Why Simply “Eating Clean” isn’t Powerful Enough to Fix Your Metabolism

Have you been on a journey to solve the mystery of your stubborn metabolism? Many women have. Perhaps you’ve tried every diet under the sun, or maybe you’ve just decided to eat whole, unprocessed foods. Wonderful! Nothing wrong with that! I’m all about whole, real food. It’s a core principle of what I teach. The problem is that simply eating clean, eating Paleo, or eating Whole 30 compliant isn’t powerful enough to fix a locked and stubborn metabolism.

My name is Katie Vigesaa, I’m a registered dietitian and creator of an online nutrition program called the Best You Plan.  It’s a therapeutic nutrition program designed to rewire the metabolism and mindset. I’ve counseled hundreds and hundreds of women over the years. I’ve seen the things that work and seen the things that don’t.

Many women stick to those “clean eating” food philosophies and although they absolutely might feel better physically and mentally (a HUGE bonus!!) they still notice their metabolism stays stuck. Maybe they lose a handful of pounds, but not much after that. Why? Is it that they just need to try harder? Eat cleaner? No. It’s that simply eating clean, for most women, doesn’t effectively teach their body to use fat as fuel. Instead, they remain in a sugar-burning state of metabolism.

So, if their goal was to lose body fat and improve their metabolism, and they eat perfectly clean and nothing happens, they tend to think it’s their fault and they just need to try harder and eat cleaner even though the primary problem is rooted in a hormonal imbalance, not in whether or not they are “paleo” enough.

Sweet potatoes, fruits, dates, honey, whole grains and beans. These are all foods that contain nutrients and would be on the “clean eating” list. And these foods aren’t inherently bad at all! It’s just that for someone who has developed something called insulin resistance, these foods will continue to keep that insulin elevated and not allow the body to dig in and turn body fat into fuel.

There are several steps to teaching the metabolism to activate and to start using body fat as fuel. If you are someone who feels you have always struggled with your metabolism, one of the steps you can start to take today is to start reducing the total amount of carbohydrates you are eating. Carbohydrates tell our body to make more insulin. If you have insulin resistance, more insulin is counterproductive. I’m not asking you to reduce your calories. Simply swap that sweet potato at dinner for some asparagus and real butter, have it with satisfying steak or salmon. Instead of a banana as an afternoon snack, you could try some macadamia nuts and a hard-boiled egg. There’s some simple swaps you can do to start moving your metabolism in the right direction.

BEST YOU PLAN COMING SOON!

If you want a proven plan that helps you rewire your metabolism, my Best You Plan is starting up again soon! The next round will start on May 14th. I will be announcing more details about how to sign-up THIS FRIDAY April 27th. If you don’t want to wait until the 27th, just send me an e-mail at katie@katievigesaa.com and I’ll make sure you get the details sent to you on Friday!