Know your Metabolic Type
What is the perfect
diet? There are a plethora of books proclaiming that
their diet is perfect for everyone. There is no “one
size fits all” diet. Each person has a unique
biochemical and metabolic makeup. Metabolic typing is
the best technology that takes this into account. I’ve
found metabolic typing to be very effective for permanent
weight loss. It gives you objective proof as to
what kind of nutrition plan you should follow. Before
you try the next fad diet, remember what Lucretius, the Roman
healer/philosopher, said, “One man’s food is another man’s
poison.” For more information on metabolic typing, read
William Wolcott’s book, “The Metabolic Typing Diet”.
For the rest of your life.
I always tell my
clients if they make a change for weight loss, it must be “For
the rest of your life”. In order for weight loss to be
permanent, you must commit to a lifestyle
change. Nobody wants to be a yo-yo dieter and have
their weight fluctuate all the time. If you follow a
nutrition or exercise program for only 6 months or even 2
years, your results will only last for that period of
time. Whether it is eliminating alcohol or exercising on
a daily basis, make it a lifestyle change and do it “For the
rest of you life”.
Break the Fast.
Mom was
right when she cooked you a big breakfast before an
important test or sporting event at school.
Studies have shown that eating breakfast promotes weight
loss by reducing the amount of food that is eaten later
in the day. More importantly, eating breakfast
stops the body from being in a catabolic (tissue
breakdown) state. When you awaken in the morning,
your body is in a catabolic state because you have not
eaten for 6-8 hours therefore it’s critical to stop this
catabolic process to preserve your muscle mass.
Remember: muscle mass is your metabolic engine.
The bigger your engine, the more calories you
burn. If you skip breakfast, your body will
perceive the lack of food as starvation. When you
do eat lunch, the body will store most of the calories
into adipose tissue (Body Fat). The reason the
body does this is because the body does not know when it
will receive nutrients again so it stores it into a long
term energy source which is body fat. So if you
don’t want to wear your lunch, eat breakfast!
The most efficient breakfast foods are eggs,
bacon, sausages, and other animal proteins. These
foods will ensure that the body is provided with
proteins and fats which are anti-catabolic.
Remember to consume organic, pasture fed, and/or free
range meats. This will ensure that you are
consuming high quality fats and proteins that will aide
in weight loss and with your health and vitality. |
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Create feast not famine.
Let the body know
that there is a feast. Debra Waterhouse, author of
Outsmarting the Female Fat Cell states that lipolytic enzymes
decrease and lipogenic enzymes increase as calories are
reduced by dieting. This means that the body’s fat
burning enzymes decrease and the fat storing enzyme’s increase
as you skip meals. This is also true for men that skip
meals to lose weight. To optimize your fat burning enzymes,
eat 3 meals and 2 snacks a day. This will prevent any
increase in lipogenic enzymes (fat storing enzymes) and also
spread your total calories throughout the day.
Eat protein at each meal.
Protein is made up of
amino acids which are the building blocks for muscle
tissue. Remember the more muscle mass you can maintain,
the higher your metabolism will be. In particular,
animal protein sources are important because of the complete
array of amino acids that can be supplied to muscle
tissue.
Eating protein at each meal will help you lose
weight. According to Loren Cordaine, author of the Paleolithic
Diet, “protein boosts your metabolism and causes you to lose
weight more rapidly than the same caloric amounts of fat or
carbohydrate.” This means that out of the 3 macronutrients,
the body uses the greatest amount of energy to metabolize and
break protein down. So, if you include protein in each meal
and snack, you are increasing your metabolism by
eating!!
Eat fat to lose fat.
If you
have found yourself hungry within an hour after eating a
meal, you probably did not eat enough fat. Fat is
an important macronutrient because it allows us to be
satiated after eating a meal. If you starve your
body of fat, your body will store fat.
Certain
fats will aide you in weight loss such as omega-3 fatty
acids, monounsaturated fats, and saturated fats.
You can find omega-3 fatty acids in oily fish (i.e.
salmon), certain nuts, and green leafy vegetables.
Your best option would be to consume fish oil
supplements to get your daily allotment of omega-3 fatty
acids. The optimal dosage is 1-2 capsules per 50
pounds of bodyweight. For instance if you weight
150 pounds, you would take 3-6 capsules per day.
Monounsaturated fats can be found in foods such as
olive oil, avocados, and nuts. If you are missing
fat in a meal, adding olive oil to your salad or 1/2 an
avocado can be a great source of fat. Another
great way to add monounsaturated fats to your diet is to
eat nuts as a snack.
Believe it or not, saturated
fats are healthy for you and can help you lose
weight. Unfortunately, saturated fats have gotten
a bad rap because of misinformation. These long
chain triglycerides (LCT) are important in many
physiological functions in the body such as enhancing
the immune system, protecting the liver from toxins, and
protecting the digestive tract from harmful
microorganisms. LCT’s have also been shown to
increase cholecystokinin which is a hormone that is
secreted by the gut which gives the body a feeling of
satiety. If you are forcing yourself to eat low fat
meals, you may not feel satisfied and will crave foods
that are not conducive to your weight loss goals.
Make sure to consume high quality animal foods that are
pasture fed, free range and/or organic. |
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Medium chain triglycerides (MCT) is another source of
saturated fats that can aide in weight loss. Since MCT’s are
absorbed directly into the portal circulation and transported
to the liver, they are not stored as adipose tissue (body
fat). Studies have shown that consumption of MCT’s
increases energy expenditure and lowers overall food intake.
Tropical oils such as coconut oil is a great source of
MCT’s that can be added to your diet and taste quite good to
cook with. |
