6 Metabolic Enemies and 7 Friends: How to Build Metabolic Flexibility and Lose Weight Faster

Metabolic syndrome is a complex of problems associated with metabolic disorders. The causes of this “disease of the century” are banal: excessive, too frequent and chaotic food consumption. Each meal (especially with lots of carbohydrates and “junk food”) causes blood sugar levels to rise, after which the pancreas produces the hormone insulin.

Insulin’s task is to send glucose to cells for use as an energy source, and its excess is sent to fat deposits. The body is not adapted to artificial food and its frequent consumption in large quantities, so insulin with its glucose constantly enters the cells, since it needs to be removed from the blood.

As a result, the pancreas is exhausted and the cells “shut down” – become insulin resistant. The main task of the pancreas is to prevent blood sugar from rising, which is only possible with the help of a gigantic amount of insulin. When fasting blood sugar rises, it means the pancreas has given up. It could have been avoided with the right timing.

The Diet for Metabolic Problems is as simple as two and two, but only true Jedi can actually apply it. The most important thing is to know in person the main friends and enemies of the metabolism. We tell you who to trust and who to watch out for.

First, let’s get rid of the enemies – the close friends of the metabolic syndrome. If you can’t quit “sweets”, cut back on food by 10%: fake foods with artificial ingredients, various semi-finished products (cutlets, pasta, prepared sauces, desserts, sausages) and fast food. Anything with added sugar (eg honey, homemade jam) should also be limited.

Sugar. The problem is not in itself or the refined carbohydrates like white flour, but in their quantity. Today we consume them above our survival threshold. White bread, pastries, fast food, sodas, sweets, even many homemade meals include simple carbohydrates. Housewives constantly use flour and sugar, while the daily norm of simple carbohydrates is 50 grams of marshmallows or 3 tablespoons of honey, and preferably dark chocolate or dried fruit.

Can artificial sweeteners help metabolic syndrome? Yes and no. At first, they can replace sugar, but you should go and ditch them altogether. For some, they just lull the craving for sweets.

Trans fats and refined industrial oils. You can’t help but smell margarine in food – it leaves a thick, oily coating in your mouth, but big shop cake lovers get so used to it that they don’t notice it anymore. This fat is bad cholesterol’s best friend and heart and waist’s worst enemy. Any semi-finished product contains a certain percentage of trans fat. Choose exclusively unrefined oils, ideally pressed raw.

Refined cereals. Refined grains (white flour, instant cereal, breakfast cereal, etc.) have zero nutritional value and cause blood sugar levels to skyrocket. Two or three tablespoons a day won’t hurt. You can add flour to some dishes, but it is better to choose low glycemic index analogues (chickpeas, nuts, whole grains, coconut).

Alcohol very bad effect on blood pressure and triglycerides, because high triglycerides are usually a tired liver. If at least 7-10 days pass between libations (even modest ones), the liver will somehow have time to recover, but it is better to give up this bad habit.

Oily fish and other omega-3 foods, is a small partisan detachment that watches over our health. With the regular consumption of sweets, fast food, pastries and fried foods, chaos begins. It’s a carpet bombardment of the heart and blood vessels, and the omega-3 fatty acids bravely reflect the beating. Instead of this enemy pack, include oily fish, cod liver, eggs, beef, nuts, and chia seeds on the menu. For the liver to regenerate successfully, feed the body normal, healthy and clean food.

Vegetables. No need to eat them from bowls. Know how to choose and cook correctly. Some varieties are not suitable for some, and someone does not perceive fresh ones well. Useful for you will be those that provide comfort and a feeling of satiety (as well as protein and fat components, of course). Harmful – those whose stomach is restless.

Greens, salads, cabbage, broccoli, carrots, beets, pumpkin, zucchini, onions, garlic, peppers, eggplant, cucumbers – it doesn’t matter. For severe sugar control issues, it’s best to choose non-starchy vegetables – be careful with boiled pumpkin, carrots and potatoes.

Fruit. In moderation they are useful, but it is also better to be careful with them. Any practitioner who monitors blood sugar will confirm this. To get antioxidants, it is worth consuming unsweetened fruits and berries – lemons, blueberries, cherries, raspberries, cranberries, lingonberries, currants, apples.

Sources of animal protein. The functional basis of the diet is eggs, offal, seafood, fish, lean meat and poultry, cottage cheese.

Vegetable Protein Sources – legumes and certain cereals. Vegetable protein is not necessary for everyone, but someone prefers it or is forced to choose it. Complex carbohydrates and legumes support a normal metabolic situation if not abused.

The good fats. Saturated fats are found in eggs, butter and ghee (10-15g per day is enough, but not necessary), unsaturated fats are found in nuts, seeds, olive oil and fish. You can also buy camelina, pumpkin, mustard, sesame oils.

Additions: fibre/bran, organic honey, herbal teas, coffee beans, chicory, rosehip, apple cider vinegar, vegetables and fermented milk products, spirulina, quality cheese, nuts and seeds. Why these add-ons? Because many foods must be eaten in microportions, for the sake of benefit, and satiety must be received from another. Lots of cheese and nuts are no longer healthy. And, by the way, an additional challenge of the immune system. A lot of sauerkraut is excess salt and most likely storms in the intestines.

As for training, loads with short intervals help a lot: 30-60 seconds at maximum effort, then rest and recovery – also 30-60 seconds. Any exercise for 8 cycles. If the musculoskeletal system, pressure or weight do not allow it, start with general strengthening of the body. Climbing stairs, long walks, swimming are suitable.

Fresh air + activity + diet to lose fat = it’s the perfect formula for metabolic syndrome.

If possible, use the forest, it heals the body at all levels. But heavy training raises cortisol levels, which makes it difficult to lose weight and sometimes contributes to weight gain.

Meal regularity is also important. For most of us, the “metabolic syndrome” is in our heads – it’s a basic lack of discipline.

What is Metabolic Flexibility? It is a skill of the body in the absence of food to easily switch to its own reserves and quickly stabilize the level of glucose. If you develop such a skill, you will not have any panic and desire to eat an elephant later. Practice – you will need it. A healthy person can and should be metabolically flexible.

Eating according to the diet, natural, nutritious, appropriate medium and low glycemic index foods does not give metabolic syndrome a chance. Simply cook, not super tempting and fragrant.

Don’t keep candy in sight. If you really want a candy, go to the store for it – at the same time there will be a charge. And eat well: sweets are demanded not only by a corrupt brain, but also by a nutritionally starved body that panics and does not know how to tell you about it.