Although all fruits and vegetables are “healthy”, the Metabolic Diet centres around eating large quantities of fat burning foods. This becomes tricky with fruits and vegetables because some have too high a sugar content to help fat burning. Only the highest fibre fruits and veg with the smallest effect on blood sugar should be eaten regularly. The following separate lists for fruits and Vegetables will list those you can eat regularly and ones to eat less sparingly. Remember also most fruits and vegs (even in the irregular eating list) can be consumed after training, when higher blood sugar levels are desired (Search: Anabolic Window). Also notice most good veg’s are green. The sugars are contained in the colours.

Fruits

Good  –   Apples, Pears, Blueberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Cranberries, Grapefruit,

Use sparingly  –   Strawberries, Bananas, Oranges, Kiwis, Watermelon, Melon

 

Vegetables

Good  –  Broccoli, Spinach, Asparagus, Cucumber, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Lettuce, Peppers

Use Sparingly  –  Sweet Potato (good during day), Most coloured vegs.

Avoid  –  Potatoes, Turnips.

 

The good fruits and vegetables should be eaten daily. Limit fruits to start of day because they contain more carbohydrates then vegetables. Add these ingrdients to salads and meals, like smoothie or on the side of your meats and vegetables. You can add natural yoghurt to the fruits, and hommous or avocado to the vegetables to make brilliant snacks.

The following questionnaire is for people who have been attempting a Metabolic Style of eating for over a week.

 

1.   Are you ever hungry?

YES  –   Not good. This goes against the whole plan. Raise your protein and fibre (veg) intake until                 you feel satisfied, or else your metabolism will drop. Remember to eat before you become hungry.

No  –   Good, but make sure you never feel too full. This could mean over-eating. If you feel                                 full check your intake quantities and possibly reduce carbohydrate intake. Reduce Carbs before reducing protein or fibre (meat/fish or veg).

2.   Do you have energy?

YES   –  Good. Having energy on a constant basis means your hormones are allowing fat to be released as energy. This feeling should be consistent through the day.

No   –   You may need to raise your intake of food again, until energy feels consistent. Fat burning wont maximise till you reach this point.

2.B   If you feel weak

Weakness is a sign of low blood sugar. Eat some low GI carbohydrates as on the list. This could be zero wheat/gluten toast, oatmeal, an apple, a pear, some natural yoghurt with berries, some unsugared granola etc. These carbs will help raise  your blood sugar. Don’t eat too much or you’ll give yourself HIGH blood sugar, shutting off fat burning.

3.  Are you eating enough of the “lots of” category?

It’s easy to overlook the main objective. Try not to fall back into a normal “healthy diet”. If you have a large plate that contains your whole day eating, it should be filled 2 thirds with meat, fish, and green veg’s (and lots of it). It is this intake that make this eating plan so effective.

4.  Are you getting 8 hours sleep?

YES   –    Good, you should be feeling fresh in the morning, and are getting a good nights recovery.

NO   –    Getting anything less than 7.5 hours will have a negative hormonal effect. You are more likely to wake up with Cortisol in your system, which is bad for fat burning. Sleep helps reduce stress, and is required for adequate muscle recovery between training sessions.

5.   Do you get cravings?

      YES  –   Cravings are caused in part by negative hormonal responses, especially stress.  You may not be getting enough sleep, be eating enough, or need to evaluate some form of stress in your life.

NO  –    Good, this is a sign your brain is not telling you to eat. You are likely stress free (relatively) and eating enough.

 6.   Do you go to bed feeling hungry?

YES  –   You never want to be hungry, regardless of the time. The only nutrient you must watch before bed time is carbohydrates. Eat more protein and fibre meals whenever hungry in the late evening, especially those in the post “late night snacks”.

NO  –   Good. Just be careful you are not eating too much carbohydrates before bed.

7.   Do you wake up feeling leaner?

                   This is another sign you may not be controlling your evening meals correctly. If done correctly according to the answers above (Q. 6), you should be waking up feeling leaner, with energy, and not hungry.

8.  Are you happy with this diet?

YES  –  Good, you are likely having a positive fat burning hormonal response, which actually has a positive effect on mood and energy.

NO  –   Maybe youa re just starting this plan, and it takes a week or so to adapt. You may also not be eating enough, and your hormones are not on your side yet. Also, if you find all the meals described as unpalatable, contact me directly and we can sort something out.

 

 

As part of this metabolic style of eating, you can take one day a week where you eat what you want. The metabolic strength the diet gives you means you are less likely to put on fat when you stray from the plan.

I recommend that you leave this day rolling until you actually need it. An inpromptu work gig on a Thursday or a christening on a Saturday are both events you want to be able to enjoy. Its lost on you though if you set your cheat day for Sunday, as the day may come and you might not even feel like eating diifferently. Save it for the times when you know sticking to a meal plan will be difficult.

Enjoy yourself, but dont go overboard. This is not an excuse to over indulge, just enjoy life and the foods you like. Go to a cafe, order what you want and get a dessert, dont go home with a chipper, a can of coke and a snickers. This would be a set back, not a perk.

So be responsible, but enjoy your life.

Over – coming your instincts

This post is a reply to a client (I’ll let him/her decide to come forward or not) when I gave them the Metabolic Meal Plan. I found out they they instinctively reverted back to their old opinion on what “healthy” is.

“Hi ______

Just in what you said you were eating. Im not sure if you just didnt include meats and the major cruciferous greens in what you said you ate. That looks like a relatively normal “healthy diet”, not the specific fat burning diet. It would be ok if you had fish, loads of chicken and a rake of brocolli and cabbage with it,, Im just not sure if you left all that out.

You have to remember the WHOLE thing about ths diet is taking in vast quantities of very certain foods that contin alot of fibre, few calories, and spark metabolism. Imagine this. If you took what you told me there, put it in a blender and condensed it you would have a smoothie that would be relatively thick with a moderate amount of calories in it. Now imagine you got 2 chicken breasts, a head of brocolli and a lot of cabbage. If you blended this you would have an even bigger smoothie (in terms of quantity) than your last one, which would also have alot less calories in it. This smoothie would also stimulate your metabolism more, and reduce cravings.

You have to remember the golden rule: 2 thirds of your plate must be from the “lots of” category.

You will lose weight with what your eating ____, but you wont be getting the same positive hormonal effects as from eating the vast quantities of lean meats and cruciferous veg. The salted peanuts have to go too Im afraid.

No Salt Allowed!”

End of message

You must be careful not to stray back into a regular chicken and veg diet. That is a healthy diet, but not a fat burning diet. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask.