If one thing is clear in this world, it’s that no two people are identical. We have diverse likes, different genetic structures, different goals and most surely different metabolisms. So each one has different diet needs.
So why is it that when we see a buddy who lost weight, we automatically ask them how we can adapt their diet with the purpose of accomplishing their level of success? This approach is like reading two separate books and assuming the conclusions to be the same.
In today’s society, this behaviour happens more commonly thanks to social media and the internet. You see a friend’s improvement picture or a famous social media influencer and promptly send them a message requesting them to share their secret formula.
What if I told you that it’s not that easy? What if I told you that everybody is so different that what works for an individual person might not work for the other?
The metabolism of one person may be entirely different to the next person. Where someone may see results with a keto diet, another person may see results with a high-carbohydrate diet.
It’s essential to know how today’s diverse diet trends may or may not work for you based on your metabolism.
Your rate of metabolism is based on how you transform food into energy through a process known as oxidation. Which diet works best for you will be reliant on whether you are a fast, slow or balanced oxidizer.
Fast oxidizers are people who do well with heavy protein and fatty foods because they are able to transform protein and fats into energy extra efficiently than slow oxidizers. They have robust appetites and eat often in order to avoid energy crashes. And unlike slow oxidizers, they normally need a heavy breakfast to get going.
Slow oxidizers are very contrasting. Because of their more gradual rate of oxidation, they are incapable to get sufficient energy from fats and don’t do well with high-fat meals. They need added carbohydrates than fast oxidizers in order to sustain their energy levels. But in opposition to their counterparts, they have bad appetites and don’t need regular meals.
Balanced oxidizers are as the name suggests. They are capable to oxidize food into energy uniformly from all sources. They can utilise all three types of macronutrients without depending on any particular one for energy.
So which diets work completely based on your metabolism?
Keto Diet
The keto diet is very famous nowadays. It’s highly advocated inside the CrossFit world, and various social media influencers recommend it as the most excellent means to lose weight and reduce body fat. Keto diets are based on the consumption of protein and high fats with small (less than 50 grams per day) to no consumption of carbohydrates. But the fact is that the keto diet is not for everyone and that several people do not follow it accurately.
The most prominent blunder most people do is they increase their fat intake disproportionately and eat high volumes of saturated fats when they should be consuming unsaturated fats such as avocados, redfish, olive oil and nuts. Even more significant is your kind of metabolism. This diet is especially useful for people who are supposed to have a fast-oxidizing metabolism but not as helpful for slow oxidizers.
Paleo Diet
Not to be mixed with the keto diet, the Paleo diet is based on the idea that one should eat foods that were discovered through the Paleolithic era. Essentially, no processed foods or foods are a consequence of the agricultural boom. This indicates no starches, dairy, bread, grains, legumes or pasta to name a few. The Paleo diet can be readjusted to the largest metabolic types. Nevertheless, it works properly with fast oxidizers because of its restricted carbohydrate sources, and in several cases, it can become limiting and isn’t necessarily feasible long term.
Intermittent Fasting
Probably the best option for slow oxidizers, intermittent fasting is based on eating all your everyday calories within an eight-hour window through the day. Unlike other diets, intermittent fasting does not restrict the sorts of food you can eat but rather the time in which you consume them. One should still eat foods with a huge nutritional value such as lean meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, legumes and complex carbohydrates with the very least processed or refined foods. This is perfect for slow oxidizers because they take longer to transform the food into energy and can go for a longer duration without food intake.
Mediterranean Diet
The word diet shouldn’t actually be practised when one decides to follow this eating habit because the Mediterranean diet is not limiting in what you consume but rather supports the consumption of heart-healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, seafood, nuts, legumes and olive oil while restricting sugar-sweetened beverages, added sugars, processed meat, refined grains, refined oils and other highly processed foods. Balanced oxidizers do very well on this type of nutritional plan because of their capability to use various nutrients as potential fuel sources.
