How to Build A Pro-Metabolic Meal
Confused or maybe intimidated by what “pro-metabolic” means?
The goal of this blog post is to ease any of your concerns and make it EASY to but together a nourishing, filling meal for you and your family.
Pro- metabolic.. the latest buzz word in the wellness and nutrition industry. No, it isn’t a diet or a weight loss plan. The concept is actually rather simple: eating foods and eating them strategically in order to support your metabolism and physiology from a cellular level.
This means eating foods (and enough of them) that support your body and provide the nutrients your body needs to function well. It also means creating a lifestyle where stress is minimized- both psychologically and physiologically (both mental/ emotional stress and bodily/ physical stress as well).
This post will help to break down what pro-metabolic eating is and how you can implement some of the priniciples into your very next meal to help nourish yourself holistically.
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The fundamentals of “pro-metabolic” eating…
Whole Foods
No, no, not the expensive grocery store 🙃 think actual, real food that is as close to it’s whole, natural form as possible. Instead of cheese with 20 ingredients, try opting for something with 1 or 2 ingredients. Same with everything you eat!
When you have loads of artificial ingredients and preservatives your body has to process and filter those out. We already live in a time when we are bombarded with chemicals and toxins everywhere, so trying to mitigate them in our food sources can make a huge impact on your overall health!
Blood Sugar Balance
Did you know 1 in 10 people have diabetes? And it is approximated that another 1 in 5 people are pre-diabetic and not aware of it?! Those numbers are MASSIVE. Let alone all the other conditions that are associated with blood sugar- cancer, PCOS, generalized inflammation, brain fog, and thyroid disease.
This is not me bashing sugar. I think it can makeup a part of a healthy diet when eaten appropirately and in moderation. The problem is when we are consuming sugar and artificial sweeteners in EXCESS, causing huge swings from high to low blood sugar levels.
The goal of blood sugar is for your blood glucose levels to have natural rises and falls throughout the day (think nice, steady rolling hills), NOT big spikes of highs and lows (like a rollercoaster).
A book I really loved on this topic was Blood Sugar Revolution. It shares the science behind why blood sugar instability is a problem and simple strategies for how to keep it balanced!
When creating a pro-metabolic meal, this looks like pairing carbohydrates, proteins, and healthy fats. Carbohydrates raise your blood sugar, while fats and proteins help to slow and minimize that rise (keeping it more balanced which is the goal!)
Nourishment
The problem with the standard american diet (okayyy, one of many) is that there is such a focus on “calories in calories out” that we have forgotten about the whole purpose of eating — NOURISHMENT. IT doesn’t matter if you “eat enough calories” but are eating nutrient empty foods. Things like packaged, processed foods would fall into this category.
The goal of pro-metabolic eating is that we are consuming nutrient-dense foods that provide our body with all the micronutrients our body needs to function optimally. Some of my favorite nutrient dense foods are:
bone broth
organ meats
high quality animal proteins
well-digested vegetables
oysters and other shellfish
in season fruits
bee pollen
nutritional yeast
When you think of ancestral diets and nutrition, this is primarily how people ate before commercialized, processed foods were introduced. Real, whole foods that are packed with nutrients that your body can use efficiently!
Bio-Individuality
This is a term I used while completing my certification as a holistic coach. Basically it means that we all are different, have different medical history, bodily needs, and priorities. Meaning that there isn’t a “one size fits all” for nutrition.
While the above principles are a greaat place to start, implementing them into an effective lifestyle plan will require some nuance. When I begin to work with new coaching clients we talk about their personal health history, goals, and lifestyle and try to find the best plan for them. And out of all the clients i have worked with, I can tell you right now that no two are the same! Thaaat is bio-individuality.
For example, I tolerate bone broth really well. Some others have histamine intolerances that cause them to feel worse after consuming bone broth.
Another example is bee pollen. I loove the micronutrients in bee pollen and think it is a great way to easily add nourishment into your diet. But personally, every time I have it, i feel a scratchy throat, headaches, and nausea (signs of an allergic reaction 🙃). So I steer clear from it in my own diet, but love serving it to my husband and daughter who both tolerate it really well and enjoy it!
Building a Pro-Metabolic Meal
Now that we have all of the fundamentals in order, you are ready to build yourself a nourishing and supportive meal. And I promise you- it’s a lot easier than it sounds!
Build your meal around protein!
I sometimes feel like protein is the foundation for meals in our home. Not only is it a nutrient powerhouse, but it can help to give you an idea of what direction you want your meal to go.
Ground beef? It could be taco night or a shepards pie.
Shredded chicken? Could be a yummy chicken pot pie (I loooove the farmhouse on boone recipe!), or rice bowls, or more tacos (you catching onto the theme of my family dinners 😅?!)
Make sure you are eating enough.
You should be feeling full, energized, and have stable energy for 3-4 hours after a meal (if your metabolism is healthier, that may be even longer). If you aren’t sure how much you should be eating to support and nourish your body, shoot me a message. I’d love to hop on a free call and chat about your health goals!
Combine macronutrients
Carbs, fats, and proteins. Try to get some of each in every meal and snack! This will help to balance those blood glucose levels and keep you from getting hangry.
Aaaaand that’s about it! Once you combine all of those foundational principles, you will find yourself putting together meals that make you feel goood.
But how do i do this easily in my home? It’s all about meal prep baby.
How I Meal Prep Pro-Metabolically
You know how I mentioned my priority is protein? The first step I always take in meal prepping is to make sure I have lots of easy to grab protein on hand! This often looks like:
greek yogurt
cooked chicken
cooked beef (either ground or a roast typically)
cheese
beef sticks or beef jerky
Once I have proteins cooked and ready in the fridge I know that I can heat them up quickly as a main part of a meal. Then I can easily cut up some fruit or add a sauce to go with it.
2. Batch cook rice
I loove rice and my whole family digests it really well (most people do when it is soaked long enough!) I love having this on hand for rice bowl for lunch or to throw in tacos for dinner or use as a base for curry or stew. So versatile and you can easily make it more nutrient dense by cooking in bone broth.
3. Fruits!!
We buy so much fruit in our home. It is rich in minerals, is a great source of carbohydrates and is quick and easy to prep. Not to mention most are naturally deigned to take on the go with you! One way that I save money purchasing fruit is by buying it frozen, following the dirty dozen and clean 15 lists, and washing or soaking fruit well before eating.
4. Sourdough
Each week I aim to cook a batch of sourdough tortillas and a loaf of bread. This is the primary source of grains in our diet, with rice as a close second. We gravitate towards sourdough because my whole family digests it really well! I also have found that I really love the process and it is a fun hobby to experiment and learn from.
There you have it! How i meal prep for our family to have quick, nourishing, and convenient foods on hand and the strategy behind how we build meals. It may seem complicated at first, but tap into your intuition around eating. Once you become more aware of how eating makes you feel you can tweak things to work better for your own life and physiology.
As always, if you need guidance and accountability in starting or improving your health and wellness, id love to hop on a free call with you to chat about coaching!
-Kaelyn
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