My Metabolic Balance® Journey
As a healthcare practitioner the subject of weight loss has generally featured in the top 3 questions I would be asked in clinic. The basic advice I would provide (such as having a minimum of 5 serves of vegetables and 2 pieces of fruit per day, increased movement, decreasing environmental influences and monitoring stress) just was not enough structure for many individuals.
When we would discuss the subject further, I would talk about the importance of how addressing inadequacies in our dietary intake and exercise programs alone, accounts for a very small part of the picture regarding the weight loss journey. Building a clearer picture for clients about the possible disruptors to their weight loss journey was beginning to overwhelm them. And so began the search for a system for weight loss that left people feeling full, calm, committed and well supported.
I came across the Metabolic Balance® program through another practitioner who described the anti-inflammatory effect of the program. She described how she and her clients found the program easy to follow because it was so clearly planned out and that clients were getting the results they were looking for after experiences of yo-yo dieting.
After being exposed to environmental moulds and toxins my pathology parameters showed an unhealthy level of inflammatory responses going unchecked within my body. While this was the way my body devised to keep me safe, it was showing signs of being unable to shut the inflammatory cascade off. Without shutting off the inflammatory response my body had limited chance to recover.
This manifested in symptoms including:
Cyclic diarrhoea and constipation (7/10)
Extreme fatigue (even after 9 hours sleep I would wake up exhausted) (6/10)
Irritation, mood swings, low mood (7-8/10)
Water weight, particularly around periods (2-3/10)
Extreme food cravings and blood sugar symptoms of shakiness before a meal and dependence on stimulants for ‘energy’ (4/10)
Moderate cystic acne around the jawline, chest and upper back (3/10)
Sleep disturbances, including night sweats. Falling asleep in front of the television after a meal and then being unable to return to sleep until around 4am the following morning (9/10)
While I had a fairly simple diet and was very well known for eating well – as a result of my training I knew that I wanted to support my body further by experimenting with my foods to achieve an anti-inflammatory effect. As a practitioner, I won’t recommend a herb, supplement or intervention that I have not tested or would not do, myself. And so, I enrolled in the Metabolic Balance® program to see for myself what results would follow and how easy the program was to stick to.
After the first two weeks I had noticed the following:
I had lost 4.8kgs on an average frame to become more visually leaner
I woke up refreshed, my sleep quality having improved
I was clearer focused and had more energy
The quality of my skin improved visibly
My anxiety and mood had restored
My stomach symptoms had settled
I became a fan of Metabolic Balance® and was prepared to recommend it
I have found a broad range of symptoms resolved by supporting the body through eating the appropriate food choices recommended in the Metabolic Balance® program. I deeply appreciated the simplicity of the program, the amount of money I was saving by trying to resolve symptoms using herbs and supplements which did not address the underlying driver of my inflammation and I was surprised by how quickly it started to work in my favour.
How it works is by modifying the glycaemic load of the foods being eaten and engaging in time restricted feeding. Elevated insulin levels create three key things:
hunger cues
fat synthesis
inhibition of fat burning
Metabolic Balance® encourages participants to eat three meals a day with a low glycaemic load and a break of at least five hours between meals, thus leading to lowered insulin spikes. If that sounds scary, rest assured that in practice it’s really not. The meals provide all of the energy requirements in a comprehensive, well-rounded way that does not demonise any one food group. It allows for the body’s natural hunger hormones (ghrelin and leptin) to rebalance and, in my personal opinion, can be particularly helpful for those who no longer receive hunger or satiety cues. The program matches the results of comprehensive blood test results with a corresponding list of foods to provide the optimal nutrient profile for each individual. No plan is identical to the other and is as unique as the person following the program.
If you would like to discuss whether you would be an appropriate candidate to participate in the program please contact us using the links below. For more information about the Metabolic Balance® program, please follow the link here. For more information about the various packages currently available please follow this link.
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