Steak or Chicken Breast? Salmon or Cod?
High Fat and Low Carb? or Low Fat and High Carb?
Have you ever watched someone eat and thought, "Man, if I ate that I would feel sick for days...."
This may be related to the notion of METABOLIC TYPING.
Metabolic typing is the idea of incorporating the right balance of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates for your unique bioindividiuality. This means that what/how much you eat of your macros shouldn't be the may not be the same as your spouse, or your mom, or your friends.
It also explains why the low carb diet was awesome for your friend who lost weight and felt great eating higher fat and more protein....while you felt brain fog and fatigue when you tried it out. Sorry, we are not all the same!
...
Do you remember the word HOMEOSTASIS from middle school science? Homeostasis is a process of equilibrium, stability, and balance...and it is what our bodies work hard to maintain at all times.
Metabolic Typing utilizes some homeostatic systems: the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) and the Oxidative System. I don't want to nerd out on you, so I'll try to keep it simple. The ANS is our main controller of metabolism, and maintains/regulates our energy. The Oxidative system deals with converting nutrients to energy. We have several options within each of these categories that make up our metabolic type.
I'll use myself as an example. I'm a Mixed Oxidative Dominant
type. I am almost a perfect blend of a balanced system, so I should eat a very balanced amount at each meal. This means that a 40% carb, 30% fat, 30% protein diet is a really good blend for me if I just think about macros. (However, I believe Micronutrient balance matters even more!)
After knowing this, I realized I was "innately" eating this way. For example, if I ate a hamburger for lunch (red meat), I usually craved something "lighter" for dinner, like a chicken breast or light piece of fish. It was my body's way to saying "Let's find some balance!"
How can you determine your metabolic type?
1. You could work with a nutritional therapy consultant/practitioner that uses the ideas in their practice (not all do!).
2. You could visit metabolictyping.com - they have an online quiz and then a portal with information for your unique type (for a fee of course!)
3. You could purchase "The Metabolic Typing Diet" by William Wolcott and Trish Fahey.
Is that too much work? (C'mon, I live in our world too...I understand you can't do it all!) Then start by answering these questions 1-2 hours after a meal:
Am I feeling hungry?
Do I have any cravings?
How is my energy?
How is my mood?
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If your answers are "bad" (aka yes, I'm hungry....I could eat an entire gallon of ice cream right now!"), then you need to play with the ratios of macros on your plate.
In my practice, I think it is important for most people to understand their metabolic type...not so they necessarily have to obsess over eating EXACTLY the way their systems function, but so they are aware of why they feel the way they do after eating certain meals. Knowledge is power!
Live Life Well,
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