Do You Know Your Metabolic Type? (And Why You Should) – Part 1

October 23rd, 2009

We’ll let you in on a secret. We think that Metabolic Typing is one of the Big Nutritional Principles people should be taking notice of today.

Why? If you’re reading this as someone who is already a client at 3D Personal Training, you’ll already have felt the benefit of weight loss and increased all-round health that has been achieved through getting your Metabolic Type right. If you’re not, reading on will introduce you to one of the most important and effective principles in nutrition today.


But hang on a second, won’t those diet books I see on Amazon do the same thing?

Don’t even go there – those diet books aren’t written for you. They’re written for a mass market audience which is why they work for some people but not for most people, not consistently, and not permanently. What we’re talking about is unlocking the secret to your own, personal nutritional biochemistry. We’re talking about unlocking your optimal weight and health, energy and vitality.

Too good to be true? Though it sounds like it, we’re going to show how you can start getting results as soon as you’ve finished reading.


But what’s wrong with what I’m eating now?

Ask yourself these questions:

  • Am I over or under the weight I want to be?
  • Do I lack the body tone I want?
  • Do I suffer poor health or a positive sense of health, energy and vitality?
  • Do I feel lethargic or sleepy after eating?
  • Do I tend to avoid fats when eating, crave sugar, sweets or carbohydrates?
  • Do I eat carbs, protein or fat just by themselves?
  • Do I store fat in particular places (such as between the hips and knees if you’re a woman)?
  • Do you suffer from mood swings?
  • Do I want better sports or business performance?

Yes? Then changing the way you eat by paying some attention to your Metabolic Type is exactly what you need to do.


I thought you said your Elimination Diet was the most awesome nutritional tool on the planet?

It is, and even by itself it’ll get you results some of you never thought possible.

But here at 3D Personal Training we’re greedy when it comes to getting results for folks, so we especially designed our Elimination Diet to go hand in hand with working out your Metabolic Type at the same time. We’re going to talk in detail about how to do that, but we need to cover some other stuff first. Deal?


So what is Metabolic Typing?

In a nutshell, it’s about getting the ratio of fats, proteins and carbohydrates you eat at every meal or snack in the right proportion so that your personal biochemistry is balanced. When that happens, you get results. It’s what 99% of diets out there don’t and can’t do.

Let’s start with this question: Are you running on the right fuel?

Imagine you’re the owner of a beautiful, big, brand new Mack Truck, and you pull into the most exclusive petrol station that has the highest quality gasoline from the world’s leading refinery. Now this gasoline is as good as it gets, and you’re driving the best truck on 18 wheels. The man at the station decides to put the best quality gasoline in that big diesel engine. Oops! That Mack Truck had better have plenty of sleeping area because you’re not going anywhere fast.

The moral of the story? It’s not the fuel’s or the truck’s fault, it was simply the wrong fuel.

When it comes to humans the same principal applies – everybody burns food

differently and if you’re eating the wrong proportion of protein, carbs and fats for

your ‘engine’, it can be disastrous. That’s the principle behind Metabolic Typing.


Let’s take a closer look…

The following excerpt is drawn directly from a book called ‘The Metabolic Typing Diet’.

‘Metabolic typing is based on the fact that over thousands of years of evolutionary history, people in different parts of the world developed very distinct nutritional needs (biochemical individuality), in response to a whole range of variables, including climate and geography and whatever plant and animal life their environments had to offer. As a result, people today have widely varying nutrient requirements, especially with regard to macronutrients – the proteins, carbohydrates and fats that are the fundamental dietary “building blocks”, most essential to sustaining life. We all need a full spectrum of nutrients.’ 1

But different people have genetically programmed requirements for different amounts of various nutrients. It is these differing genetically based requirements that explain why a certain nutrient can cause one person to feel good, have no effect on another, and cause a third person to feel worse. 1
Basically unless you acquire all the nutrients for which you have been genetically programmed, your cells’ ability to perform their functions will be impaired. 1

Conversely when you eat according to your own unique hereditary requirements, as opposed to following some universal do’s and don’ts or randomly prescribed dietary advice, it’s entirely possible that you can:

  • Achieve and maintain your ideal weight
  • Optimise physical energy and mental clarity
  • Enhance athletic performance and edurance
  • Overcome mood swings and depression
  • Prevent and reverse degenerative disease1

There’s no single greater influence on your health than the food you eat several times a day, every single day of your life. All you need to do is identify the specific raw materials that will support the body’s unique biochemical requirements, and then supply them in the right combinations. Then, simply step aside and let your body repair, rebuild, and regulate itself.


Want to get started right now?

All you need to do is sign up for our FREE Elimination Diet. With it you’ll receive our Food Diary – fill it in carefully, taking the time to listen to your body after every meal. Pay particular attention to completing the pie charts.  Working out how much of a meal of food was fat, protein or carb can feel a little tricky at first, but it’s well worth the effort.

After 21 days you’ll begin to see a clear pattern of responses to high or low carbohydrate meals and foods, and you’ll be able to take the first step on your own personal path to your perfect biochemical balance.

In Part 2 we’ll interpret the results, looking deeper into the different Metabolic Types and what each means.

See you then,

Craig, Matt and the 3D Personal Training team.

References:

1. Wolcott, W., The Metabolic Typing Diet, New York, Doubleday,
2000

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Success Through Synergy

October 23rd, 2009


“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”

 

 

In the field of health and fitness, there are many effective techniques to help us achieve our optimal weight, appearance and fitness level. When used in isolation however, many of these techniques provide only short term results and often produce a yo-yo effect (think fad diets). We’d like to show you how your goals can be effectively achieved through a synergistic approach.

 

Synergy can be described as “the interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects.”

 

At 3D Personal Training we firmly believe (and our experience proves) that success in achieving your health and fitness goals depends on a synergy of 3 dimension: the right mental approach, functional physical training, and supportive nutrition and lifestyle.

 

Here’s why…

 

 


Mental approach

 

Effective goal-setting is where the road to success begins. It’s essential to understand where you are now in terms of your personal goals, and where you want to be in order to obtain clarity and purpose, and to be able to visualize your ultimate goal. Your goals need to come alive, so we encourage you to take the time to complete the following exercise and write the answers down in order to realize them:

 

Be bold – What is your ULTIMATE health/fitness dream?

 

Be honest – WHY do you want to achieve this, what will this

outcome mean for you and allow you to DO?

 

Be connected – What will you SEE, HEAR and FEEL when you have it?

 

Be courageous – WHEN will you achieve it?

 

Be realistic – What are you WILLING to give up in order to get

what you desire?

 

Be creative – How can you ENJOY the process while doing what is

necessary to achieve your goals?

 

 

The secret to achieving a positive mental approach lies in how often you can be connected and aligned to these thoughts and feelings.

 


Physical training

 

In our experience there are three aspects of physical training that when addressed will bring success in achieving goals:

 

The need for muscle:

Muscle is one of your very best friends if you want to lose body fat, because it’s an active tissue that directly increases your rate of metabolism. Unfortunately, around the age of 30, our muscles begin to shrink, so it is imperative to regularly maintain or build them. When it comes to training, avoid fixed resistance machines as they allow no freedom for the muscles, literally boring them senseless with the same movement pattern and decreasing neuromuscular awareness at the same time. That’s a bad deal for your body. Choose free-weights or cables instead and try incorporating Swiss Balls (aka Physio Balls) to increase the neuromuscular demands. Additionally, think training “movements” not “muscles”; pushing, pulling, squatting, lunging, bending and twisting are the basic movements of day-to-day life and we should try to mirror these during exercise.

 

Cardio in moderation:

 

It’s important not to overdo the cardiovascular exercise (e.g. cross-trainer or jogging), as this can lead to a decrease in muscle mass which reduces your ability to burn fat. We’re by no means suggesting that cardio exercise is bad. It’s essential for transporting nutrients to the cells via the bloodstream. When fat is released from storage centers (adipose cells) it travels through the bloodstream to be “burned”. However if there is a decrease in muscle mass, the body’s ability to burn fat is also decreased.  As such, we recommend short-duration, high-intensity cardio to limit the possibility of losing muscle.

 

Flexibility:

 

Not only do our muscles shrink with age, but gravity, sedentary lifestyles and poor posture begins to take its toll as well! Bad posture can lead to injuries and regular bouts of associated pain. The details can be a little complex, but suffice to say there are muscles in your body that naturally become short and tight and others that get long and weak by nature. We need to stretch the shorter, tighter muscles and strengthen the longer, weaker muscles. For example when someone has a posture that resembles the Pink Panther – protruding head and rounded shoulders – the chest is one muscle that needs a good stretch. It’s important to only stretch what is tight though, as stretching the long and weak muscles will lead to further imbalances.


Supportive nutrition and lifestyle

 

What you eat and drink daily and the amount of rest you’re getting are absolutely vital if you want results, not only in terms of weight loss but also for optimal health. Here are three things you need to get right:

 

Eat to boost your metabolism

 

Largely, this means minimising your intake of simple sugars and refined carbohydrates, and eating frequent meals (no greater than four hours between each one) consisting of quality proteins (preferably from free range, chemical and hormone free animals), fibrous carbohydrates (above ground vegetables) starchy carbohydrates (sweet potatoes, brown rice), and good fats and oils (seeds, nuts, fish and olive oil). When it comes to the specific ratios of each macronutrient (especially the amount of starchy carbohydrates), it’s a case of listening to your body after each meal in order to account for bio-individuality and stress levels. We recommend using a food diary (like the one you get with our FREE 21 Day Elimination Diet) and recording after each meal (or at the end of the day) what you ate, including proportions and the respective reactions, e.g. satisfied, not satisfied, bloated, hungry, mentally-focused etc.

 

Drink plenty of water

 

The body is made up of around 75% water. Water is crucial when it comes to health because it plays a role in transporting nutrients, digestion, elimination of waste products, and detoxification – and those are the tip of the iceberg. Beware though, a “dry mouth” is not a safe indicator of thirst; it is actually a sign that the body is well into dehydration. How much water should we drink each day? That depends on several factors, including your weight and how active you are. To get an approximate amount in litres, try this formula: your weight in kg x 0.033 = the amount in litres per day you need to drink.

 

Get sufficient sleep

 

Sleep is another factor that has huge implications for your body. We consider sleep a major tipping point, and there have been many times when we’ve seen clients who are addressing the above points, but only achieve significant results by getting to bed earlier and sleeping a little longer.

 


Finally we’d would like to share the story of one our clients to illustrate the value of applying synergy in your life.

 

Fathima came to me because she wanted to change the way she looked before returning home after moving to London to study. She had previously tried all the usual diets and had also tried personal trainers who took her through workouts. But she achieved no lasting results with these individual approaches. So our first task was to realign Fathima’s mind-set with success through our goal setting exercise. The next step was giving her the framework to achieve success by teaching her about synergy. Here’s an extract of an email she sent us (used with kind permission).

 

“FIRST OF ALL, I MUST TELL U that I have been absolutely showered with compliments ever since I got off the plane here! I’ve had people come up to me and ask me what I’ve been ”taking”!!! It’s crazy, and quite a few people weren’t able to recognize me at all…I’ve also tried on my old clothes…and well…I’ve had to take in at least 5 inches on some of my shirts (which has been VERY satisfying indeed!!). The weirdest thing is that most people don’t believe me when I say it’s all down to a healthy diet, exercise and decent sleeping hours!!”

 

Is it time to get some synergy in your life?

 

 

Yours in health,

 

Craig, Matt and the 3D Personal Training team.

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The Art of Mastery

October 23rd, 2009


“All man’s well-being depends upon two things: one is the right choice of aim, of the end to which actions should tend, the other lies in the finding of the actions that lead to that end” – Aristotle

The right mental approach is a major factor in long term health and fitness success, particularly when it comes to commitment and following through on tasks. The right choice of aim and finding the actions that help to achieve are the two vital ingredients to mastery, both of yourself and your goals.


What is mastery?

Mastery is a state of being.

“Consistency not perfection” is the catchphrase of our friend Paul Stephen Lubicz. Consistency is the mark of the master – it’s a state not a product. The minute you get locked into believing there is a perfect way to doing anything you become less open to other possibilities. Self growth stops and the self critical part of your mind can become a self defeating monster. Because those impossible ‘fixed’ ideals you’re holding onto can’t be met and the only thing that sets you up for is negative self image. Don’t get us wrong though, consistently doing an average job will bring average results, it’s only through the approach of excellence can true mastery be attained.


The fundamentals of Mastery

Recently I read an exceptional book by George Leonard called ‘Mastery’. In it Leonard emphasizes the point of living in the current moment, and even accepting and enjoying the plateau we all experience from time to time.

So how do you best move towards mastery? To put it simply, you practice diligently, but you practice primarily for the sake of the practice itself. Rather than being frustrated while on the plateau, you learn to appreciate and enjoy it just as much as you do the upward surges:

“Practice, the path of mastery, exists only in the present. You can see it, hear it, smell it, feel it. To love the plateau is to love the eternal now, to enjoy the inevitable spurts of progress and the fruits of accomplishment, then serenely to accept the new plateau that waits just beyond them. To love the plateau is to love what is most essential and enduring in your life.”


The 5 keys to fulfillment…

Leonard describes 5 master keys to long-term success and fulfillment, as:

1. Instruction – Find a master teacher

2. Practice – Masters love to practice, it’s their passion

3. Surrender – Surrendering to your teacher and to the demands of your discipline

4. Intentionality – Create the vision in colour

5. The Edge – Push the envelope


Dabbler, Obsessive, Hacker, Master

Which one are you?

The Dabbler: Approaches each new sport, relationship, career with enormous enthusiasm. They love the ritual of getting started, new equipment. But they only seek instant gratification and when they reach that plateau they quit and look for the next bed to jump in.

The Obsessive: Makes the journey painful. Results are the only thing that counts. When they reach the plateau the obsessive bangs, fights and does whatever it takes to knock through it.

The Hacker: Stays on the plateau indefinitely. Does enough to get by and stays in the comfort zone.

The Master: Simply anticipates the plateau, which leads to power. They don’t fight it, stress about it or quit. They practice dedication and practice diligently, for the sake of the practice itself. When climbing the mountain be aware of the peak ahead, but don’t keep looking at it. Keep your eyes on the road, and when you reach the top just keep going…


“Do not think that this is all there is. More and more wonderful teachings exist – the sword is unfathomable” – Master Swordsman Yamaoka Tesshu


Yours in health,

Craig, Matt and the 3D Personal Training team

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