A HARSH LOOK AT METABOLIC DAMAGE
As a strength and conditioning professional of 12 years I have coached many athletes on proper programming and nutrition. When I first sit down with these clients, I essentially assess their background regarding both of these topics. As I dig deeper and deeper into their past most red flags that I find are quick fixes or if not, I address the problem within the first 6 months.
On the other hand I have coached numerous more executives or “the average Joe” on many different issues including the aforementioned programming and nutrition. During these initial sit downs we discuss many aspects of nutrition- How they eat presently, how they think they should eat, and how they should really eat. This is where experience has changed previous advice I had given in the past. Dogma is huge in the nutrition business and many trainers and coaches follow a “systems” approach. This is a standard practice because your successes will outnumber your non-successful attempts at changing someone’s health and/or body composition. Its the other 10-20 percent of people that have the hardest time seeing any real results. In my opinion this is where some form of metabolic damage is a major factor delaying results.
Metabolic damage is a very broad ranging concern due to its correlation with our hormones. It is a condition that many people don’t know they have. In my practice I have seen numerous fluctuations regarding hormones and the resulting body composition and health problems that exist with these fluctuations. To get into all these problems is beyond the scope of this article, but I will discuss one simple and effective way you can stop metabolic damage and shift your hormonal makeup to help develop a leaner, healthier body.
The one hormone we have absolute control over is Insulin. Ironically is it the hormone most out of control with many people. After many years of crappy eating or even just bad “dieting” plans the body’s response to this hormone gets impaired or even shuts down. The name of this condition is insulin resistance. It is a condition that I as a coach really hate working with to be honest with you. Clients will meet with me and after our initial talk will have these outrageous expectations when it comes to body composition. Problem is many of these clients have some form of metabolic damage and will need a pretty strict regimen to see any long term results. These clients also have a hard time with this necessary compliance. To reverse this long term damage to the endocrine system requires a well structured and balanced plan of attack.
This is where Metabolic Meals has been a huge help to my business. Finding and preparing food is a huge piece of my advice to clients regarding their goals and the first steps of how to get there. Most of my clients are up for eating cleaner foods but knowing what to eat and actually getting it into their mouth is a huge gap. Having organic, well prepared meals that are easy to eat really takes the hassle out of the other 165 hours clients are not with me. These meals, along with a properly designed program, can start the long process of repairing the metabolic system.
Written By: Bryan Sauder, Head Strength Coach
St. Louis Center For Functional Medicine
