Metabolic diet example

---

Premise

The following indications are for informational purposes EXCLUSIVELY and are not intended to replace the opinion of professionals such as a doctor, nutritionist or dietician, whose intervention is necessary for the prescription and composition of PERSONALIZED food therapies.

Metabolic Diet

The metabolic diet is a slimming system designed by Dr. Mauro di Pasquale, an Italian-Canadian doctor.
The fundamental principle of the metabolic diet is that of the conversion of use of energy substrates; Dr. Di Pasquale states that the metabolic efficiency of lipid oxidation (responsible for weight loss) essentially depends on the individual's nutritional habits. In practice, by eating mainly sugars you mainly burn carbohydrates, while by feeding more on fat it is possible to draw more from the lipid reserves; this mechanism (according to Pasquale) depends on the variability of cellular enzymes which, depending on the diet, the blood concentrations of the two substrates and their availability, increases the presence of the enzymatic pool dedicated to B-oxidation to the detriment of the one responsible for use of carbohydrates.
Without going into criticisms or reflections on the matter, let's just remember that there are experimental bases in favor of this physiological principle but, as often happens, they are incomplete or only partially acceptable.

System of the metabolic diet

The metabolic diet is a system that differs into 2 specific phases:

• Evaluation phase: lasts a maximum of 14 days; goal: to establish the right amount of carbohydrates for the subject
• Metabolic Diet Phase: it is indefinite; goal: metabolic transformation.

Trial phase: the evaluation phase, if successful, lasts only 14 days. It develops with 12 days of sugar discharge and 12-48 hours of recharging; respecting subjectivity, this phase aims at identifying the right amount of carbohydrates in the diet, that is the minimum tolerable weight. The Metabolic system suggests starting with the minimum amount, that is 30g, which if sufficient can also be maintained in the Diet phase; in case of symptoms attributable to carbohydrate depletion (mood disorders, nervousness, decrease in muscle efficiency, etc.), it may be appropriate to gradually increase it (eg 3g at a time) until psycho-physical well-being is achieved. CAUTION! di Pasquale recalls that some physical complications could be attributable to the lack of salt rather than that of carbohydrates, therefore it is suggested to meet the needs by means of specific food supplements.
At the end of the 12 days of unloading, a maximum of 2 days of sugar recharge follow, in which the diet is replenished with the carbohydrate content; the recharging period varies from 12 to 48 hours, respecting the subjective tendency to abuse food and the predisposition to insulin changes.
NB. The test phase must be repeated until the right subjective carbohydrate fraction is identified.
Metabolic Diet Phase: this is the period in which the rewards of a good test phase will be reaped; it is open-ended and also differs into 2 blocks: 5 days of discharge (with carbohydrate content equal to what was previously identified) and 2 days of recharge, in the nutritional percentages suggested by Pasquale, to be cycled repeatedly and without interruptions.
The nutritional breakdown proposed by the Metabolic Diet is different in the unloading and recharging days, respectively:

Controversies of the Metabolic Diet

The Metabolic Diet is contestable from many points of view; However, it is not the aim of the article to criticize or bring to the reader's attention ALL the weaknesses of the strategy, in any case, for ethical correctness I consider it essential to remember the most important ones:

• The Metabolic Diet requires a general hematochemical-hormonal analytical control before starting it; this is clearly a decline in responsibilities in case of illness or illness, as well as a tacit consent to the fact that the Metabolic Diet is potentially stressful for the body
• The Metabolic Diet is hyperprotein, hypoglycemic, hyperlipidic and ketogenic ... with all the associated complications!
• The Metabolic Diet does NOT provide for the calculation of caloric needs and relies on the subject's sense of hunger; in my opinion, if the people in question had the right perception of appetite, they would not be overweight
• The Metabolic Diet is low in fiber, mineral salts, vitamins and antioxidants deriving from fruit, vegetables, cereals and legumes; for this reason, it needs the support of a constant and well thought-out dietary supplement.

Useful supplements in the metabolic diet

As anticipated, the Metabolic Diet is low in fiber, mineral salts (especially potassium and magnesium), some vitamins (especially ascorbic acid and β-carotene) and antioxidants (especially phenolic compounds), without considering other useful molecules such as phytosterols and prebiotics. To comply with subjective needs, it is therefore advisable to consult a doctor in order to establish the right doses of:

• Multivitamin and saline supplement with antioxidants, better if dissociated into 2 or 3 different products
• Dietary fiber supplement, such as: bran, guar gum, karaya, psyllium, agar agar, glucomannan, pectin etc.

Metabolic Diet: an example

NB. Dr. Di Pasquale suggests not using the calorie count to establish the food portions BUT to rely on the sense of appetite; on the other hand, to facilitate the presentation of a specific case, I am in a position to use a traditional energy estimate. In this way I can avoid "distorting" the Metabolic Diet and it will therefore be my concern NOT to provide a low calorie count, but a simple NORMAL calorie! (since the metabolic conversion and not the overall energy reduction "should be" facilitating weight loss). Furthermore, given the great subjectivity of tolerance to the hypoglucidic regimen, I am obliged to pretend that I have already identified a precise carbohydrate weight in the evaluation phase; therefore, in the following example a case of Metabolic Diet will be reported for a subject who boasts full tolerance to the MINIMUM diet of carbohydrates in the diet suggested by di Pasquale (even if, in practice, it is quite rare!).

• Fertile woman working in catering who carries out infrequent Body-Building workouts (BIIO type).

Example of a METABOLIC DIET PHASE: 5 days UNLOAD and 2 days REFILL; to face an EVALUATION phase it is sufficient to reproduce the discharge for 12 days instead of 5 days (as shown below), at the end of which 2 days of recharging will follow.

Metabolic Diet Example - Day 1 - DISCHARGE

Metabolic Diet Example - Day 2 - DISCHARGE

Metabolic Diet Example - Day 3 - DISCHARGE

Metabolic Diet Example - Day 4 - DISCHARGE

Metabolic Diet Example - Day 5

Metabolic Diet Example - Day 6 - RECHARGE

Metabolic Diet Example - Day 7 - RECHARGE