lifestyle choices.

The Rebøøt is a great way for people to reset their metabolism for the first time, after some indulgence, straying away from the ketogenic diet, or as a monthly mental challenge and metabolic/mitochondria boost.

Mitochondria are what’s responsible for creating energy in our body and when we can optimize their effectiveness and resilience, our body functions more optimally.

The Rebøøt is a great way to optimize your mitochondria and strengthen your fat metabolism, further supporting keto adaptation.

Josh P. 💚🧠✌️

3 Keys To Success – Mindset, Nutrition, & Fitness

I believe the single most important factor leading to success is prioritizing your mindset. The mindset was the final piece for me, but I learned that it was the most important piece that should have come first, with nutrition and fitness not far behind. They all play a unique role in strengthening one another, but ultimately it’s the mindset that determines the rate at which you manifest success and if you believe you can.

In terms of setting goals of any nature, understanding the purpose of those goals, or the WHY to those goals is so crucial to determining how we choose to move forward in life, which manifests in a success or “failure”.

When we foster a powerful mindset, optimize our nutrition, adopt a healthy practice of fitness combine it with a Vision, Commitment, a Plan, & the Tenacity to NEVER give up, success is inevitable.

When we neglect our nutrition and fitness, our mind suffers because our brain suffers. Same as when we neglect of mind’s health, we make poor choices within nutrition, fitness, and life overall.

Close behind, if not right there with the mindset, comes your Nutrition. This sets the tone for your gut, which directly correlates to the health and function of your brain and what it’s going to activate or suppress within the body in terms of hormones, inflammation, neurotransmitters, epigenetics (gene expression), mitochondrial biogenesis (growth of new mitochondria- energy powerhouses of every single cell in the body), neuroplasticity (the ability to have a resilient brain), and so much more.
The third key to success with your health, but very much elsewhere like the business and personal life, is fitness. Most people, like myself, in the beginning, think this means muscles and “bulk”, which can’t be further from the truth- if done correctly while corresponding with the mind and nutrition. Exercise is more effective than meds for depression (fact, look it up!), produces the “feel good” hormones, slows down aging, stimulates the growth of new mitochondria, increases insulin sensitivity (leading to burning stored and consumed energy), positively stresses the body to grow stronger, and so much more.
I’ve been training consistently for 4 years with these last 2 year the most focused and educated I’ve ever been thanks to Jackie Lauricella (licensed athletic trainer)walking me through ACL prehab for surgery and then recovery/rehab along with Matt Hunter (performance coach) from Athletic Lab in Cary, NC working with me on my goals with Max Aerobic Heart Rate Training, Injury Prevention, and Strength on and off the bike both in the body and mind. I also owe a lot of what I have learned and coach to Mark Sission and his work on the topic of fitness and becoming fat-adaptive.
That being said, I’ve lost size on my waist but stayed about the same weight while gaining a few pounds. I look leaner at the same time, feel lighter and stronger, have a very confident and positive mindset, my digestive system has never been better, my energy levels are very high and stable rather than like a roller coaster of ups and downs, and my performance on and off the bike has gone through the roof.
You may ask “how?”.
  1. muscle weighs more than fat and helps burn fat.
  2. strength doesn’t mean bulk or more muscles. Just means strength in the body and mind. End of story, if done correctly.
  3. Mindset and nutrition are two of the biggest factors in determining if you actually take action towards your goals (fitness, health, business, or personal), the motivation and “willpower” you possess, and how well you feel, perform, prevent illness and disease, make decisions, and think.

The value of implementing all of this into your life is priceless and is a bulletproof plan to success as long as you commit and don’t give up when times get tough. That being said, there is also a thing called the “Emotional Cycle of Change” (ECOC) we all go through when making changes. I believe this is important to note, which in short goes as follows:

  1. Uniformed OptimismThis is when your emotional response to an idea or goal takes over and you feel very optimistic and see no downsides to that idea or goal.
  2. Informed PessimismWhen you learn more about the change that idea or goal requires, you start forming negative emotions and beliefs. The idea or goal doesn’t seem possible and you question if the change is worth it.
  3. Valley of DespairThis is where most of us give up. All the pain of the change gets to us and the idea or goal seems to be further and furtherer away. This leads us to think there must be a quick and easy way to end the pain and discomfort- back to where we started. It is important to have clarity on our goals and our WHY so we can ensure we do not give up or think that success is not for us.
  4. Informed OptimismVision is very important for the Valley of Dispair because it is that Vision that keeps you moving forward while not giving up. That “I will do whatever it takes to accomplish” a goal is fueled by the Vision along with a commitment to not give up and the tools like mindset, nutrition, and fitness. In the informed optimism area, you are back in the positive emotional state and success is much more likely to manifest. The benefits of taking action towards a change for the desired goal is starting to manifest more and more and keeps you going. This is when you must continue and not settle!
  5. Success & FulfillmentSuccess is where we all strive to be and even though it says “success” this doesn’t mean stopping there. I don’t believe in a destination. I believe in loving the process and continuing to grow and progress. This is when we can reflect on the changes we made and the benefits that have taken place. You have likely heard “that was worth it” or something along those lines or “the struggle yesterday made me stronger today”. It’s times of adversity that we sort out who we truly are and our inner strength to move forward. Only when our Vision is clear can we move forward, leave the “victim” mentality behind, and manifest true success in our lives.

To conclude, take care of your body and mind as they work in a uniform reactive relationship to one another. Be pro-active when it comes to your health and goals with your life. Don’t settle for the status quo and then react to negatives. Do what you can to prevent a negative from occurring in the first place. It’s never too early to take action towards your goals and your health. It also never too late if you are reading this.

-Josh P.

Depression or Deep Rest?

People are scared to talk about depression for fear of being judged. As someone who has gone through it and gained a new perspective on what depression is compared to sadness, I found that most confuse the two.
 The difference between sadness and depression is…sadness is from “happens stance,” as in whatever happened or didn’t happen to you. This could be loss, circumstance, grief, or whatever it is. Depression is your body saying “fuck you, I don’t want to be this character anymore. I don’t want to hold up this avatar you’ve created in the world.”
Depression is your body and mind going into deep rest. Your body feels it needs to be depressed. It needs deep rest from the character you’ve been trying to play. Depression comes about when there is an imbalance and/or resistance with your inner true self and the version of you you’re trying to hold up to societal standards and what you think “they” want you to do, say, or become.
As you know, I am a huge advocate for nutrition and exercise. It is not only for physical well being, but also your mental health. When we make positive choices within the three pinnacles of health (nutrition, exercise & mindset) they play a fundamental role in the health of our mitochondria. The mitochondria are the “powerhouses” of our cells that create the energy our body, and most importantly our brain, uses to function called ATP. When the three pinnacles are weakened or out of balance, they compromise the strength of our mitochondria resulting in less energy production which creates anxiety, depression, fatigue and overall dis-ease. 
Once I began taking my fitness and nutrition seriously and I let go of what I thought “they” wanted me to do, say, and/or become, and just did what I felt deep down inside to be true to my loving inner voice, the depression, anxiety, fear, and worry all stripped away little by little the more I stayed true to myself and followed my gut and my heart.
I’ll say this again and again, do what you love and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Take care of your body. You know best and so does your gut. 💚✌️

-Josh P.