Now let’s think about what a slow or dysfunctional metabolism looks like in your body. When your metabolism is dysfunctional, a few very important things happen that directly impact your weight and health.

1. You prioritize simple carbohydrates.
   
   Let’s say you come home after a long day at work and you are exhausted, and then somebody in your family says, “What’s for dinner?” When you are exhausted, do you want to cook something elaborate, or do you want to order something to be delivered? Delivery is easier of course. So is carbohydrate metabolism. When you are exhausted and stressed, your body isn’t going to hunt around for proteins and fats to convert and metabolize. Proteins and fats take a lot of work and energy to break down.
   
   
2. You prioritize fat storage.
   
   A dysfunctional metabolism prioritizes fat storage because long-term survival is more important than short-term looking-good-in-skinny-jeans. This often happens to people on calorie-restrictive diets, but it also happens when people are under stress, to use food for energy, the metabolism has to convert it for storage, then use those stores for functioning.
   
   
3. You aren’t extracting enough micronutrients from food.
   
   Imagine you are really good at doing brain surgery. You are the best surgeon in the country. But you wake up one morning with a horrible case of the flu. OR you stay up all night, and now you can barely keep your eyes open. This is no time to perform brain surgery, even if you know how to do it. A dysfunctional metabolism is much the same. Your body knows how to extract micronutrients from food, but the many biochemical processes required to do this are not working very well.

It's time to convince your body that there is no emergency and after your body is calmed down and has energy again, let's encourage micronutrient extraction with the strategic use and timing of nutrient-dense foods like my Nutty Chicken and Spaghetti Squash Stir-Fry.

Nutty Chicken

METABOLISM REVOLUTION: DINNER PART 2

SERVES 1

1. Preheat the oven to 350º F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a food processor, combine the pecans, almond, basil, thyme, marjoram, salt, and pepper. Pulse until the mixture is fully combined, moist and well chopped. Spread the mixture on a plate. Put the egg white in a bowl. Dip the chicken in the egg white to coat, letting any excess drip back into the bowl, then dip it into the nut mixture, completely covering the chicken. Put the coated chicken on the prepared baking sheet. If some of the nut mixtures fall off, pat it back on the chicken. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160º F. 

3. When the chicken is cooking, steam the green beans (and zucchini if you are following Meal Map B or C) in a steamer in a steamer basket over boiling water until crisp-tender, about 6 minutes. 

4. Serve the chicken with the steamed green beans and, for Meal Maps B and C, zucchini alongside. 

Spaghetti Squash Stir Fry

Find directions and ingredients here.

Did You Know?

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Food is Medicine!