Here I outline 10 nutritional fundamentals to get you started creating your own metabolically supportive diet, or you can check out my 12 week Pro-Metabolic meal plan programs – as its the most effective way to increase metabolism, expediate fat burning, balance hormones and achieve optimal health.
https://www.prometaboliclife.com/meal-plans/
WHY? PRO-METABOLIC NUTRITION?
BECAUSE, HORMONES AND METABOLISM MATTER MORE THAN CALORIES OR EXERCISE.
20+ years of coaching body athletes all throughout the world and I can tell you an undeniable truth – Hormonal balance and metabolic rate are the most significant factors that impact fat loss – both how quickly fat can be lost and how much fat you will lose.
Hormones and metabolism have a greater impact on body composition, energy and health than exercise or how many calories are consumed.
10 CORNERSTONES OF A PRO-METABOLIC NUTRITION PLAN
1. INCLUDE NUTRIENT RICH SOURCES OF SIMPLE SUGARS.
Natural sugars found in ripe tropical fruit, raw honey, pure orange juice, dairy products and root vegetables help increase T4 to T3 conversion, which increases cellular respiration and upregulate metabolism. These simple sugars are in fact nutritious, easily digested, nourishing, healing, helps modulate blood sugar and are quite simply a metabolic stimulator!
2. ELIMINATE PUFA’S
(Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids). PUFAs include nuts, seeds and vegetable oils. Whilst many consider these healthy, the opposite is true. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in our diet inhibit cellular respiration (slow down metabolic rate), pushing our cells toward lipid oxidation and inhibiting glucose oxidation, disrupting how our bodies use sugar (blocking glucose from entering our cells to be used for energy), damaging the beta cells of the pancreas, leading to insulin insensitivity and high blood-sugar. PUFAS are linked to inflammation, degenerative conditions, immune conditions, fatigue and a downregulated metabolic rate.
Sources of PUFAs: Vegetable oils (canola, sunflower, safflower, flax, almond etc), nuts, seeds, grains, poultry, fish oil, eggs from factory-farmed chickens
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EAT CARBOHYDRATES (Actually eat a balanced diet of all macros)
Prolonged low-carb dieting will shut down thyroid function as without an adequate supply of glucose the liver fails to convert T4 into the more active thyroid hormone, T3. Resulting in fatigue, dry skin, low body temperature, poor sleep and very often weight gain.
When protein or carbohydrates are eaten on their own, insulin can either spike or dive. This results in the release of stress hormones from the adrenal glands. This process is anti-metabolic. Ensuring stable blood sugar levels from eating balanced meals at regular intervals is a safeguard for a healthy metabolism. I prefer carbs from simple sugars such as fruits and root vegetables but my favourite Pro-Metabolic starches are sour dough, potatoes and rice.
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EAT ENOUGH FOOD.
It is imperative to eat enough nutrient dense food to upregulate metabolic rate. Low calorie dieting slows metabolism and creates a new set point at a lower BMR. Convincing your body that you can now go for longer on less, therefore any extra food (on top of your low cal diet) is then likely to get stored as fat.
My boost and shred and hormonal balancing meal plan programs will shred fat by eating MORE of the right food…not less food.
5. REDUCE DIFFICULT TO DIGEST FIBROUS VEGETABLES.
Cruciferous Vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower) are made up of cellulose, which are polysaccharides (long chain carbohydrate molecules that the body cannot break down). Cellulose is also known as an indigestible fibre – you may have heard it referred to as roughage. I recommend Konstantin Monastryskys book “Fibre Menace”, where he explains how increased fibre intake results in damage, inflammation and irritation to our guts.
Just because something is edible does not mean that it is ideal for human consumption. Cows are referred to as ruminants, which means they have multiple stomachs and an entirely different digestive system. Raw veggies are easily digested by animals (cow and goats) as they produce the necessary enzymes to break veggies down. Other animals such as horses and rabbits that consume grasses and leafy greens, only have one stomach but they have a large cecum (a part of the large intestine) which is able to break down cellulose. Humans only have one stomach and a very small cecum and are unable to break down cellulose. Bacterial growth in the gut is exacerbated by cellulose as it is left to ferment in our intestine. Bacterial growth often causes bloating, gas and digestive problems.
Cruciferous vegetables are goitrogenic so will slow down thyroid gland functioning.
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CARROT SALAD
1 grated carrot, coconut oil, white wine vinegar and sea salt. I love adding grated parmesan and beetroot. The carrot salad helps reduce excess estrogen. The fibers of the carrot attached to any unused endotoxins and help flush them out of the body. The carrot is also good for detoxification and for bowels. It’s actually a wonderful hormone balancing strategy to include. Many women find this simple carrot salad awesome for reducing PMS symptoms such as headaches, cravings, and bloating.
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SALT all meals.
Salt is thermogenic and increases heat production and metabolic rate (by increasing mitochondria respiration), which decreases body fat (specifically abdominal fat) by decreasing the activity of the fat synthesizing enzyme. Increased salt intake is also anti-inflammatory and directly linked to decreasing the negative effects of cortisol. Other benefits of increased salt include reduced bloating, improved magnesium absorption, relief from constipation and improved sleep. Be sure to use clean unrefined non ionized white sea salt.
8. ENSURE CALCIUM TO PHOSPHOROUS RATIO IS HIGH.
Calcium not only enhances fat burning and the prevention of new fat calls forming, but enhances metabolic functions and reduces stress metabolism. I always include several meals of quality dairy, like milk, yoghurt and cheeses, and add bone broth or hydrolysed gelatin. When the calcium ration is higher than Phosphorous (muscle meats, legumes) it reduces the activity of the parathyroid stress response. A high level of parathyroid stress hormone suppresses thyroid gland activity.
“Recent publication are showing that excess phosphate can increase inflammation, tissue atrophy, calcification of blood vessels, cancer, dementia, and, in general, the processes of aging.”
https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1475-2891-12-90#Sec16
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SUPPLMEMENT WITH GELATIN WHEN EATING PURE MUSCLE MEAT.
Chicken breast or the fillet of steak, will reduce thyroid functioning. The muscle meat portion of the animal does not contain a balanced amino acid profile, whereas if you ate the entire animal the amino acids would be balanced and beneficial. Endocrinologists have found that our body experiences a stress reaction similar to PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder – a physiological response to a traumatic situation), surges in cortisol and the shut down of thyroid hormone production, when muscle meat is consumed on its own. To combat this I recommend to add either 1 cup of bone broth or 1 tbs gelatin every time when muscle meat is consumed. This will even the amino acids that are entering your blood stream.
Muscle meat eaten on its own increases stress, inflammation and downregulates thyroid function due to its uneven amino acid balance – don’t forget your bone broth or gelatin
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ONLY REAL FOOD.
No extra chemicals, sweeteners, heat processing or artificial flavorings etc. Real sugar please not fake sugar. Real butter not margarine. Real food. Nature gets it right. This also applies to what the animal products you eat have been eating. Grass fed, organic if possible and free range meat. I say no to any chicken or any animal products (milk, butter, eggs) that have come from animals eating grains or feed that has had hormones, antibiotics or additives added to it – as much as possible. We are what we eat.
MY PRO-METABOLIC MEAL PLAN PROGRAMS
If you want the work done for you, then grab one of my easy to follow, delicious and revolutionary Pro-Metabolic Meal plans programs – they are created around the above principles.
They are healthy, balanced, and delicious and will result in improved thyroid gland functioning, faster metabolic rate and greater health – fast, greater and healthier fat loss.
12-WEEK BOOST AND SHRED.
8-WEEK HORMONAL BALANCING.
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