Metabolic Balance Vs. Other Diets: What Makes it Different?
There’s just so many diets out there promising rapid weight loss and better health - it’s a minefield and is easy to feel overwhelmed and confused! From the grapefruit diet or cabbage soup diet to Keto and Paleo, to intermittent fasting and calorie counting - each approach has its pros and cons and some mostly cons. Rather than following these restrictive trends, why not try Metabolic Balance. Metabolic Balance is a scientifically-backed, personalised weight-loss solution that supports your metabolism, energy levels, and overall well-being. It is designed to work with your body's unique biochemistry, providing a sustainable way to achieve and maintain optimal health. Let’s compare it to other popular diets to see why it stands out.
Firstly, what is Metabolic Balance Program?
To start, Metabolic Balance is not a diet, rather it’s a personalised nutrition approach, that focusses on long term health and wellbeing. Resetting metabolism is the cornerstone of the program and all the health benefits flow from that. A balanced metabolism is crucial for:
· maintaining overall health,
· for regulating energy and hormone levels,
· for supporting weight management, and
· ensuring proper functioning of the body.
The Metabolic Balance nutrition program helps to release unhealthy excess weight, creating sustainable and long-term weight regulation – and this is why an independent study has ranked Metabolic Balance as one of the best weight management programs.
The personalised nutrition approach is the key to the success of Metabolic Balance. The foods that are optimal for your body are identified from an analysis of your blood markers, from your current health conditions, medications and personal eating preferences. The optimal foods are based on the nutrient needs of your body – the proteins, fats, carbohydrates as well as the vitamins and minerals. A personal plan is developed for you that includes these optimal foods, how much of them to eat and when and how to combine them. It is a totally holistic approach!
Most importantly, Metabolic Balance is a fully supported program to ensure your success. You’re not left to figure it all out on your own – you will be working with a fully trained health professional (such as myself) guiding you every step of the way, keeping you accountable, cheering your successes and helping you through the challenges.
Metabolic Balance vs. Keto
Keto: Focuses on high fat (typically 70%-80%), a moderate level of protein and very low level of carbohydrates to force the body into ketosis.
Keto works by depriving the body of carbohydrates (the main fuel source for all cells in the body) and this deprivation causes the body to produce an alternate source of energy from stored fats (called Ketones). Ketosis occurs when ketones have accumulated in the blood.
How it works: Burning fat for energy rather than burning carbohydrates results in fat loss and weight loss. The more fat that is burned, the greater the fat/weight loss.
Metabolic Balance: Includes a balanced mix of proteins, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates based on individual needs rather than specifying macronutrient percentages. This approach ensures that your body receives the right nutrients to stabilise insulin levels, blood sugar levels, promote satiety, prevent cravings and to release weight and fat. Importantly, this also ensures that lean muscle mass is maintained, which is vital as we age.
Key Differences: While keto can lead to rapid weight loss, it’s often difficult to sustain long-term and can negatively impact hormonal health, especially for women. There is no consideration to overall nutrition needs, or increased protein needs in women from perimenopause onwards. Metabolic Balance provides a sustainable way to support metabolism, energy production, hormone regulation, muscle mass and overall well-being in the long-term.
Metabolic Balance vs. Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent Fasting: Focuses on when you eat rather than what you eat. With intermittent fasting you only eat during specific times, with meals being either delayed or skipped.
Eating may be restricted to certain times during the day (for instance fasting for 16 hours overnight) or fasting (or very low calories) for a couple of days each week. It is based on the evolutionary principle that our hunter and gatherer ancestors evolved to go without food for several hours or for days at a time. There is evidence that intermittent fasting does have health benefits.
How it works: The premise is that by extending the period after your last meal, all energy produced from that meal has been burned, forcing your body to switch to burning fats for energy, resulting in fat loss and weight loss.
Metabolic Balance: Unlike intermittent fasting, which does not consider the nutritional value of food choices, Metabolic Balance is centred around individualised nutrition, to ensure that your body receives the right balance of proteins, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates. Nutrient-dense wholefoods and eating to satiety are crucial components of Metabolic Balance. In contrast to intermittent fasting, hunger is not a feature of Metabolic Balance. Rather, Metabolic Balance focuses on satiety and blood sugar stability to prevent energy crashes, hunger and cravings. Additionally, eating balanced meals at regular intervals prevents the stress response that fasting can sometimes trigger.
Key Differences: Intermittent fasting focuses on meal timing but does not dictate what foods to eat, so consuming highly processed, nutrient-poor meals is still possible. Metabolic Balance, on the other hand, ensures every meal is nutritionally complete and supports metabolic function.
Intermittent fasting can be effective and lead to short-term weight loss, however, the sustainability of long-term fasting is questionable and for those with blood sugar imbalances or hormone fluctuations (like in perimenopause and menopause), skipping meals can do more harm than good. Metabolic Balance offers a structured, sustainable approach to weight loss, ensuring proper nutrition, steady energy levels and meal satisfaction.
Metabolic Balance vs. Calorie Counting
Calorie Counting: Based on the notion that weight loss is simply about calories in vs. calories out – the idea being that weight loss occurs in a calorie deficit state (that is when fewer calories are consumed than those being burned).
There is no consideration to the quality of the calories consumed, the nutrient needs or overall wellbeing, consequently ultra processed foods and other nutrient-poor foods could be eaten so long as the calorie deficit is maintained.
Another consideration of calorie counting is the mental and emotional strain that comes from tracking calories. This approach can lead to an unhealthy fixation on food and calorie limits, which may contribute to an unhealthy relationship with food and disordered eating patterns.
How it works: A daily calorie limit is set below the daily rate of calories to be burned, creating a calorie deficit. It is important to note that not all calories are created equally. For instance, a breakfast of 180 calories of toasted white bread (approx. 2 slices) will have a vastly different impact on metabolism, blood sugar, energy and satiety compared to 180 calories of boiled eggs (approx. 2 large eggs). The toast will be metabolised quickly with a spike in blood sugar and may lead to hunger, cravings and low energy by mid-morning. On the other hand, the egg will be metabolised slowly, gradually increasing blood sugar levels and providing sustained energy and satiety.
Metabolic Balance: is a calorie counting free zone that prioritises nutrient quality and metabolic function instead of focusing on calories. Every meal is personalised to ensure that the foods included provide the right balance nutrients to support steady energy, satiety, and metabolic health. It emphasises stabilising blood sugar levels and eating to satiety which reduces the likelihood of cravings and energy crashes that are common with calorie-restricted diets.
Key Differences: Calorie counting focuses on quantity over quality, while Metabolic Balance focuses on the quality of foods – being nutrient-rich, whole foods that support metabolism and overall health.
Calorie restriction can lead to hunger, cravings and rebound weight gain, whereas Metabolic Balance nourishes the body properly, leading to long-term success without deprivation.
Metabolic Balance vs. Low-Fat Diets
Low-Fat Diets: As the name suggests, these diets focus on reducing fat intake, often promoting low-fat or fat-free foods. A consequence of low-fat diets is an increase in carbohydrate consumption since the fat is generally replaced by carbohydrates.
The low-fat diet idea comes from outdated research (now debunked) from the 1940’s that suggested low-fat diets may prevent heart disease. The approach remains popular today with a proliferation of low-fat or fat-free foods available. However, many low-fat products are highly processed and loaded with sugar, leading to blood sugar spikes, cravings, reduced satiety and increased hunger and fat storage. In addition, the increased consumption of carbohydrates can result in weight and fat gain since carbohydrates in excess of the body’s energy needs are stored as fat.
Healthy fats are essential for hormone production, brain function, and nutrient absorption and they are an essential component of the membrane of every cell in your body. Accordingly, eliminating or drastically reducing healthy fats can negatively impact your health.
How it works: Low-fat diets aim to reduce overall calorie intake by limiting fats, which are more calorie-dense than proteins and carbohydrates. While this approach may lead to short-term weight loss, it often backfires as people find themselves constantly hungry, struggling with cravings, and lacking energy.
Metabolic Balance: Rather than restricting an entire macronutrient group, Metabolic Balance prioritises the right balance of all macronutrients - proteins, complex carbohydrates and healthy fats for each individual. Metabolic Balance uses whole, nutrient-dense foods that work with your body’s unique needs, providing you with correct levels of healthy fats to promote healthy metabolism, brain health and hormone regulation.
Key Difference:
Low-fat diets limit essential healthy fats, while Metabolic Balance ensures a well-rounded intake of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates to support metabolism and overall health. Cutting out fats can lead to constant hunger and sugar cravings, whereas Metabolic Balance includes healthy fats that keep you full and satisfied. Metabolic Balance supports hormonal balance, while low-fat diets can disrupt it.
Metabolic Balance nourishes the body properly, allowing for sustainable, long-term success without extreme restrictions.
Now that we've compared Metabolic Balance to other diet approaches, here’s my summary of why Metabolic Balance stands out
Metabolic Balance is 100% personalised: Unlike one-size-fits-all diets, Metabolic Balance is personalised nutrition approach based on a detailed analysis of your blood markers and health profile.
Metabolic Balance improves overall health: Metabolic Balance achieves much more than weight loss. By eating the right foods for your body, your body is put back into balance - balancing enzymes and hormones, reducing inflammation and improving overall health and well-being.
Metabolic Balance is a fully supported program: You are guided every step of the way by trained health professionals, ensuring that you receive expert advice, accountability, and encouragement throughout your journey.
Metabolic Balance is sustainable in the long-term: Metabolic Balance is based on real, whole foods that your body thrives on, with no restrictions of entire food groups, or calorie counting, making it sustainable in the long term, giving you lasting results.
If you are ready to experience the benefits of Metabolic Balance, then book a consultation with me and start your journey to better health today!
Judy
