Ultrametabolism, written by Mark Hyman, is an excellent book if you are trying to lose weight and keep it off. I have read it twice and each time I read it I learn a little more. The book discusses what foods you eat that will speed up your metabolism, helping you lose weight, and what foods you eat that slow everything down.

For years I have heard people discussing how this person has a fast, or high metabolism, and that is why it is so easy for them to stay thin. While there is some truth to this statement the fact is, we are also in control of our metabolism. I used to believe this concept as well. I was resigned to the fact I did not have one of those “fast” metabolisms. When I read this book I learned how I can speed up my metabolism. Maybe I wasn’t born with the genetics of someone who is like my wife, who can’t gain weight no matter what she does. But, it doesn’t mean I can’t improve the genetics I was born with.

Mark Hyman is a doctor who has spent his career helping people lose weight. In the book he uses case examples of patients he has helped. He uses a lot of science, but not in a boring way, to prove his theories. This is important for people like me, who need proof to understand concepts and also make me change the way I live. For me, it was an easy convincing because I had some of the medical problems his patients had in the examples he used.

For years I had high triglycerides, which is the fat content in your blood. The high range of a healthy level is in the 200-220 range. Prior to reading this book and changing my diet I was in the mid 800’s and that is with the help of medicine. After roughly six months of eating healthy, with guidance from this book, my triglycerides were down to 337 with no medication. My next blood test is in two months and I am hoping to be back into the healthy range, again with no help from medicine.

Reading this book, and understanding how our bodies work, how our cells burn calories, what speeds this process up and what slows it down, really makes me aware of what I put in my mouth. If you view food as fuel for your body it can also change the way you eat. If you just eat because you are bored, depressed, or socializing, you are more likely to eat junk. Think of your metabolism as a fire. If you throw a nice, dry log on a fire that is burning good it will burn even quicker. The flames will get higher and higher. If you wait for the fire to burn down to just hot coals, the log will eventually catch fire and the flames will burn faster but it takes a few minutes. Now, if you throw a water soaked log on a fire, regardless of how high it is burning, that will not burn. The body works the same way. The dry log is good quality foods. It is fuel for the fire just as high quality foods are fuel for our body. The wet log is poor quality food for the fire just as junk food is poor quality fuel for our bodies. The example of the coals is what happens when you don’t eat regularly enough. It slows down your metabolism, actually slowing down your metabolism.

My point here is, the way we eat in this country is making us unhealthy, sick, and overweight. This can all be changed with a little help from Dr. Hyman, and some common sense.

Author Bio: Scott Bianchi operates a website, http://www.mkcfitness.com, designed to help people lose weight and become healthier. If you struggle to lose weight, get overwhelmed by all the available information, don’t know what the right exercises are for you to achieve your goals, you might want to visit his site.

Category: Wellness, Fitness and Diet
Keywords: weight loss, diet, exercise, P90X,