metabolism diet

What is the Metabolism Diet?

The Metabolism Diet focuses on eating foods that

The Metabolism Diet focuses on eating food that requires the most energy to be digested

So how can eating food increase metabolism?

Food you eat is broken down by mechanical and chemical processes to enable the carbohydrates, proteins, fats and nutrients it contains to be used.

These processes use energy - The Thermic Effect of Food as it is known, makes up the part of your metabolism at around 10% of your metabolic rate.

So when you eat food, some of the calories it contains will be burned off in the process of digesting and absorbing it

Not all foods are equal when it comes to Thermic Effect, with some needing more energy than others to process - these are the foods we will focus on in The Metabolism Diet.

Eat Whole Unprocessed Foods.

A good place to start is by eating food as it occurs naturally, whole foods that have not been processed and preserved - fruit, vegetables, grains and meat.

Food is processed so that it has a longer shelf life, is tastier and looks more appealing - Not For Your Good Health.

Processing often involves removing nutrient rich fibre that is not only important for your health, it also reduces the thermic effect of the food as it requires less energy to digest and absorb it.

Processing food means that your body has to do less work to absorb whatever it contains, increasing the amount of energy you are taking in and decreasing the energy you are expending through metabolism - not good.

So with staple foods like bread, choose the wholemeal variety over the processed white stuff - same goes for rice.

For breakfast, a small serving of wholegrain rolled oats a great way to start the day.

Eat more Protein.

Protein is the king of the metabolism diet as up to 35% of the total calories in the protein you eat will be used to digest and absorb it

This compares to around 10% for carbohydrates and less than 5% for fats.

So make sure all your meals contain a source of protein, in increasing amounts from breakfast to dinner. By dinner your meal should consist of 40% protein.

The best sources of protein are skinless chicken and fish as these are high grade proteins and naturally low in saturated fats - choose the leanest red meat cuts when having it.

Processed meats like ham, bologna, bacon should be avoided as they contain low grade sources of protein and are very high in Sodium and Saturated Fats.

Saturated fats should be avoided - at 9 calories per gram with the lowest thermic effect, nearly all the calories they contain will go directly into stored fat on your body which is the last thing we want to happen.

In the metabolism diet, the only fats consumed are the unsaturated fats occuring naturally in food such as fish and nuts - these are essential in your diet.

A handful of nuts makes a great morning or afternoon snack.

Eat more Vegetables.

Vegetables are a source of vitamins and minerals and complex carbohydrates and are essential for good health.

The high fiber content of vegetables, increases the thermic effect and slows down the absorption of the carbohydrates they contain.

For dinner, vegetables should make up around 40% of your meal.

Eat small meals regularly

Eating small meals with a high thermic effect will boost your metabolism throughout the day.