In recent years, numerous diet plans have emerged, all promising rapid weight loss. Among these is the Fast Metabolism Diet (FMD), introduced by Haylie Pomroy, a celebrity nutritionist and wellness coach. The Fast Metabolism Diet is structured into three distinct phases, each lasting a week and targeting different aspects of your metabolism. This approach aims to optimize metabolic functionality, encouraging your body to burn fat more efficiently. The Fast Metabolism Diet works by switching your dietary pattern, taking it through 3 different phases.
Understanding the Fast Metabolism Diet
The unique structure of the Fast Metabolism Diet is divided into 3 phases that lasts a week. Each phase targets different aspects of your metabolism. This approach optimizes metabolic functionality so your body burns fat faster. Pomroy's eating plan consists of three phases: Phase I (Monday-Tuesday) is lots of carbs and fruits; Phase II (Wednesday-Thursday) is proteins and veggies; and Phase III (Friday-Sunday) mixes all of the above, plus healthy fats and oils. The fast metabolism diet works by switching your dietary pattern, taking it through 3 different phases. The Phase 1 lasts for 2 days, where you consume high-glycemic, carb-rich foods alongside moderate proteins, preparing your body for losing weight. In Phase 2, you intake a protein-rich, low-card diet to work the stored fat in your body, helping you build muscle. In the final, Phase 3, your diet now expands so you consume healthy fats, carbs and proteins in a balanced manner.
Whether you’re following the DASH Diet or the Banting Diet, if your goal is to lose weight, then you have to in a caloric deficit. This applies to the Fast Metabolism Diet as well. Incorporate these under 500 calorie salads to stay full and healthy. The Fast Metabolism Diet calls for a dietary change along with incorporating exercises and workouts relevant to each phase of the diet.
Like with any other diet, there are certain foods you’re supposed to avoid when consuming this diet. Wheat, which is high in gluten, could cause inflammation and impact gut health negatively, slowing down your metabolism. Juices and sugar are loaded in sugar that leads to fat storage.
Phase 1: Setting the Stage for Weight Loss
Haylie Pomroy says that this phase is meant to release stress, convincing your metabolism that it is “no longer in an emergency situation”. During these two days, you are advised to eat high-carb whole grains with protein like chicken. Mangoes, pineapples, and other high-glycemic foods are also on the list. The purpose of this phase is to get your body ready for weight loss. Lastly, these foods also regulate your thyroid glands, necessary for a fully functioning metabolism to burn fats, proteins, and carbs. The goal of phase 1 is to help release stress.
Read also: Healthy Eating on the Run
Objective: Rev up your metabolism with high-glycemic fruits, whole grains, and proteins into your diet.
Phase 2: Unlocking Fat Stores and Building Muscle
Phase 2 of the Fast Metabolism Diet is designed to promote muscle growth and unlock fat stores. It's 2 days of low carbohydrate, high protein foods.
During Phase 1, you coaxed your body to calm down and start digesting food, rather than storing it. Phase 2 is aimed at telling your body it no longer needs to store fat. It is very important to avoid fats during this phase! In this phase, you’re encourage to incorporate strength training into your routine to boost your fat burn. The best way to workout during this phase is to divide your days.
The proteins and vegetables included on the Fast Metabolism Diet Phase 2 food list are there for a good reason: Lean proteins provide the ingredients for creating amino acids in the body. When you consume lean proteins like the beef, bison, turkey, fish, and chicken included on Phase 2, the stomach begins secreting a substance called pepsinogen, which is subsequently converted into an enzyme called pepsin. The rest of the work happens in the small intestine, with enzymes produced by the pancreas. Eventually, those amino acid molecules are absorbed by the intestine and passed into the bloodstream, where they make their way to other parts of the body.
The vegetables should be low-glycemic ones like leafy greens, which are also alkalizing. You’re also recommended to consume rich green vegetables like spinach, kale, broccoli, and collard greens because these vegetables are alkalizing. Those green veggies also stimulate the liver, which tells your body to release fat cells from storage.
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Phase 2 isn’t all about protein - if you ate nothing but protein, your body’s pH balance would quickly find itself far too acidic, and you wouldn’t feel well at all. To balance Phase 2 protein, you’ll also eat lots of what we call alkalizing vegetables, especially cabbage, broccoli, kale, spinach, cucumbers, and collard greens. This is why on Phase 2, we avoid more acidic vegetables like winter squash and tomatoes, and we don’t eat grains or beans, which also have an acidic effect on the body.
Lastly, finish these two days with an intense HIIT running workout session.
Objective: Move onto protein-rich foods and green veggies or even vegan salads for muscle building and fat loss.
Phase 2 Food List Essentials:
- Lean Proteins: Beef, bison, turkey, fish, and chicken provide the building blocks for muscle growth.
- Alkalizing Vegetables: Cabbage, broccoli, kale, spinach, cucumbers, and collard greens help balance the body's pH and stimulate the liver.
Phase 2 Recipes:
- Spinach Salad with Citrus-Grilled Pork Loin - This citrus-grilled recipe from the FMD community is sure to get you through Phase 2.
- Grilled Salmon Filets with Lemon and Dill - Citrus dishes are great during phase 2!
Phase 3: Cranking Up Metabolism and Burning Fat
Phase 3 is about cranking up your metabolism and burning it all off. In these 3 days, you’re recommended to add nuts, eggs, olive oil and other kinds of healthy oils, such as avocados and olive oils into your diet. Now, you can bring back healthy fats to your diet. Lastly, the type of exercise advised during are gentle, low impact and easy workouts that reduce stress levels. This can be meditation, yoga or other low impact hyrox exercises. This is the part of the Fast Metabolism Diet that is all about speeding up the metabolic process.
Additional Considerations and Recipes
Diets are about consistency, and the Fast Metabolism Diet is no different. That consistency tends to waver when we have trouble knowing what to eat or when making something that fits the diet is too much energy/trouble to make. By equipping ourselves with a great list of what's and when's. In other words, all you have to do is eat the foods from the right list during the right phase and couple that with exercise 2-3 days a week, and boom!
Read also: Benefits of Juice Fasting
Recipes for the Sweet Tooth:
- Cinnamon-Apple Pancakes - For the sweet tooths out there.
Other Recipes:
- Grilled Stone Fruits With Balsamic And Black Pepper Syrup - I was skeptical of grilling fruits until I went to this incredible restaurant in D.C. called The Izakaya.
- White Bean Wrap - Wraps are great for phase 1 because you can make a bunch of them and use them to get through the phase if you don't have time to make a bunch of separate meals.
- Singapore Noodles - Bust out that wok and try this recipe out. I love wok recipes because they are almost always fast and super tasty.
- Fava, Spinach, and Quinoa Cakes - These take a bit more time but are a great way to prepare ahead of time for your FMD experience!
- Crab and Avocado Salad - I know. It sounds decadent. And it is, but you'll be in Phase 3 at this point!
- Sushi Bowl - This sushi bowl is on the other end of the spectrum - offering a lighter approach to those Phase 3 foods.
- Portobello Bison Burgers - If you haven't had bison, why not experiment? It's got a unique taste that goes great with mushrooms.
- Eggs Benedict - I'm a sucker for Sunday brunch, and this eggs benedict satisfies those cravings in all the best ways.
- Creamy Bacon Mushroom Chicken Thighs - I think the name of this dish alone is all that needs to be said.
- Curry Spiced Scrambled Eggs - Breakfast doesn't have to be bland.
Recipes examples:
Oatmeal with Grapefruit
- Put the oats in a blender and pulse until they reach a powdery consistency.
- Turn off the blender and add 1 cup water.
- Incorporate the remaining ingredients into the mix and blend until smooth.
- Peel and section grapefruit. Sprinkle with cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg.
Steak Salad
- Preheat the broiler, and put the broiler pan in to get hot.
- Trim excess fat off the steak. Rub both sides of the steak with the garlic, salt, and pepper.
- Place the meat in the hot broiler pan and broil to desired doneness, 7 to 15 minutes (you can butterfly or slice the steak in half if you want it well done without charring the outside).
- While the steak broils, toss the spinach, cucumber, onion, chile, and bell pepper together in a large salad bowl. Top the mixture with the lime juice and cilantro. Set aside.
- Slice the steak into 1½- inch strips and serve on top of the salad and veggie mix.
Chicken Hummus Bowl
- Cut the chicken into 1-inch pieces and set aside.
- In a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the chicken and sauté for 5 minutes, or until golden brown. Add the onion and bell peppers. Sauté for 1 or 2 more minutes. Add the garlic and sauté until the peppers become slightly limp but are still brightly colored, about 1 or 2 more minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Stir in the hummus. Add the quinoa and basil, and toss until the basil is wilted.
Metabolism and Weight Loss: The Connection
A faster metabolism improves your body’s ability to convert food into energy, allowing your body to burn more calories during the day. This continues even when you’re resting. When you have muscle mass, engage in activity and have a healthy diet pattern, your metabolism works faster and more effectively. Since muscles are metabolically active, they burn more calories than fat. This means it’s important to strength train so you build more muscle mass and improve your overall metabolism. In addition, when you eat foods that are satiating and high in fiber such a protein, your metabolism works faster.
The metabolic diet works by working around your food and dietary preferences and needs to boost your metabolism, so your body burns fat in an effective manner. Throughout this process, your diet cycles from 3 different phrases. While the first phase focuses on higher carbs, the second phase emphasizes on protein-rich foods to aid your fat loss and muscle building journey. In the third phase, you incorporate healthy fats and a balanced carb-protein diet. The metabolic diet aims to help you lose fat, build muscle, and get hormonal balance. It also aims to create sugar stability in your body for an efficient energy-burning method.
With a faster metabolic rate, your body is able to convert food into fuel efficiently, which helps you burn calories throughout the day - even at rest. With more calories burned throughout, you’re able to maintain a caloric deficit, which is crucial for weight loss. In addition, people with a faster metabolism often lose weight more quickly than those with a slow metabolism.
Potential Downsides and Considerations
Even though you can substitute the dietary changes to any diet, not just this one in particular, the Fast Metabolism is just another fad diet. However, the downsides are that it is unsustainable for a lot.
First, the diet suggests eating specific foods to increase metabolism. There is very little to no science that has actually proven anything like this. But science says the opposite, research shows that eating a lot of carbs can lead to higher stress levels. While the first part of the claim is accurate, high protein diets do help build muscle, the latter is not. Next, you can’t control or manipulate your metabolism. Some things are beyond your control for survival reasons.