How to Boost Your Metabolism
Many of my clients complain that they are doing everything right, but still can’t lose weight. During our consultation I find that most have fallen into the marketing trap of believing that all “low fat”, “high fiber” or “low calorie” food items are good for them. I challenge them to consider that counting calories may not be the best way to lose weight and instead ask them to consider focusing on the quality of food. This philosophy is based on choosing real foods that can reduce inflammation in the body.
To simplify this concept, I would like to offer my chart of the top 8 items to avoid and what to substitute:
AVOID THESE |
SUBSTITUTE THESE |
| Sweeteners, including natural sugars | If you must have a sweetener, please limit to no more than 24 gm added sugar/day and choose real maple syrup, raw honey, or organic coconut sugar. |
| Artificial sweeteners, including agave | Stevia |
| High fructose corn syrup or corn sugar | Sweeteners listed above |
| Trans fats or partially hydrogenated oils | Extra virgin olive oil, flaxseed oil, sesame oil, nut oils, organic coconut oil or expeller pressed oils that contain no chemical solvents or GMO. Watch portions! |
| Most processed oils, including soybean, corn and canola if genetically modified (GMO) | Oils listed above |
| Conventional dairy items | Unsweetened nut milks, organic dairy, dairy substitutes (coconut or organic soy yogurts), organic goat cheese in moderation) |
| Wheat, unless organic sprouted | Sprouted grain products such as Ezekiel® bread, or non-gluten grains such as quinoa, amaranth, whole grain or wild rice, gluten free steel cut or rolled oats, millet, or buckwheat |
| Excess alcohol, avoid mixers and regular beer | 5 oz wine, 1 ½ oz liquor or 1 lite beer Limit to < 1/d for women and<2/d for men |
Now, add these:
- Water: Goal is minimum of half of your body weight in ounces/day or until urine is clear to pale color.
- Low calorie vegetables: Especially leafy green, allium (onions, garlic, leeks) and cruciferous (broccoli, cabbage, kale, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower) types. Goal is a minimum of 5 servings/day (1/2 cup cooked, 1 cup raw, 2 cups lettuce).
- Activity: Choose what you love so you are more apt to do it. Examples include low intensity aerobic (walking, biking, elliptical for 30+ minutes), high intensity interval training (mix of high intensity and low intensity for 15-20 minutes), strength training (2-3 days/week), yoga, and stretching. Ideally, mix it up and do a combination of all the above. Goal is to do something most days of the week.
Patty Walker RD LD CDE CLT
Patty is proud to serve her community’s nutritional needs for over 35 years. WIth deep knowledge in nutrition for diabetes as well as passion for plant-based diets, Patty supplies nutritional keys to unlock health by getting to the root of disease and helping others set a course for optimizing health. In addition to coaching individual clients and teaching classes, Patty provides education seminars to local businesses, writes monthly nutrition articles, is a key educator for the Lions Club’s Diabetes-Reduction Initiative and hosts “Nutritional Wisdom” cable show on WCTV. The goal is to reach as many people in my community that I possibly can with the truth about the power of nutrition and healthy living.
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