Lots of advice here on metabolic flexibility and how to improve it.
Hi Hi! How is your day? I hope you are having a wonderful morning so far. I’m substituting for a Tabata class and then I’m going to have coffee with a friend. I hope you have a beautiful day today.
For today’s post, I’m talking about something I’ve recently started paying more attention to in the last couple of years: metabolic flexibility. As I learn more biohacking tips and strategies to improve my health, I am excited to share more of this information here. This publication was written in collaboration with Missing in action, our Fitnessista RD. If you have any questions for her or topics you’d like us to cover, let me know!
We will also be doing a instagram live this Friday at 9:30 PST/12:30 EST if you want to meet her officially and ask her questions about nutrition or fitness. We will also share the details about our new nutritional counseling program.
How to improve metabolic flexibility
What is metabolic flexibility?
Metabolic flexibility is the body’s ability to switch between fuel sources, either energy received from fat or energy from carbohydrate consumption. Do you notice that you feel better when you eat a steak than a pizza?
Being metabolically flexible allows the body to easily switch between the two fuel sources. It allows your body to use the food you just ate for fuel, or if it’s been hours or even a day since your last meal, it allows your body to dip into fat storage for fuel. A flexible metabolism allows this to happen with ease while feeling great.
How do you know if you have a flexible metabolism?
Here are some indicators that your metabolism is working at an optimal level:
– You can go hours without eating and not be “hungry”.
– The frequency of your meals does not determine your mood.
– Your energy levels are excellent when you eat a diet rich in protein and healthy fats.
– You feel great when you eat a diet rich in protein and carbohydrates.
-It is not necessary to eat every 2-3 hours to avoid fatigue, headaches or hypoglycemia.
– You have not self-proclaimed yourself as someone who follows a specific “diet”.
How I measure my own metabolic flexibility:
I use two things to see how my metabolism works and how my body responds to different foods and eating patterns. The first is the lumen, which will actually tell you if you are burning predominantly carbohydrates or fats, based on your RER (respiratory exchange ratio). I usually lumens several times throughout the day and modify my nutrition based on their suggestions. (If you decide to give it a try, use FITNESSISTA for an additional $35 discount!)
It has also been eye-opening to see how certain workouts and foods (especially late-night meals) affect my metabolic function.
You can check my full post on Lumen here.
I will also use from time to time Nutrisense, which is an app that is combined with a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) and the support of a registered dietitian. It has been amazing to see my body’s response in real time, and helped me make very simple adjustments to my diet and eating patterns. It has been a good motivation to have my last meal earlier in the day, to skip the late night alcohol, to go for a walk before or after a carb-rich meal and also to eat my protein first.
My full post on Nutrisense is here.
How can a flexible metabolism be achieved?
One of the easiest things you can do to achieve a flexible metabolism is balance your blood sugar and be strategic about your fuel choices. The goal is to have moderate blood sugar spikes throughout the day, while minimizing high spikes and dips.
How to do this:
– Choose to eat your protein before carbohydrates at a meal. This might resemble eating the eggs and bacon before diving into the fruit side; eat half of your steak before taking a bite of broccoli or a baked potato.
– Balance your meals with the right proportions of protein, carbohydrates and fats based on your goals. Make half your plate non-starchy, green vegetables, 6 oz cooked protein, and fill the rest with carbs or fat as you prefer, remembering to eat protein first.
– Schedule your carbohydrates. Initial carbohydrate loading earlier in the day (breakfast/lunch) is better for overall metabolic health and preventing insulin resistance.
What does this look like?
Grilled chicken thighs with vegetables for lunch, finish off with a “treat” you normally save for the end of the day, and then head out for a walk. Or follow up your lunchtime weightlifting session with shrimp stir fry on rice. Eating the protein and fiber first will mitigate the spike from the simple carbs in the treat and rice.
Also, including carbohydrates after lifting allows your muscles to absorb those carbohydrates and use them to repair and grow. Take a walk after meals to help move glucose through the bloodstream. Put the energy to work instead of sitting and being stored in the body.
– Finally, make sure you finish your last meal at least 2-3 hours before going to sleep! Not only will you sleep better, but your body can get to work cleaning out your brain and regenerating new cells instead of focusing on digestion. I know, it is difficult not to eat late and we find ourselves with activities with children or a work meeting late. Slowly start to load up your total food intake for the day so that if you do eat late, it’s a smaller meal of protein and vegetables, knowing that your body received most of its nutrition earlier in the day.
The body is primed to harness the use of human growth hormone to repair and build while you sleep. The sweet spot is from 10 pm to 2 am, so start your bedtime routine early so you can rest in dreamland and enjoy the free benefits.
Let me know if this post was helpful to you! Let me know if there are any future topics you’d like to see like this. 🙂
hugs and kisses
Gina
