“Pro-Metabolic”: common mis-conceptions
Buckle up guys. Today we're going to dismantle some black and white thinking in the name of freedom and grace.
There's a lot of rules and thoughts and guidelines that get lumped into the "pro-metabolic" community and as someone who has been a big part of this community and wants to promote metabolic health as a whole, I also want to offer some clarity - from mistakes I've made to the way I see things now. (Some of these upcoming bullet points are not even things people have outright said, we've just interpreted it that way!)
Let me start with a story, first. A quite embarrassing one.
Years ago in the very beginning of my own pro-metabolic health journey, a friend invited me to a workout class and because I had seen several “pro-metabolic” influencers insist on either an adrenal cocktail or some other mineral-rich, non-water drink during their intense exercise, I decided to fill my water bottle with orange juice for the class. ORANGE JUICE. (I think there was some water or coconut water in there too, but STILL.)
Don’t get me wrong, I love adrenal cocktails…but COME ON, that was such an insane and counter-intuitive choice!
Orange juice doesn’t even SOUND good in a sweaty workout! But because I had seen the metabolic “experts” recommend it, I jumped in.
So here's the pre-conversation takeaway - DO. YOUR. OWN. THINKING. Don't just adopt a principal because somebody in the "PM community" made a definitive statement. Even me! What works for YOU? Historically, culturally, functionally? there are a lot of nuances while we still honor our biology and what our body needs.
I fully understand that these bullet points below are 10,000 foot views of complex topics, but I want to encourage you to evaluate what you hear online. Many of these hard and fast statements are things I fully adopted as I stepped into the metabolic realm, even though I'm not sure that anybody said them!
When we are so used to abiding by rules and regulations, we can risk turning every principle into an immovable object.
The problem is that sometimes we are left with a lot of half truths - are gummies and gelatin wonderful? Yes. Do you have to eat them to heal? No. Will you maybe need to gain some weight while healing? It's possible. Does everybody have to? No. Can you see what I mean??
You've heard it: don't run. Don't eat raw veggies. Don't you even think for half a second about even looking at a PUFA or you will collapse and die.
I'm just not about these severe statements. But l've been guilty of them, I'm sure! We live and learn guys and to be clear - I am ALL ABOUT metabolic health. Supporting your metabolism is a fundamental part of healing; sometimes we just need clarification! And unfortunately because this philosophy has become a “camp”, there is a wide spectrum of beliefs, some of which may not be helpful.
Firstly - where do I stand with “pro-metabolic?”
If you’ve been following me for a while, you may have noticed I’m using this verbiage a lot less. Mostly because I always want to walk in wisdom, in enough humility to never be belligerently tied to an idea, and in freedom and grace.
So am I “pro-metabolic”?
In the sense that I want to help you in supporting your metabolism, resounding yes.
In the sense that I fully align with every pro-metabolic-claiming principle and account in existence? Considering all the differing information and viewpoints, no way.
What I’m MORE about these days, instead of a specific label, is continuing that real-food, balanced lifestyle, nutrient-dense, attainable approach, which has ALWAYS been my heart!
Without further ado, let’s talk about:
Misunderstandings you may have picked up in the pro-metabolic world
What we’ve heard/interpreted: “Never do cardio”
The truth - one or two hours of intense (and especially fasted) cardio every day in the name of weight loss isn't supportive to our hormonal health and rhythms, especially to an undernourished woman. The RIGHT cardio can be hugely beneficial.
Zone 2 cardio in particular (which is where our heart rate is slightly elevated but not to the point of being unable to hold a conversation) is incredibly beneficial for many things, including cardiovascular health, lung support, and detoxification. Faster walking, swimming, elliptical, etc. can be great examples of this!
My personal exercise routine includes several days of moderately fast walking alternated with strength training, plus at least a day of a fun activity that I enjoy (pickleball, disc golf, etc!) I truly do not miss my days as a distance runner (that I half did for enjoyment and half because I thought it was the “right” thing to do!)Which leads to my next point here - your exercise above all should be enjoyable and sustainable!
What we’ve heard/interpreted: “Nuts, seeds, and legumes are off limits because they contain polyunsaturated fats”
The truth - It's important that these foods are eaten in their intended state - typically soaked and sprouted - and in the appropriate quantity (ie, a handful of almonds as opposed to 1/2 cup nut butter).
All of these foods can have incredibly supportive health benefits - nuts & seeds have great mineral content and essential fatty acids, and legumes are a great source of fiber, protein, and complex carbohydrates.
As a Certified Nutrition Practitioner (student!), here’s how I like to approach these foods: with joy and context!!
Because nuts and seeds can easily oxidize, buying them raw and storing them in the fridge in an air-tight container can help preserve their nutrients and benefit. We love small servings of all kinds of nuts and seeds - pumpkin seeds are SO nutrient dense, flax seed can support digestion and Omega 3 intake, walnuts are brain-supportive etc - these foods can have their place! However, our current cultural dairy-free and plant-based trends have given them way too big of a priority. (Think about how difficult it is to crack and open a nut - we have them in bulk and in large servings through nut butters, etc, in our modern culture, but nature will often tell us how prominent a food should be in our diet, based on God’s design for how accessible it is!)
Beans, beans the magical fruit, the more you soak them, the less embarrassing you’ll be!
Beans and legumes are a wonderful, nutrient-dense and filling addition to our whole food pursuit. Historically, legumes would have been soaked and sprouted, which can increase digestibility and lower their anti-nutrients. My Batch cookbook in particular has a great soaking and sprouting guide, as well as some delicious and warming legume recipes, like black bean & sweet potato bowls and a comforting lentil pumpkin soup!
For the polyunsaturated fats I AM concerned about - read this post!What we’ve heard/interpreted: “Everyone will gain weight” OR “Nobody needs to gain weight”
The truth: Your starved body will likely look different than your nourished one. Many women who have dieted and restricted may experience some necessary gain (sometimes we're gaining muscle!) Reverse dieting and macro tracking can help eliminate excess gain if need be!
Many of you are familiar with my own weight journey - I came from undernourished and over-dieting into the world of food freedom and experienced weight gain, some of which was very healing and supportive.
But to be candid, I question where I needed to gain quite as much as I did at first (as an aside, I’ve currently lost over 10 pounds from my heaviest point and I will certainly talk more about that another time!).
I always want to hold the balance of a couple of truths: that I deeply believe our society has put too much pressure and emphasis on too-thin and undernourished women at a big cost, and also that our healthy weight is important - both in terms of not gaining excess or weighing too little. It’s a nuanced conversation that I will just scratch the surface of today!What we’ve heard/interpreted: “Drinking water isn’t supportive”
The truth - Mineral-lacking water can flush out your existing mineral stores, which is why remineralized water or mineral-rich drinks are important. Hydration is very important.
I have a full blog post on mineral-honoring hydration for a deeper dive on this!What we’ve heard/interpreted: "Everyone promoting metabolic health believes the same things"
The truth - Every person brings their unique experience, training, history, and experience to the table. The term "prometabolic community" is almost impossible to define. Figure out what YOU stand behind!What we’ve heard/interpreted: "I have to eat gummies, collagen, orange juice, marshmallows, & ice cream."
The truth - These can be amazing nutrient dense foods if you enjoy them and they work well for you. If they don't, find something else!
But ALSO, they can be used poorly. Hang with me because I do include these in my recipes and I love some of the benefits, but I do think they should be supplemental to a well-rounded foundation!
Are homemade bone broth and slow cooked bone-in meats a better source of collagen and gelatin than the isolated versions? You betcha. But not everyone is ready for those pursuits. They can feel a bit “next-level” for a newcomer! If that’s the case, getting gelatin and collagen in their isolated forms is better than not getting them at all!
Homemade ice cream is lovely. There are great brands out there, too! The heart behind the prometabolic ice cream trend, I believe, was birthed out of a desire to help women feel less restricted and know that they absolutely CAN make supportive and nourishing ice cream (I’ve got a maple vanilla recipe in my Batch ebook and a lovely sweet potato pie ice cream AND a bourbon vanilla ice cream in my Fixin’s ebooks!), but as the internet and social media tends to do, things get misunderstood and blown out of proportion. And don’t forget some “influencers” can maybe handle daily ice cream and maybe you can’t, and that’s okay!
And on OJ - it doesn’t work for everyone! I currently mostly prefer it as a mineral drink (about 4 oz in an adrenal cocktail) or as part of a really balanced breakfast. This was another idea I see as being in the name of letting go of food fear, but we still have to have balance and not go say, taking OJ to our workout classes instead of water…..
What I do love about Pro-Metabolic
I have no doubt there are a LOT of other ideas I could cover here, so I’d love to keep having this conversation.
The truth is that my heart, and many others currently or previously in the “PM” community, want to promote food freedom and step away from diet culture, but because social media can lack nuance and put things in boxes, pro-metabolic can and does often turn into a “diet”, which is another reason I’ve largely stepped away from using the terminology as a defining factor for my beliefs around food, but there are some GOOD principles in here still!
Eating enough nutrient dense food, losing our fear around quality dairy, carbohydrates, etc, encouraging women to pursue health over a scale number, encouraging mineral-rich hydration - those are fantastic pursuits that the pro-metabolic community has largely helped spearhead, and I’m thankful!
I hope this helped shed some light on where I’m currently at and how you can take and implement more freedom and grace in your own health pursuit!
Need recipes that DO support your metabolism, but aren’t “diety”?!Head to my nourishing family-friendly cookbooks here!
Or check out my freebie page here!
“Thank you so much for creating these {recipes} and for all of the work that went into making such delicious recipes. I love being able to feed my family wholesome foods that will fuel them daily!” - Kristin L.
