Ascent Fitness

Hello Facebook friends! After 20 years I am selling off my gym equipment. I'd like to find someone who is interested in starting their own training business and wants to have their own equipment. You can continue to use the space that I am currently in at I-25 and Evans (great location!) or take the equipment to the location of your choice. At this time, I am not planning on selling the equipment individually. So, if you know of someone who might be interested, please send them my way. I am offering a nice bonus for the referral, so please put the word out ;)

My Wife and her Sister are awesome, and so is their food!!

Say hello to the soon-to-be new home of our retail store, commercial kitchen, and catering offices! According to some of the folks who stopped by to wish us luck, the donut shop space has been a longtime favorite for Columbine & Littleton families since the 1970’s. Although it’s a little sad to see such an iconic place change hands, we hope to provide another type of family favorite with our easy meal kits and delicious catering.
We hope to have renovations done by the end of January! 😎

Part time training position available, $30 per hour to start!

This is so cool, and it makes it super easy to order great food for your next event, big or small!

Guess what??? Now you can shop for your party right from our page!!!! Need something to bring to the Super Bowl Party, we've got you covered ;)

Who wants an amazing massage for $40? I have an awesome new therapist that I am working with and want to get her busy. Call 303-759-5140 or message me to get scheduled!

Hey Everyone, I am looking for a certified personal trainer to work here at Ascent Fitness, so if you know of any good ones looking for a home, please send them my way!

Ok, there might be donuts next door, but at least they are not actually IN THE GYM!!!

Happy Monday Everyone!

If it gets easier, I am not doing my job :) Happy Friday, and have a fantastic weekend!!

Part 2 of our series on the Ketogenic diet focuses on the benefits of going Keto! This is the good stuff, and while these are not the only benefits, they are some of the most impactful.

Reduced inflammation

One of the most basic and most profound benefits of a ketogenic diet is that it drastically lowers inflammation This is mainly due to the reduced amount of free radical production that occurs when burning ketones for energy instead of glucose. Less inflammation allows for more energy production and an overall more efficiently functioning body. This allows for a heightened ability of the body to heal in many different aspects.
Another reason that a ketogenic diet is so anti-inflammatory is that it allows blood sugar and insulin to stabilize. Blood sugar imbalance is one of the most pervasive inflammatory activities that goes on in the bodies of people who are heavily relying on sugar for energy.
Because of this anti-inflammatory benefit, a ketogenic diet may be well suited for improving cancer outcomes, autoimmunity, neurological disorders, and metabolic disorders alike.

Improved Fat Burning

By definition, being in a state of ketosis means you are burning fat for energy. If you have excess body fat, you will be able to burn it at a much more efficient rate.
In fact, there are several recent studies showing that a high-fat, low-carb diet is superior to a low-fat, high-carb diet for improving weight loss and improving lipid profiles.
Being overweight is considered a risk factor for several diseases. Additionally, having excess body fat (particularly in the gut) is associated with hormone imbalances and toxin accumulation in the body.

Mental Clarity & Sharpness

One of the first benefits you will likely notice when following a ketogenic diet is that your brain feels sharper. Neurological inflammation is insidious and has been linked with depression, anxiety, and poor cognitive function.
Inflammation is always present in the body. Some is advantageous, however, too much quickly becomes a problem. While there are many strategies to combat unnecessary inflammation, a ketogenic diet is a powerful tool to have.
This benefit makes keto helpful for neurological disorders as well as generally improve mental performance.

Abundant Energy

You have increased amounts of energy for several reasons when following a ketogenic diet.
Lowered Inflammation
Upregulation of Mitochondrial Biogenesis
More ATP per Molecule of ketone vs glucose
Stable Blood Sugar
Combined, these benefits drastically increase energy output in the body. Mitochondria are basically your energy factories. So, taken together you get less inflammation, more efficient energy production, AND more energy production factories that result in an overall increase in energetic potential of your body.

Clearer Skin

Skin conditions like eczema, acne, and psoriasis are often rooted in chronic inflammation or autoimmunity. Often, inflammatory processes unnecessarily attack different structures of the skin which results in various conditions. For example, acne is associated with inflammation of the sebaceous glands in the skin whereas eczema is generalized inflammation of the skin cells.
Things like chemical exposure, environmental allergies, chronic stress, hormone imbalance, and imbalances in gut bacteria can all contribute to these skin conditions. While the factors should also be addressed, following a ketogenic diet can also help to quickly lower inflammation and accelerate healing.

Reduced Cravings

Many people don’t realize how much their lives revolve around their next meal. Sudden intense hunger pangs and mood changes are seen as common and normal in our society. In reality, these things are caused by chronic blood sugar instability signaling the brain that you are starving. This is where the sudden urge to eat NOW comes from.
If you find yourself getting hangry a lot, you likely are dealing with blood sugar instability.
Getting into a state of ketosis balances blood sugar, provides the brain with stable energy, and completely eliminates cravings. In fact, I often have people tell me that they barely think about food between meals anymore.

Mitochondrial Biogenesis

I briefly touched upon this benefit already, but this one is profound. Most of us have been using sugar for energy our entire lives, this is what our mitochondria are comfortable with. The initial phases of keto-adaptation actually act as a powerful stressor and stimulus to your mitochondria.
During the transition phase, as your cells are stimulated to burn fat, old and weak mitochondria die off. This may sound harmful, but it actually stimulates the growth of new and stronger mitochondria. This typically equates to a higher amount of energy production.
As we’ve talked about already, improved energy production has a broad beneficial impact on the body’s ability to heal and perform in general.

Anti-Aging

There are many theories about what causes aging. The commonly held belief up until recently was that it solely depended on the rate at which your telomeres shorten. What we are beginning to understand is that mitochondrial health may be more foundational.
Because mitochondria have such a profound impact on energy production, inflammation levels, and gene expression (and therefore overall function of the body), the mitochondrial theory of aging has emerged.
In fact, it is thought that other anti-aging strategies like prolonged fasting work by promoting mitochondrial health and biogenesis.

Reduced Risk of Chronic Disease

Finally, if you haven’t come to the conclusion already, a ketogenic diet may protect your body against a wide array of disease processes. The combination of anti-inflammatory effects along with improve mitochondrial function simply allows the body to heal and mitigate disease processes much more effectively.
It can be hard to conceptualize but a huge proportion of modern chronic diseases are rooted in chronic inflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction. Just a short list might include:
Cancer
Auto-Immune Conditions
Depression
Anxiety
Neurodegenerative Processes
Autism
Chronic Fatigue
Fibromyalgia
Diabetes
Heart Disease

This list could go on, but you probably are beginning to understand the implications of having healthy mitochondria. A ketogenic diet is a foundational strategy for mitigating your risk of many of the chronic diseases we are facing today.

As always, if you have questions about Keto or your workouts, please leave a comment here or email me at [email protected]. Have a great week!

Doug

This is the first in a 4 part series about the Keto nutrition plan. If you have been wondering about Keto, this will give you some great information and resources to help answer your questions.

So, what is Keto? The “keto” in a ketogenic diet comes from the fact that it allows the body to produce small fuel molecules called “ketones”.
This is an alternative fuel source for the body, used when blood sugar (glucose) is in short supply.

Ketones are produced if you eat very few carbs (that are quickly broken down into blood sugar) and only moderate amounts of protein (excess protein can also be converted to blood sugar).

The liver produces ketones from fat. These ketones then serve as a fuel source throughout the body, especially for the brain.

The brain is a hungry organ that consumes lots of energy every day, and it can’t run on fat directly. It can only run on glucose… or ketones.

On a ketogenic diet, your entire body switches its fuel supply to run mostly on fat, burning fat 24-7. When insulin levels become very low, fat burning can increase dramatically and it becomes easier to access your fat stores to burn them off.

This is great if you’re trying to lose weight, but there are also other less obvious benefits, such as less hunger and a steady supply of energy. This may help keep you alert and focused.

When the body produces ketones, it enters a metabolic state called ketosis. The fastest way to get there is by fasting – not eating anything – but nobody can fast forever.
A keto diet, on the other hand, can be eaten indefinitely and also results in ketosis. It has many of the benefits of fasting – including weight loss – without having to fast.

If you are intrigued and would like to learn more about Keto and find out if it is right for you, please feel free to post questions here or you can email me at [email protected].

You can also check out https://www.ketonutrition.org/ This is a great website, from Dr. Dom D'Agostino, one of the leading researchers in Ketogenics.

KetoNutrition