Metabolic typing

William Wolcott doesn’t believe in a one-size-fits all diet. That’s an understatement, actually. Wolcott, founder and owner of Healthexcel, a customized nutrition company, owns the registered trademarks for both Metabolic Type and Metabolic Typing (MT), a system based entirely upon human individuality. He’s devoted more than 30 years of his life to studying and implementing MT, so when he sees yet another diet book hit the shelves that recommends a single meal plan for thousands of people with different nutritional requirements, he wonders when people will wake up.

What is Metabolic Typing?

“Metabolic Typing is concerned with how the body produces energy,” Wolcott says. “And the biological reality is that different people have different engines of metabolism. When you eat food, it’s transported to the cells and, supposedly, converted to energy. It’s that conversion to energy that’s the critical factor.

When you eat food that’s not right for you, meaning that it’s wrong for your engines of metabolism, you’re not meeting your genetically determined requirements for nutrition. When that happens, cellular inefficiency results, which ultimately leads to systemic inefficiency.

So if you’re talking about athletic performance, how the body creates muscle tissue, or whether the body puts on fat or burns fat for energy, it all goes back to one thing: your genetic-based requirement for nutrition. You meet that requirement, you get peak performance. If you don’t meet that requirement, you’ve got problems. Not only will your performance suffer, but as years go by, you’ll also develop degenerative diseases.”

What’s Your Type?

So the question is, how do you determine your genetic requirements? Wolcott strongly recommends first finding a certified MT adviser, which you can do at mt-advisors.info. With an adviser, you’ll learn exactly what foods your body needs—including what macronutrient ratios and amounts you require and how those ratios and requirements may or may not change during the course of the day. For those who would rather do it on their own, Wolcott offers but doesn’t recommend the site metabolictypingonline.com, where for $39.95 you can find out your Metabolic Type and what foods you should be eating, minus any consulting with an adviser.

“The body is designed to be perfect,” Wolcott says. “Every cell knows exactly what to do and how to do it perfectly. When it doesn’t happen, it’s because the wrong fuel was used. It’s like any engine. You have to give the right fuel to an engine for it to achieve its full energetic potential.”

Metabolic typing 2

Protein Type

Approximate recommended Macronutrient ratios: 40% Protein, 30% Fat, 30% Carbs

Breakfast  Bacon, scrambled eggs, small serving of potatoes fried in butter
Lunch Dark meat chicken, raw carrots,celery, cauliflower with olive spread
or mayo/yogurt dip
Snack Full-fat cottage cheese mixed with flaxseed oil, ½ sliced green apple
Dinner Broiled salmon, steamed green beans, quinoa with butter, spinach salad with sliced olives,vinaigrette dressing

Carbo Type

Approximate recommended macronutrient ratios: 25% Protein, 15% Fat, 60% Carbs

Breakfast  Soft-boiled egg(s), whole-wheat toast with 1 tsp butter, apple
Lunch White tuna on whole-grain bread with tomato, sprouts, celery, onions, and   mayo; small bowl vegetable soup
Snack Pineapple and low-fat cottage cheese, organic bread
Dinner Chicken breast, baked potato with low-fat yogurt, steamed broccoli, beets, green salad with olive oil and vinegar

Mixed Type

Approximate recommended macronutrient ratios: 30% Protein, 20% Fat, 50% Carbs

Breakfast  Hot whole-grain cereal with whole milk and berries (optional: eggs or cottage cheese)
Lunch Cheese sandwich comprising 1–2 pieces of whole-grain bread, tomato, lettuce, onion, pickle, mayonnaise; side of coleslaw
Snack Cottage cheese with olives on rye crackers
Dinner Roast beef; steamed beets with butter; spinach salad with onion, croutons, olive oil, and vinegar