Unlocking the Secrets of Metabolic Typing: How to Find the Perfect Diet for Your Body

Unlocking the Secrets of Metabolic Typing: How to Find the Perfect Diet for Your Body

Introduction

Welcome to another enlightening blog post where we delve deep into the world of metabolic typing, a concept brought to light by Willem Walcott. In this post, based on a recent podcast episode, we will unravel why different diets work for different people and how you can find the diet that is perfect for your metabolic type.

What is Metabolic Typing?

Metabolic typing is a groundbreaking approach to nutrition that aims to identify the perfect diet for individual metabolic types. It revolves around the concept of oxidation rates, which refers to the speed at which your body converts food into energy. Understanding your oxidation rate can be the key to finding the diet that works best for you.

Fast Oxidators

Fast oxidators convert food into energy rapidly, benefiting more from a diet rich in proteins and fats. They need to balance their intake to avoid feeling lethargic and sluggish.

Slow Oxidators

On the other hand, slow oxidators convert food into energy at a slower pace, often finding a carbohydrate-focused diet more beneficial. They need to be cautious to avoid digestive issues and mental lethargy.

Balanced Oxidators

Balanced oxidators fall in the middle ground, requiring a balanced intake of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. They are the lucky ones who can maintain a balanced diet without facing many issues.

Expert Insights from Willem Walcott and Paul Chek

In this section, we delve deeper into the insights provided by experts Willem Walcott and Paul Chek, exploring the science behind metabolic typing and how it can guide your diet choices.

I hope this podcast episode helps you figure out your Metabolic Type! 

Podcast Transcription 

Nate (00:00.554)
Welcome to another Be Great With Nate podcast episode. In today's episode, we're gonna go over understanding metabolic typing by Willem Walcott. I think this is gonna be very fascinating for you because a lot of you probably wondered why some people do really good on a high carbohydrate diet versus some other people doing better on a high protein and fat diet. And I think the biggest thing that this can create is a lot of confusion, disagreement, and separation.

for the simple fact that some people just don't understand that their metabolism, their body, their genetics do better with one particular diet rather than the other. And the reason why this can cause many problems is because if there's health experts or influencers online saying this one particular diet is the one diet that everybody should eat, we have to take a little pause there and understand that everybody is different. Because if you follow a diet that does not match up

with your metabolic type or your genetics, you'll find yourself having a lot of trouble on a particular diet. And here's a little thing. One thing we learned in school, the more childhood trauma somebody has, the more they're gonna wanna fit in. So I can run into people that are following a particular diet that no longer works for them, that causes a whole bunch of problems, and they stick to it for the simple fact that they're a part of this community, they're a part of this tribe.

They did all this research, they brought all these supplements, they brought all these books and it's a part of them. Their belief system and their subconscious mind does not want to move on and try something differently because they finally found a tribe, a group of people who they feel a part of and associated with. So I just want to start this podcast by letting you know if you're on a particular diet, I'm going to be going through what metabolic typing is and maybe you're following the right diet for you, which is awesome.

And maybe you are still having problems and you're a little confused. And today's podcast, I will have two references that I will be going back and forth with one book called metabolic typing by William a Walcott. And then the second one is how to eat, move and be healthy by Paul check. And one of the chapters in this book is called the no diet diet. And he does a great job of breaking this down to, to be a lot more simple. So you have two routes and then I have something at the end of the podcast.

Nate (02:24.774)
to direct you to as far as another resource to help you find out more information about this. So what is metabolic typing? Metabolic typing is basically it was a groundbreaking approach to nutrition that aims to identify why different diets work for different people, right? So like I said, some people do really good on a vegan diet. Some people do really good on a carnivore diet. So at the core of this concept, it's something called oxidation rates.

The rate of oxidation is the speed at which a body digest food and turns it into energy. So basically, everybody has a different oxidation rate. For an example, some people may oxidize food very fast and turn it into energy very fast, versus some people turning an energy into food very slow. So at the core of this concept, with oxidation rates, William Wilkow found

that this rate varies person to person, affecting how well they respond to certain diets. So what William Wilcock discovered while writing his book is that some people that are fast oxidators would do better on a particular diet. Some people that are slow oxidators would do better on another type of diet. So when it comes down to the role of oxidation in diet, the concept of oxidation refers to the biochemical process.

of turning food into usable energy. Your oxidation rate significantly impacts how quickly or slowly you should be eating certain foods. For an example, fast oxidators might find themselves they need more protein to feel satisfied, whereas slow oxidators may benefit from a carbohydrate rich diet. So when he was going through the process, and you can learn more about this in the book, and I'll have that down below or the references for the book and everything I go over today.

he determined there was three different oxidators. There was something called the fast oxidator. There was something called the slow oxidator. And then there's another one called the balanced oxidator. So fast oxidators are individuals who rapidly convert food into energy. They typically benefit from a diet rich in proteins and fat. So I'm gonna be bringing you through something that was fascinating and it's written on page 46 of How to Eat, Move, and Be Healthy.

Nate (04:48.77)
And these are not my words. I'm quoting from Paul Chek in this book. I usually love to read this to certain clients that happen to be a fast oxidator. Paul Chek calls this the polar type because he had the rights to use this information in his book, but since he couldn't use the exact word of a fast oxidator or protein type is what this would be called in metabolic typing, he made it the polar type. So.

When I refer to polotypes, just know that I'm referring to the fast oxidator and a protein type. Listen to this and let me know if this resonates with you. Polotypes are generally people who live to eat. You don't want to get in between a polotype and food when they are hungry. When polotypes follow the food pyramid or dietary advice given in most exercise magazines, they become chunky, fat, and downright miserable.

Since polar types burn through carbohydrates quickly, they must eat more protein and fat than carbohydrates to slow down the digestion of carbohydrates in the body. So with a fast oxidator, if you give them a food that digest is fast, let's say I give you a banana just by itself, and you are a fast oxidator, you already turn food into energy fast. So that banana is gonna speed that up even more because that

burns fast as well, right? So with a fast oxidator, the goal is to make sure the person is getting enough protein and fat along with the banana to make sure that it could slow down the oxidation rate, meaning slow down the process at which the food can be broken down. So, politypes against the advice of many health experts, frequently find they sleep better and wake rested if they eat a meal higher in protein and fat closer to bedtime.

This is largely due to the fact that polar types tend to burn through carbohydrates in their metabolic pathways, leaving them hypoglycemic, low blood sugar. And then he goes on to say, when this happens, like I always say in my TikTok lives, on my podcast, on my YouTube, when a person is having, I call them blood sugar issues, if a person is very sensitive to too many carbohydrates, your blood sugar would drop because you burned the carbohydrate very fast.

Nate (07:12.758)
When you have blood sugar issues, especially when you're sleeping and your blood sugar drops, that would rise cortisol levels. So your sympathetic nervous system will activate and it can deactivate the parasympathetic nervous system, which can cause many problems. One of the reasons being, cortisol is not supposed to be at its peak while you're sleeping. Cortisol usually starts rising around six in the morning and usually can be at its peak anywhere from nine to 10 o'clock in the morning. Melatonin levels are supposed to be at its peak in the middle of your sleep.

But when your blood sugar drops, that doesn't happen. Cortisol levels have to come up to save you from low blood sugar. It's a response to low blood sugar. So this can cause many issues with your hormones.

As a result, you wake up feeling like you've been wrestling all night and would usually head to a pot of coffee to start the process all over again. This is the very reason why polytypes need to be very careful what they have for dessert and what they drink, particularly within a few hours of bedtime. If they eat or drink too many carbohydrates, they're setting themselves up for visits to doctors and therapists for many seamlessly unrelated, nagging conditions.

which often get treated with pills, creams, and other medications. I've often seen symptoms such as chronic headaches, depression, chronic fatigue, poor concentration in the morning, back pain, neck pain, constipation, and low sex drive clear up by simply balancing out blood sugar levels and politypes, especially before bed. Very important information. So in my experience of working with clients,

I typically run into more fast oxidators than slow oxidators. But if I'm running into a fast oxidator who is vegan or vegetarian and they're coming to work with me, my goal is not to change the belief of my client. My goal is to educate them on why they're having sleeping issues and constipation. Those are usually the first two. And then hormonal problems will start coming up as well. And also with all the other things.

Nate (09:25.886)
low motivation, et cetera. So I just want to give you a nice little example of a politype, which will also be considered a protein type in metabolic typing and a fast oxidator, okay? Slow oxidators are the opposite. They convert food into energy at a much slower rate and often do well with a carbohydrate focused diet. Slow oxidators, in my opinion, you can learn this in the metabolic typing book.

Slow oxidators usually can be lengthy, pretty tall, usually they were thin growing up, and as they start to lose energy or start, they're not following the particular diet that works best for them, they can start gaining weight around the belly a little bit and have a slight weight, gaining weight, but usually fast oxidators usually could have had weight issues their whole life. Usually I typically find that. Not saying...

That's 100% you if you are a fast oxidator that you have weight issues your whole life. But usually these are the patterns that I see. So in the book, How to Eat, Move, and Be Healthy, Paul Chek describes a fast oxidator not to feel pressure to eat a huge breakfast. Many won't be attracted to heavy meals in the morning and will likely opt for light foods such as a boiled egg, toast, and juice, or even coffee. Their appetite will often kick in by lunch, particularly

if they have exercise by then. Fast oxidator, I mean slow oxidators typically find that they do pretty well with two meals a day, which can lead to friends and family members, especially mothers and grandmothers, putting pressure on them to eat against their instincts. So usually a carbohydrate type does better with leaner meats, they do better. They don't need a whole bunch of protein. If you just give them a carnivore diet or a ketogenic diet, it can slow them down a little bit.

versus if you were to give something like that to a fast oxidator, they'll notice a little more benefits with that because it may fit the rate at which they oxidize food, they slow down the oxidation. So they're not having unstable blood sugar so fast. But a slow oxidator, you don't wanna give them food that take forever to break down and convert into energy because if you do, they will find themselves sluggish and feel just off. And then you can get a whole bunch of other problems as well as far as low mood, frustration, brain fog, and lack of energy is one big one.

Nate (11:50.954)
So that's a slow oxidator. Some things with slow oxidators. I do run into a lot of slow oxidators as well. And when I do run into a slow oxidator, usually they're out of balance because one of the two things, number one, they're going so rich with carbohydrates that there's no protein at all present, or they are eating too much protein and not eating enough carbohydrates. So I have to, sometimes I bring these things out and I send them to them or I have to read this to them during our calls or if they're in person with me.

But that's why I said I have to make a podcast, breaking this down as simple as I can, because I repeat this probably four times a week with clients. And then the last one is a balance oxidator. These people fall in the middle ground. They may require a balanced intake of protein, carbohydrates, and fats. So these are the people that usually find with a balance. I usually find these people more of a, I believe it's called a mesomorph in fitness. So basically a person that

usually just lean, has some muscle on them, and doesn't really have a whole bunch of fatigue problems, doesn't have a bunch of weight problems. They're the people that, you know, they go to the gym, they eat the typical bodybuilding kind of regimen, or they follow the food pyramid, and they do fine. They have a balanced diet, and they really, diet's not really a big stressor for them. They do well with an even amount of protein, carbohydrates, and fats. So I want to go over, there's ways that you can determine...

your metabolic type. And I think Wayne Wilcock has a questionnaire in his book, and it's a great questionnaire. You go through the questionnaire and as you fill it out, depending on the score that you get, it gives you what mode, if you're a protein tech, if you're a carbohydrate type, if you're a mixed type. And then there's another section after that, that teaches you how to follow a certain protocol. But I also want to give you some things here that may really, really make you more aware.

If a person is eating out of balance, depending on their metabolic type, you can start seeing some symptoms. So on page 48 in How to Eat, Move, and Be Healthy, Paul Chek does a great job of showing you some nice little charts of when you get too much of one thing, how things can start to cause problems. So let me go through this with you really quick. So if a protein type, a polar type, eats...

Nate (14:18.082)
Too many fats and proteins, right? Let's just say they go extra, right? They go, you know what? I'm a protein type. I'm not having no carbs. Here's some short responses that they'll get that they know that they need to add a little more carbohydrate to their diet. Lethargic, sleepy, dull, depressed mood. Mentally sluggish or slow, heavy gut. So your gut just feels heavy, food feels heavy. They feel full, but they're still hungry. May crave sweets.

and then they definitely will crave some caffeine or tea. If a carbohydrate type is not getting enough protein, so this can go for both, both groups. So I just want you to keep that in mind. Say if you're a protein type and a carbohydrate type, if you're eating too much meat, those would have short responses. If you're eating too many carbohydrates, here's a response is headache, anxiety. Don't feel satisfied. You get hungry really fast after your meals.

may crave fat and protein, may have a jumpy mind like an ADHD behavior, tired but wired, jittery, nervous energy, energy highs and lows. So that we need to immediately put some protein in your diet. So usually there's a nice little way that we can do that. So let's just say you're ever in a situation where you're noticing you are getting jumpy, tired but wired, nervous energy.

craving fats and proteins, here's some quick responses that you can do. You can increase water intake, avoid alcohol, choose fatty or low glycemic desserts, avoid coffee, espresso, or tea, because what that would do is that's only gonna ramp you up a little more. Exercise, avoid sports drinks, like all the drinks with all the sugar in it, and then eat a snack high in fat and protein. So if you do one of those things that can immediately bring you back into balance, usually what I tell clients

that usually have hypoglycemic episodes always carry some macadamia nuts or some cashews with them that are sprouted anytime they feel like that and just take a handful and eat those and they'll immediately start feeling better. If a protein is, I mean if a person ate too much protein and they feel lethargic, sleepy, dull or depressed, mentally sluggish or slow, heavy gut, feel full but hungry, crave sweets.

Nate (16:43.042)
crave coffee or tea, a way that we can bring you out of that state is going to be eating high glycemic fruits, choose light desserts, have an espresso or a tea that will lift you, eat rice, potatoes, bread, or use digestive enzymes. One of those or a combination of those will bring you back into balance. So I think the book, How to Eat and Move to Be Healthy, will be both of these are really great resources, but if you're looking for a total transformation,

I think I have three of these in my house because you know anytime I travel I bring it with me because anytime something's off I just have to remind myself. So there are some examples that I want to bring to you for foods that you can start eating just in case you start finding yourself basically connected with these. You probably say, Nate, okay, what kind of foods? What kind of examples? So I'll give you some foods.

Nate (17:41.534)
will be beneficial for you are going to be high fat meats. So remember the more protein and fat something has the more it slows down digestion. So you don't break it down so fast so you have stable blood sugar. So you have beef, lamb, fatty fish, salmon, avocados, olive oil, nuts and seeds for some examples and you'll learn more examples in the book. The metabolic typing book, he actually has a chart of foods for each group.

If you know you did something wrong, symptoms of wrong food choices, fatigue, irritability, feeling sluggish, foggy minded, or consuming too many carbohydrates or sugary foods. For slow oxidators, also known as a carbohydrate type, recommended foods are whole grains like oatmeal, brown rice, fruits, vegetables, lean protein. Remember, lean protein would be best for this person. Turkey, chicken, low fat dairy.

symptoms of doing something wrong would be digestive issues, feeling overly full and sluggish, mentally lethargic when consuming too many fats or proteins. And then the balance oxidator, which Paul Cech in his book calls the mixed type, would be a balanced diet, including protein, fats, and carbohydrates. So making sure your plate has an even amount of each and you should be fine. And you know that you chose the wrong foods.

If mood swings, digestive discomfort, fatigue, when leaning to too heavy on either side. So you can easily be pulled out of balance. I don't really run into that many mixed types. I'm not saying that's not your case, but I usually don't find so much. And one of the things that William Wilcock shows in his book is depending on the state of life that you're at, your body may switch to another type. So that's just something to keep in mind. For an example, let's just say,

You're 50 pounds overweight and you lose all the weight. You may switch over to a mixed type because now your body's back in balance. So that's why having one of these books can be a guide for you. All right, so I just wanted to make sure you knew that. What I would do is, he has a website as well. I will link in the description down below. I will put the books down below as well. I hope that this gave you some great information and.

Nate (20:01.474)
helps guide you on making certain nutrition decisions in the future. And if you enjoy this, let me know what you think. On Spotify, you can make a comment. On YouTube, you can make a comment. If you're on Apple, if you haven't already, please leave a rating, leave a review. It helps so much get more people to find this podcast and that means the world. If you haven't joined my tribe list and you wanna stay updated with anything with nutrition, mindset, or just holistic health, you can go down to the link in the bio.

and or in the description, it says join my tribe. As soon as you join, make sure that you confirm your email and you will be pulled right on to our tribe newsletter list where each week I try to send something that's informative that can help you become the best version of yourself through mind, body and emotions. Have a great, great day and share this with somebody that needs to hear this. And thank you for being here and I'll see you in the next one. Peace.

Conclusion

In conclusion, understanding your metabolic type can be a game-changer in your health and wellness journey. It not only helps in choosing the right diet but also in avoiding potential health issues.

References:

⁠The Metabolic Typing Diet: Customize Your Diet To: Free Yourself from Food Cravings: Achieve Your Ideal Weight; Enjoy High Energy and Robust Health; Prevent and Reverse Disease⁠

⁠MetabolicTyping.com⁠

⁠How to Eat, Move, and Be Healthy!

I Also have YouTube videos that go over metabolic typing, click here to watch them.

If you enjoyed this blog, Join my newsletter, where I send out weekly holistic health tips to help you become the best version of yourself :) 

👉 ⁠Join my Tribe⁠

👉⁠Book A Call⁠

👉⁠Join the BeGreatWithNate Academy⁠

👉 ⁠Website ⁠

Want more from Nate?⁠ Click here  ⁠

TIKTOK✅⁠BEGREATWITHNATE⁠

Youtube✅- ⁠BeGreatWithNate⁠

IG✅- ⁠BeGreatWitNate⁠