Is your Metabolism out of Whack?

​Hearing the term ‘metabolic dysregulation’ might leave you scratching your head in confusion. What’s that and what does it have to do with me?  I can hear you say. 

​Do any of the following sound or feel familiar? 

• Weight gain around the middle
• High blood pressure
• High triglycerides
• Low HDL cholesterol?

If at least three of those ring true, then you might have a dysregulated metabolism. Or to put it more succinctly, your metabolism may be out of whack.  
 
If our metabolism is struggling due to the nutrition it is receiving or our lifestyle factors, it can set off a chain-reaction of health issues, starting with the seemingly innocuous muffin top, through to high cholesterol, a creeping blood pressure and blood sugar imbalances. 
 
Most people relate metabolism to weight loss or gain. I’ve often heard clients say that they have a ‘slow metabolism’ because they are finding weight loss slower than they hoped, but it is more intricate than that. Metabolism is literally at the source of every process in our body. Our metabolism isn’t a single thing, it is a myriad of process that breaks down nutrients from food and turns them into energy and components which help support all of the body’s cells, organs and systems. 
 
It is, therefore, a lot more than an issue of weight gain and weight loss.  Although being at a healthy weight is a key part of maintaining a healthy metabolism. 

​BMI (Body Mass Index)
 
What is a healthy weight? Well, that depends on a number of factors. Your height and weight for a start, how athletic and muscular you are and what life stage you are at. You’ve probably heard of BMI – body mass index – which most health professionals use as a basis for measuring a healthy weight parameter.  The formula for calculating BMI (metric) is BMI= Kg/M2 but there are dozens of BMI calculators available on the net or in the app store which allow you to check it easily. 
 
A normal BMI is considered to be between 18.5 and 24.9. 
Overweight is between 25 and 29.9. 
Obesity is classed if a BMI is over 30. 
 
Please note, however, that if you are very sporty and muscular you might have a high BMI whilst actually being very metabolically healthy, so it is always worth checking with a health or nutrition practitioner before making any changes to your eating and lifestyle habits. 

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Waist to Hip Ratio
 
Another measurement method is the waist to hip ratio.  Get a measuring tape and measure your waist at the smallest part of it, just above your tummy button. Then measure your hips at the widest part.  Divide the waist measurement by the hip measurement. 
 
For men: 
Low health risk: 0.95 or lower
Moderate health risk: 0.96-1
High health risk: 1 and above
 
For women
Low health risk: 0.80 or lower
Moderate health risk: 0.81 -0.85
High health risk: 0.86 or higher

​Body Composition Analysis
 
There’s a lot more to metabolic health than just your BMI or waist to hip ratio. A body composition analysis which can be done with a nutrition practitioner, at the gym or even at home with some basic body composition scales, although beware of the accuracy! 
 
A body composition breakdown gives you additional information including fat versus muscle mass, where the fat is in the body, how much visceral fat you have (visceral fat is the fat that is located near your organs and that can cause the most damage, health wise), water percentage and bone mass.  All of this information can provide a much clearer overview of your health. 

​How can diet and lifestyle help?
 
If you go back to the notion that your metabolism, which is at the basis of all of the processes in your body, is dependent on the food you eat, then it becomes clear how your nutrition can have an impact on your metabolism and health.  Lifestyle factors such as sedentarism (sitting too much) and poor sleep have also been shown to have long lasting impacts on a person’s metabolism, we will cover this in a later blog.
 
It is important to remember, however, that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. The reason that there are so many different diet clans out there proclaiming that their way of eating is the solution to all, is because all of those ways of eating do suit some people, just not absolutely everyone.
 
I trained in Nutritional Therapy exactly because I don’t believe that we can all follow the same thing and get the same results. Over and over again in clinical practice this fact is confirmed. Each person needs to find the best way to nourish themselves that suits them best metabolically and which is sustainable for them long term. 

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​Foods to Minimise
 
The science is stacking up against foods that are produced from ingredients extracted or refined from whole foods or Ultra-Processed Foods and Drinks (UPFD). These types of foods and drinks are all around us.  Baked goods such as biscuits and cakes make up the largest group in the UPFD category and we all know how easy it is to reach for a chocolate hobnob with our cup of tea. 
 
Fizzy drinks account for the lion share of the UPFD drinks market, how often do you add a can of something to your meal deal? 
 
Lots of studies have been published over the last decade showing again and again the link between regular consumption of UPFDs and poor health outcomes. These range from cancer to cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease and diabetes. 

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Top Tips for Eating to Support Metabolic Health 
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• Avoid any foods that list more than 5 ingredients and especially foods that list ingredients that you would find difficult to pronounce. 
• Make minimally processed ingredients the heart of your eating, such as: fresh, tinned or frozen vegetables and fruits. Meat, fish, dairy tofu. Legumes; nuts and seeds; dairy and eggs. 
• Limit food that includes the word ‘fortified’ or ‘added’ followed by vitamins and minerals. If the food manufacturer had to add it in, then it was stripped out of the natural food during the processing. 
• UPFD’s are marketed as convenience foods, but it is just as quick to make some scrambled eggs on whole-meal bread as it does to heat a ready-meal in the microwave. 
• Encourage children to get involved in the kitchen. Children who cook are known to eat a wider of variety of tastes and textures. Good habits gained early will last a lifetime. 
• Eating a more minimally processed diet does require ore planning and cooking. Consider doubling quantities and freezing a batch if your freezer is big enough or using the second batch to fill lunch boxes for work or school.

 
If you would like some help in reviewing your diet please do get in touch for a free, no obligation discovery call, you can book in via my website: www.jessicafonteneaunutrition.com.