Escaping the Swampland: How Low-Fat Diets Restore Metabolic Health

A very low-fat meal of chicken breast and roasted potatoes.

For years, the nutrition world has oscillated wildly between extremes—first vilifying fat, then idolizing it. Low-fat was once the gold standard, and then keto swooped in, promising effortless weight loss and boundless energy. But what if both sides missed something crucial?

As Denise Minger argued in her article In Defense of Low-Fat, we’ve thrown out a therapeutic tool that once delivered profound results. What if a very low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet (we're talking 10–15% of calories from fat) holds the key—not as a permanent way of eating, but as a metabolic reset? Evidence from forgotten clinical trials and powerful case studies shows that this approach can restore insulin sensitivity, reverse chronic illness, and reboot a damaged metabolism. Then, fat can be slowly reintroduced without regaining dysfunction.

Why Not Just Go Keto?

Low-carb and ketogenic diets can be effective at suppressing symptoms of metabolic dysfunction by removing carbohydrates, thereby reducing the need for insulin. But this doesn't mean the underlying issue—insulin resistance—is resolved.

In fact, long-term keto often leads to a condition known as physiological insulin resistance, where the body adapts to chronic carbohydrate deprivation by downregulating glucose uptake and storage. This is a protective, adaptive response—but it’s not without consequences. Over time, many keto followers develop signs of prediabetes, elevated fasting insulin, decreased thyroid function, and declining metabolic rate—even while continuing to restrict carbohydrates.

In other words, the damage can happen even if carbs are never reintroduced. Biomarkers may initially improve, but over time, thyroid function drops, stress hormones rise, and lipotoxicity—the accumulation of excess fat in organs and tissues—leads to chronic disease formation.

Then, when carbohydrates are reintroduced, things can get worse. Former keto dieters often experience blood sugar spikes, extreme fatigue, and rapid weight gain, even with modest carb intake. This isn’t just because they’re eating carbs again—it’s because their metabolism was never truly healed.

In contrast, low-fat, high-carb diets can retrain the body to use glucose effectively. They restore thyroid output, improve metabolic rate, and allow for metabolic flexibility.

WHY 10-15% FAT WORKS METABOLICALLY

What happens when you drop dietary fat to just 10-15% of your total calories? A lot more than you might think. This section summarizes five of the most well-established mechanisms explaining how very low-fat diets improve insulin sensitivity, metabolic rate, and overall health—even in the absence of calorie restriction or weight loss. Each mechanism is supported by peer-reviewed studies that collectively demonstrate how strategic fat reduction can rapidly restore glucose tolerance, repair thyroid function, and reduce the fat buildup in organs that drives chronic disease. These are not fringe ideas—they’re grounded in clinical evidence from both historic and modern trials.

To make this section easier to follow, each point includes a quick plain-language takeaway followed by a "Science Spotlight" for readers who want to dive deeper into the details.

1. Reduces Intramyocellular Lipids (IMCL)

Plain-language takeaway:
Cutting fat intake lowers fat droplets in muscle cells, improving insulin’s ability to help glucose enter cells.

Science Spotlight:
Total dietary fat—not just fat type—drives IMCL levels. In a 25‑day controlled feeding trial, subjects on a low-fat (≈31% energy from fat) diet had significantly lower muscle fat than on higher-fat diets (~36–38%). While the direct impact on insulin wasn't measured, this confirms that reducing dietary fat effectively lowers IMCL.

Study: St-Onge MP, et al. Am J Clin Nutr., 2007.

2. Lowers Lipotoxicity and Improves Mitochondrial Function

Plain-language takeaway:
Reducing dietary fat eases the fat burden on liver and pancreas, helping them function better—even before much weight is lost.

Science Spotlight:
In an 8‑week, 600 kcal/day liquid formula (20% fat) for people with type 2 diabetes, liver fat dropped ~70% and pancreatic fat declined significantly within a week. Insulin sensitivity and beta‑cell function were restored, supporting the “Twin Cycle” hypothesis

Study: Lim EL, et al. Diabetologia, 2011.

3. Improves Glucose Oxidation and Carb Tolerance

Plain-language takeaway:
When fat dominates, carb burning gets pushed aside. Lower fat intake lets the body efficiently use carbohydrates again.

Science Spotlight:
The Randle Cycle describes how high fat intake suppresses glucose oxidation. While we didn’t find a single big study to cite, decades of biochemical and clinical research confirm that lowering fat (and increasing carbs) shifts metabolism toward burning glucose more efficiently.

Foundational concept: Randle PJ, et al. Lancet, 1963. Also: Hue L, Taegtmeyer H. Am J Physiol, 2009.

4. Restores Thyroid Function + Reverses Adaptive Insulin Resistance

Plain-language takeaway:
High-carb, very-low-fat eating boosts active thyroid hormones (T3), improving metabolism and reversing the body’s adaptation to insulin resistance.

Science Spotlight:
Back in 1979, Danforth showed that switching to a high-carb, low-fat diet raised metabolic rate and increased thyroid hormone output—confirming early on that diet composition can “reactivate” thyroid function after low-carb suppression.

Study: Danforth E Jr., et al., 1979.

5. Reversal of Type 2 Diabetes Without Major Weight Loss

Plain-language takeaway:
You don’t have to lose huge amounts of weight to reverse diabetes. Cutting dietary fat—even while calories remain low—can restore blood sugar control in weeks.

Science Spotlight:
Lim’s 600 kcal/day formula diet—very low in fat—reversed diabetes in 11 obese patients: liver/pancreas fat fell ~30% in just 7 days, fasting glucose normalized, and beta-cell function was restored—all with only ~4% body weight loss

Study: Lim EL, et al. Diabetologia, 2011.

Low-Fat Isn’t What You Think It Is

Clinical low-fat diets that reversed disease used <10% fat, but modern “low fat” studies define it as 30% of calories—aka the swampland, a metabolic dead zone. This is Denise Minger's biggest point: we have redefined "low fat" in a way that neuters its therapeutic benefit.

She calls the middle zone a macronutrient swamp, where neither ketosis nor full-carb metabolism can happen cleanly. This is where modern Western diets live: moderate fat, moderate carb, high inflammation.

Why Fat Levels Should Shift With Your Metabolism

This approach uses phase-based fat manipulation, which mirrors what’s supported in the research. In the reset phase, fat is kept very low (~10%) to rapidly restore insulin sensitivity and reduce intramyocellular lipids and lipotoxicity. During the build phase, fat increases slightly (10–15%) to support glycogen storage and muscle growth while still maintaining insulin sensitivity. In the cut phase, fat stays low (10–12%) to accelerate fat loss without suppressing thyroid or metabolic rate. As you transition into the reverse phase, fat is slowly reintroduced (12–15%) while monitoring for signs of intolerance. Finally, in the maintenance phase, fat may rise to 15–30%, allowing for metabolic flexibility—if tolerated without compromising energy levels, digestion, or blood sugar.

How to Turn This Into a Metabolic Protocol

Here’s a strategic layout you can use for yourself or clients:

1. Metabolic Reset

   • Fat intake: 10% or less

   • Carbs: 70–75%, emphasis on fruit, juice, tubers, sugar

   • Protein: 15–20%, including collagen, dairy, lean meats

   • Goal: clear lipotoxicity, restore glucose oxidation, raise temps/pulse

2. Cut or Build (depending on body comp goals)

   • Fat: still 10–12% to maintain insulin sensitivity

   • Carbs: as high as tolerable

   • Protein: increased for muscle retention/building

3. Reverse and Maintenance

   • Slowly increase fat to 15–30% of calories

   • Monitor weight, body temp, libido, and mood

   • Add saturated fats first (dairy, cocoa butter), limit PUFA forever

Summary

• Temporary fat reduction to 10% has been shown to reverse insulin resistance, MS, and heart disease

• Fat impairs insulin signaling (via IMCLs), blocks glucose oxidation (Randle cycle), delays insulin clearance, and inflames organs like the pancreas and liver—even in healthy people

• Restoring carb metabolism requires clearing IMCLs and lipotoxicity

• “Low fat” = <10%, not 30% (which is the swamp zone)

• Use this approach as a short-term metabolic reset, not a permanent solution

• Slowly increase fat after the reset—up to 15–30% for long-term balance

The goal isn’t to stay low-fat forever. It’s to lose fat the right way—by restoring true metabolic health.

Let carbs and fat be friends again—but only after your body can handle it.

🥣Creamy Masa Porridge (Harina de Maíz)

Looking for a warm, comforting breakfast that’s gentle on the gut and fuels your metabolism? This creamy masa porridge is a modern spin on a Dominican classic—made with skim milk, brown sugar, and aromatic cinnamon, it's naturally gluten-free, easy to digest, and endlessly customizable. Think of it as your cozy, carb-loving answer to oatmeal—but smoother, simpler, and just as nostalgic.

Yields: 4 servings (~1½ cups each)
Time: Prep 5 min • Cook 8–10 min

Ingredients

• 1 cup masa harina (nixtamilized corn flour, like King Arthur)

• 6 cups skim milk

• 1 cup brown sugar OR 2/3 cup honey

• ½ tsp salt

• 2–3 whole cinnamon sticks or 1 teaspoon ground ceylon cinnamon

• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract

• Optional: pinch of nutmeg, maple syrup, honey, or a pat of butter for serving

Instructions

1. Mix It Up
   In a medium pot, whisk together masa harina, skim milk, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon sticks, and vanilla extract. Let sit for 5–10 minutes to hydrate the masa.

2. Cook It Slowly
   Turn heat to medium and stir continuously until it begins to bubble. As it thickens, reduce heat to low and keep whisking for 4–5 minutes until smooth and creamy. Add more milk if it gets too thick.

3. Serve & Enjoy
   Remove cinnamon sticks. Ladle into bowls and top with optional maple syrup drizzle, butter, or a sprinkle of nutmeg.

Flavor & Topping Ideas

• Stir in a spoonful of collagen or gelatin for extra protein.

• Add a splash of maple extract or orange blossom water for fun.

• Top with fresh berries, caramelized bananas, or a dusting of cinnamon.

• Serve with a side of fruit juice or steamed milk for a full pro-metabolic breakfast.

The Hidden Hypothyroid Cost of Low-Carb Diets

Low-carb diets promise a lot: quick weight loss, stable blood sugar, reduced cravings. And for a while, they deliver. But beneath the surface, a silent cost builds—especially for women. That cost is your thyroid.

Despite the early wins, long-term carbohydrate restriction can suppress thyroid function, reduce metabolic rate, and derail hormonal balance. The end result? A crash back to reality that often looks and feels like classic hypothyroidism.

Let’s break down what’s really happening—and how to spot it.

Why Carbs Matter for Thyroid Health

Carbohydrates play a direct role in the production and conversion of thyroid hormones:

• Glucose is required for the conversion of T4 (inactive thyroid hormone) into T3 (the active, metabolism-boosting form).

• Carbohydrate intake keeps liver glycogen stores full, which supports stable blood sugar and reduces cortisol output.

• Without carbs, the body often elevates cortisol and adrenaline to maintain glucose levels—a state that suppresses T3 and slows metabolic function.

In short, your thyroid needs carbs to function properly. Depriving it long term is like trying to heat your house with the pilot light off.

Classic Symptoms of Low-Carb-Induced Hypothyroidism

Whether you’re keto, carnivore, or just living on meat and greens, here are the signs your metabolism may be tanking:

• Cold hands and feet

• Hair thinning or loss (especially in the shower or brush)

• Constipation

• Low body temperature (especially morning temps below 97.5°F)

• Fatigue, even after a full night’s sleep

• Brain fog or difficulty concentrating

• Dry skin

• Depression or emotional flatness

• Low libido

• Irregular or missing menstrual cycles

• Weight gain despite low-calorie intake

These are not "normal aging." They're signs of a body running on survival mode.

Why Women Are Hit Harder

Women are particularly sensitive to drops in thyroid hormone and overall energy availability. Why?

• Reproductive health depends on adequate thyroid and carbohydrate intake.

• Female hormones (especially progesterone) require sufficient glucose to be produced and maintained.

• The female body is wired to prioritize fertility and survival over fat loss—so when carbs drop, thyroid downshifts to conserve energy.

Many women on long-term low-carb diets experience amenorrhea (loss of periods), hypothyroid symptoms, and difficulty building or maintaining muscle mass. Some even lose their ability to tolerate carbohydrates at all—a condition known as physiological insulin resistance.

The Vicious Cycle of Carb Avoidance

Here’s the trap: low-carb lowers T3 and reduces your ability to metabolize carbs efficiently. Then, when you finally reintroduce carbs, your blood sugar spikes, you feel awful, and you assume carbs are the problem.

But they’re not. Your metabolism is just out of practice.

How to Heal: The Pro-Metabolic Alternative

The good news? You can rebuild. The key is to gently increase carbohydrate intake while supporting thyroid function and reducing stress.

Start with:

• Whole fruit, root vegetables, and honey

• Bone broth and gelatin for glycine and gut support

• Dairy (if tolerated) for calcium and fat-soluble vitamins

• Salt for adrenal support

• Nutrients like magnesium, selenium, and vitamin A

Aim for consistent, balanced meals with protein, carbs, and a little fat. And track your body temperature—it’s a real-time window into thyroid health.

Bottom Line

Low-carb diets may feel like magic in the beginning, but long-term they can cost you your thyroid, your cycle, and your spark.

If you’re cold, tired, and stuck—don’t double down on restriction. Rebuild with carbs. Reignite your thyroid. And reclaim the energy your body was meant to have.

Scientific References

1. Carbs and T3 Conversion

• Study: Effects of caloric and carbohydrate restriction on thyroid hormone metabolism in obese patients.

• Source: The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 1982.

• Link: https://doi.org/10.1210/jcem-54-2-386

• Summary: Carbohydrate restriction significantly reduced serum T3, even when total calories were adequate. Low-carb diets suppressed active thyroid hormone conversion.

2. Low-Carb Increases Cortisol and Stress Hormones

• Study: Cortisol is elevated during ketosis in lean and obese humans.

• Source: The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 1994.

• Link: https://doi.org/10.1210/jcem.79.6.7989461

• Summary: Low-carb diets increase cortisol levels, likely to maintain blood glucose through gluconeogenesis in the absence of dietary carbs.

3. Physiological Insulin Resistance on Low-Carb

• Study: Insulin resistance is a physiological response to reduced carbohydrate availability during ketogenic diets.

• Source: Nutrition & Metabolism, 2009.

• Link: https://doi.org/10.1186/1743-7075-6-2

• Summary: Long-term low-carb diets can cause physiological insulin resistance, making it harder to tolerate carbs upon reintroduction.

4. Women’s Hormones, Fertility, and Carb Availability

• Study: Effects of carbohydrate restriction on reproductive hormones in healthy women.

• Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2007.

• Link: https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/85.3.779

• Summary: Reduced carbohydrate intake lowered LH, estradiol, and progesterone levels, disrupting ovulatory function.

5. Thyroid and Energy Availability

• Study: Low energy availability suppresses thyroid function and menstrual cycle in women.

• Source: Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 2000.

• Link: https://doi.org/10.1097/00005768-200005000-00015

• Summary: Women with chronically low energy availability had reduced T3 levels and disrupted reproductive hormones.

6. Glycogen and T3 Regulation

• Study: Hepatic carbohydrate metabolism and the control of thyroid hormone metabolism.

• Source: Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2000.

• Summary: Liver glycogen stores are necessary for efficient T4 to T3 conversion; depleted glycogen impairs this process.

Why High-Fat and High-Carb Together Break Your Metabolism

🌀 The Metabolic Trap No One’s Talking About: How High-Fat + High-Carb Created a Modern Swampland

For decades, we’ve swung on the nutritional pendulum—from the sugar-fearing keto camp to the cereal-clinging standard American diet. Each side claims dominance. But what if neither is right—and both are part of the same metabolic trap?

In her provocative article "In Defense of Low-Fat," Denise Minger delivers a powerful insight: the real culprit behind modern metabolic disease isn’t carbs or fats alone—it’s the toxic combination of both. She describes our modern diet as:

“...the macronutrient ‘swamp land’ ... a toxic combination [of] very processed carbohydrates with industrial vegetable oils..."

That "swampland" isn’t just metaphor—it’s a metabolic dead zone. Dense with both fat and sugar, sludge-thick with excess calories, and stagnant with the confusion of dual-fuel overload, it has left millions inflamed, fatigued, and hormonally dysregulated.

from https://deniseminger.com/2015/10/06/in-defense-of-low-fat-a-call-for-some-evolution-of-thought-part-1/

🌀 The Metabolic Trap No One’s Talking About: How High-Fat + High-Carb Created a Modern Swampland

As Denise illustrates in her now-iconic diagram, the "magic" of dietary healing happens on either end of the fat spectrum—very low fat (<10% of calories) or very high fat (>65%). But in the middle, where most modern diets live, lies the metabolic danger zone. This is where processed carbs meet industrial fats, and where dysfunction takes root.

It’s worth noting that not everyone responds to this middle ground the same way. Cultures like the French, for example, often appear metabolically resilient even with a diet that includes upward of 30% of calories from fat. Why? Because their fat tends to come from traditional sources—like butter and cream—not industrial seed oils. Their diets also lack the decades of metabolic insult common in America: no childhood Pop-Tarts, no seed-oil-laced crackers in preschool, no 20-year history of low-fat processed diet foods and metabolic suppression.

In short: they aren’t broken. Americans, on the other hand, are exiting decades of metabolic damage—PUFA overload, stress, under-eating, low thyroid, and insulin resistance. We don’t tolerate the swamp nearly as well.

⚠️ Dual Fuel Disaster: The Real Root of Metabolic Breakdown

Human metabolism is designed to be flexible, but not omnivorous at the extremes. Carbohydrates and fats use distinct entry points into the mitochondria: glucose enters glycolysis and is funneled into the Krebs cycle, while fats undergo beta-oxidation before converging on the same pathway. This means the body can either be in a carb-burning mode or a fat-burning mode—but not both simultaneously without creating metabolic friction.

When both substrates are present in abundance, the cell prioritizes glucose oxidation and stalls fat oxidation. The excess fats, especially polyunsaturated and industrial oils, are stored or shuttled into ectopic fat depots like the liver and pancreas. This leads to mitochondrial overload, oxidative stress, and inflammatory signaling that disrupts insulin sensitivity and thyroid conversion.

This is why metabolic diseases like type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver, PCOS, and obesity often arise from diets high in both refined carbs and fat—not one or the other alone.

🥶 Keto: A Temporary Relief, Not a Long-Term Fix

Keto works in the short term by removing the metabolic conflict. With glucose absent, the body switches fully to fat-burning mode. This can temporarily relieve blood sugar swings, reduce inflammation, and support weight loss.

But long-term carb restriction triggers adaptations that come at a cost:

• T3 (active thyroid hormone) decreases, slowing basal metabolic rate.

• Leptin and insulin signaling decline, increasing appetite and impairing fertility.

• The gut microbiome shifts, often reducing diversity and impairing motility.

• The body becomes glucose-intolerant—not because carbs are bad, but because it's been forced to adapt to their absence.

Women are particularly sensitive to these stress signals due to higher progesterone requirements, lower muscle mass, and complex reproductive needs. Eventually, signs like cold extremities, hair thinning, low libido, and cycle irregularity creep in.

Keto doesn’t cure the swamp—it just relocates you to the other end of the map.

🌿 Our Ancestral Template: High-Carb, Low-Fat—and Thriving

Evolutionarily, carbohydrates were abundant in most human environments. Wild fruit, starchy tubers, honey, and seasonal plant foods formed the core of many diets. Fat—especially in large quantities—was rare. Wild animals, particularly in warm climates, carry very little body fat. Even large ruminants like elk or bison offer mostly lean meat with limited fat stores.

Anthropological evidence and metabolic logic suggest our physiology was shaped around a carbohydrate-dominant, low-fat intake pattern:

• High-carb intake supports active thyroid hormone levels and thermogenesis.

• It boosts serotonin and progesterone production, stabilizing mood and cycle health.

• It facilitates efficient bile flow and digestive motility.

• It allows for higher total calorie intake with less fat storage, due to low respiratory quotient interference.

In contrast to today’s abundance of deep-fried starches, our ancestors did not dip tubers in seed oils or chase fruit with cheese. They ate clean-burning carbs with lean protein and tiny amounts of natural fat—and thrived.

🚪 Getting Out of Swampland Mode: The Case for High-Carb, Low-Fat

Modern metabolic dysfunction is not about “too many carbs” or “too much fat.” It’s about the chronic coexistence of both in hyper-palatable, processed forms. Bagels with cream cheese, fries in soybean oil, donuts, pizza—each is a swamp trap.

The escape isn’t restriction. It’s selectivity. Choose your primary fuel and stick with it.

The pro-metabolic approach favors high-carb, low-fat eating because it restores the body’s default operating mode:

• Glucose fuels the brain, liver, muscles, and reproductive tissues with precision.

• Insulin works efficiently to shuttle nutrients into cells.

• The liver clears estrogen and metabolizes thyroid hormones optimally.

• Digestion becomes robust again, especially when fat intake is low enough to allow consistent bile turnover.

When you stop asking your body to juggle dueling fuels, it finally gets to perform.

💡 Bottom Line: Choose the Right Fuel—Not All of Them

We’ve spent decades playing metabolic whack-a-mole—vilifying carbs, then fat, then sugar, then meat. But the true villain is the swamp in the middle: high-fat, high-carb chaos with no clear energy direction.

If you want to heal your metabolism, ditch the swamp. Pick a side—and if you’re seeking long-term repair, radiant warmth, stable hormones, and metabolic flexibility, high-carb, low-fat is your best bet.

Eat like your ancestors: fresh fruit, honey, roots, squash, lean meats, gelatin, dairy, and a touch of natural fat.

This isn’t a fad. It’s human physiology done right.

Time to rise from the swamp—and run hot again. ✨

Molasses: The Forgotten Superfood with Deep Roots and Big Benefits

For something once as common as table salt, molasses has all but disappeared from modern kitchens. Yet for generations, it was a staple—used daily, valued as a rich source of minerals, and considered a blood-builder, particularly for women. In the rush to demonize “sugar,” we threw the baby out with the bathwater. Molasses isn't just sugar—it’s what's left behind when sugar is refined, and it’s arguably the most nourishing part.

It’s time to bring it back.

A Brief History of Molasses

Molasses is a byproduct of sugar cane or sugar beet processing. When cane is crushed and boiled to extract sucrose, the thick, dark syrup that remains is molasses. Unlike refined white sugar, which has been stripped of all micronutrients, molasses is rich in minerals, especially iron, magnesium, calcium, potassium, and manganese. In early American history, molasses was more common than sugar. It was a major trade item and a go-to sweetener in baking, beverages, and even remedies.

In many traditional cultures, molasses was used as a postpartum tonic, a fertility booster, and a digestive aid. Its deep mineral content made it an ideal food to restore depleted bodies—especially in times when access to animal foods was limited or iron-rich organs weren’t regularly consumed.

Why Molasses Is a Metabolic Ally

Ray Peat consistently highlighted the benefits of simple sugars—especially in the form of fruit juice, honey, and even refined white sugar—when consumed in the context of a nutrient-rich, low-PUFA diet. He viewed sugar not as a threat, but as a fuel, particularly for the liver, thyroid, and nervous system.

According to Peat, sugars like sucrose (glucose + fructose) can help regulate blood sugar, support thyroid conversion (T4 to T3), replenish liver glycogen, and blunt the stress response by lowering cortisol and adrenaline. He even preferred sugar over starch for many people, pointing out that starch feeds endotoxin-producing bacteria and often triggers more erratic insulin and serotonin spikes.

Molasses fits beautifully into this paradigm: it offers the same metabolic fuel as white sugar, but with a rich payload of minerals that help replenish what modern life depletes. It’s sugar, yes—but it’s sugar with a purpose.

Here’s what 1 tablespoon of blackstrap molasses provides:

• Iron: ~3.5 mg (nearly 20% of daily needs for women)

• Calcium: ~115 mg

• Magnesium: ~50 mg

• Potassium: ~500 mg

• Manganese and copper: Small but significant amounts

That’s a mineral bomb in a single spoon.

Molasses supports:

• Red blood cell production (thanks to iron, copper, B6)

• Bone health and calcium metabolism (with calcium + magnesium)

• Electrolyte balance (with potassium and magnesium)

• Blood sugar regulation when consumed with protein or in the context of a nutrient-dense meal

Unlike white sugar, it doesn’t just spike blood glucose and leave you depleted—it can actually replete you, especially if you’re low in key minerals due to stress, overtraining, restrictive dieting, or heavy menstrual cycles.

Ways to Eat Molasses

Molasses has a rich, bittersweet flavor with deep caramel notes—think less like maple syrup and more like espresso-meets-brownie. If it’s too intense for you, start slow.

Some favorite ways to incorporate it:

• In milk: Stir 1–2 tsp into warm raw or grass-fed milk (add vanilla, cinnamon, or a pinch of salt for a cozy mineral latte)

• In smoothies: Blend 1 tsp into a banana or cacao-based smoothie with collagen and yogurt

• In oatmeal: Use in place of brown sugar, or swirl into cooked oats with butter or coconut cream

• In meat marinades or sauces: Molasses pairs beautifully with mustard, apple cider vinegar, or tamari

• Off the spoon: If you're low on iron, a small spoonful with a piece of fruit or some cheese can do wonders

Best Practices and Considerations

Choose unsulfured blackstrap molasses, ideally organic. Sulfured molasses may contain preservatives that can be irritating for sensitive individuals.

For those with blood sugar issues, combine molasses with protein and fat (like full-fat yogurt or cheese) to blunt any potential glucose spike. That said, the glycemic index of molasses is much lower than that of white sugar or corn syrup.

If you're anemic, molasses can be a food-first alternative to iron supplements, especially if your stomach doesn’t tolerate iron pills. But it works best long term—not as a quick fix.

Summary

Molasses is more than an old-school sweetener—it's a forgotten mineral tonic with deep nutritional roots. Unlike refined sugar, it nourishes while it energizes, supports healthy iron levels, and replenishes minerals depleted by stress, restriction, or intense training.

If your body is craving something sweet, dark, and grounding—don’t reach for a candy bar. Try a spoonful of blackstrap molasses. Your metabolism, thyroid, and mitochondria might thank you.

Why Eating More Might Be the Best Thing You Can Do for Your Metabolism

What Is Energy Availability (EA) and Why Does It Matter?

If you’ve been cutting calories, skipping meals, or living off caffeine and willpower—but still feel tired, cold, bloated, or stuck—it’s not just you. And it’s not your fault. For decades, women have been told to eat less, move more, and avoid sugar at all costs. But modern science (and old-school common sense) tells a different story: your body needs fuel—real, consistent fuel—to thrive.

That’s where Energy Availability (EA) comes in. It’s a scientific way to describe how much energy your body has left over after exercise to run all the things that actually keep you alive: thyroid hormone production, detoxification, digestion, menstrual cycles, sleep, brain function, and immunity. When EA is too low, your body doesn’t have enough left to run those systems, so it starts downshifting—hard.

Most modern Americans—especially women—aren’t even close to meeting minimum EA. Compared to our ancestors and even our 1950s-era grandparents, we eat fewer calories, far less carbohydrate, and often fear sugar while overconsuming fat. This cultural shift, combined with chronic stress and government-endorsed low-calorie guidelines, has contributed to widespread metabolic suppression, thyroid dysfunction, fatigue, digestive issues, food sensitivities, and even chronic disease. Low Energy Availability is often the root cause—hidden beneath the surface of good intentions and “clean eating.” If you’ve ever felt like you’re “doing everything right” but still experiencing fatigue, sleep disturbances, or hormonal chaos, there’s a high chance you’re not hitting your EA.

Defining Energy Availability

Energy Availability is the amount of dietary energy left over for your body to run all its internal systems after you’ve accounted for exercise. In other words, it’s what’s left to support your thyroid, fertility, digestion, brain function, and immune system after movement is subtracted.

Scientifically, it’s defined as: EA = (Energy Intake - Exercise Energy Expenditure) / Lean Body Mass (kg)

Research suggests that a minimum of 45 kcal per kilogram of lean body mass (LBM) is required to maintain full physiological function in females. Anything under 30 kcal/kg LBM is considered Low Energy Availability (LEA), a state that induces metabolic suppression and hormonal dysfunction. (Loucks et al., 1998)

This is especially relevant for women who have dieted chronically, come from keto or intermittent fasting backgrounds, or engage in high levels of exercise.

How We Got Here: Modern Eating vs. Ancestral Fueling

Modern Americans are eating far less energy—and far less carbohydrate—than our ancestors or even our grandparents. Post-WWII nutrition advice began to shift public perception toward fear of sugar and cholesterol, promoting high-fat, low-carb eating patterns and chronic caloric restriction.

Government dietary guidelines—like the 1,200–1,600 calorie "weight loss plans" pushed on women—have normalized under-eating. These intake levels, combined with stress, blue light exposure, and stimulant overuse (coffee for breakfast, anyone?), mean most people are running on fumes.

Compare that to the 1930s–1950s, when women often ate 2,400–2,800 calories daily, relied on carbohydrates like milk, fruit, potatoes, and sourdough, and had far less metabolic disease.

What Happens When EA Is Too Low?

When you don’t eat enough to meet your energy needs, the body compensates. Hormones drop. Cortisol rises. Non-essential systems—like reproduction and digestion—get dialed down to conserve resources.

Common symptoms of LEA include:

• Insomnia, especially waking at 2–4 a.m.

• Low libido, infertility, or missing periods

• Cold hands and feet

• Anxiety or depression

• Constipation and bloating

• Weight loss resistance despite low intake

• Weak immunity and poor wound healing

From a functional medicine perspective, low EA often underpins issues like hypothyroidism, estrogen dominance, and adrenal fatigue. You can’t out-supplement an energy deficit.

How to Calculate Your EA (and Fix It)

1. Estimate your Lean Body Mass (LBM): This can be measured using InBody scans, DEXA, or estimated based on body fat %.

2. Multiply LBM (in kg) by 45: This is your minimum intake goal in kcal/day.

   • Example: A woman with 50 kg LBM needs at least 2,250 kcal/day.

3. Add back food slowly if you’ve been under-eating: Reverse dieting is a strategic way to avoid weight gain while restoring EA.

4. Minimize cardio: Excess cardio drains available energy and prolongs LEA. Focus on strength training and low-intensity walking or Zone 2 movement.

5. Track consistently: Use tools like Cronometer to ensure you're hitting total calories. Prioritize meeting energy first, then macros.

Scientific References

• Loucks, A. B., et al. (1998). Energy availability, not body fatness, regulates reproductive function in women. Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews.

• Mountjoy, M., et al. (2014). Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) Consensus Statement. British Journal of Sports Medicine.

• Melin, A., et al. (2015). Energy availability and the female athlete triad in active women. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine.

Final Thoughts: EA Is the Foundation

You can’t rebuild your metabolism, restore your hormones, or heal your gut if you’re operating from a place of scarcity.

Energy Availability is the bare minimum—not a luxury. And while the mainstream may still push "eat less, move more," the science is clear: under-eating doesn’t just slow weight loss, it shuts down vitality.

Start by fueling generously, tracking accurately, and honoring your body's demand for nourishment. Reaching your EA is the difference between surviving and thriving.

🛏️ Sleep Like a Metabolic Champ

Pro-Metabolic Strategies for Deep, Restorative Sleep

😴 Sleep is not a luxury. It's one of the most metabolic processes your body performs. If you're waking up at 2–3 a.m., tossing and turning, or dragging yourself through the day, your sleep setup—and your metabolism—needs an overhaul.

Here’s how to dial in sleep support using science-backed and pro-metabolic principles:

🌞 Support Your Circadian Rhythm

• Get sunlight first thing in the morning—at least 10 minutes outdoors helps anchor your circadian rhythm.

• Use incandescent light bulbs during the day (avoid LEDs and CFLs), which mimic natural light and support energy without damaging blue light.

• No screens 1 hour before bed—phones and TVs blast your brain with cortisol-spiking blue light.

• Switch to amber light bulbs or red night lights in your bedside lamp and bathroom at night.

• Consider blue light-blocking glasses after sunset if screen use is unavoidable.

🌡️ Create a Sleep Sanctuary

• Keep your room cool and dark—ideal temperature is 65–68°F.

• Use blackout curtains, turn off or cover any blinking lights, and ban all electronics from the bedroom.

• No nightlights unless they’re red/amber spectrum only (and low wattage).

🍯 Balance Your Blood Sugar for Sleep

• Night wakings (especially between 2–4 a.m.) are usually a cortisol response to low glycogen.

• Eat a bedtime snack with carbs, protein, and salt to keep blood sugar stable through the night (e.g., warm milk + honey + pinch of salt).

• Avoid fasting or under-eating, especially if your total daily calories are below your minimum energy availability.

🧠 Calcium, Cortisol & Melatonin

• Calcium is a precursor to melatonin, and many women in LEA are deficient.

• Prioritize calcium-rich pro-metabolic foods: dairy, sardines, bone broth.

• If needed, supplement with food-based calcium (not citrate).

• If you're in low energy availability (LEA) or hypothyroid, insomnia is often your body screaming for nourishment.

💥 Low Energy = Low Sleep Quality

• Chronically low food intake leads to high cortisol, low melatonin, poor thyroid function, and restless sleep.

• Track your intake and make sure you're eating enough—especially carbs.

• Avoid extreme low-carb or low-fat diets; both impair sleep quality.

✅ Your Pro-Metabolic Sleep Checklist

• ☀️ Morning sun + incandescent light during the day

• 🧠 Amber or red light at night

• 📴 No screens 1 hour before bed

• 🌡️ Cool, dark, tech-free bedroom

• 🥛 Bedtime carb + protein + salt snack

• 🧀 Daily calcium-rich foods

• 💤 Hit your calorie target to avoid LEA

Sleep isn’t just about rest—it’s a reflection of your metabolic status. Optimize it, and you’ll feel the difference in your energy, mood, and healing speed.

Sleep like your metabolism depends on it—because it does. 🌙✨

How to Track Like a Pro with Cronometer

A Step-by-Step Guide to Hitting Your Macros and Mastering Metabolism

If you're ready to take your nutrition seriously—whether it's for weight loss, metabolic repair, gut healing, or simply getting your energy back—mastering Cronometer is non-negotiable. 🚀 Here's how to set yourself up for success and avoid the pitfalls that sabotage most people's progress.

Set Your Targets

Before you track anything, you need a clear destination. That means setting your calories and macros with intention—not guessing.

Start with calories.

• Use your current weight, estimated body fat %, and goals to determine your energy target. For many clients, we start with reverse dieting toward their minimum Energy Availability (EA), calculated as 45 kcal/kg of lean body mass.

Then set macros.

• Protein: 1 gram per pound of lean body mass (LBM) is the standard. Higher if underweight or coming off long-term restriction.

• Fat: Start with 12–25% of total calories. Go low (around 12–15%) if you're trying to lose fat or address gut issues.

• Carbs: Fill in the remaining calories with high-quality, easy-to-digest carbs. For most people, this is a slow climb up.

Set Up Cronometer Correctly

• Go to Settings > Targets > Energy Target.

  • Use "Custom Energy Target" and set it to your daily calorie goal.

• Go to Settings > Targets > Macronutrient Targets.

  • Enable "Fixed Values" so Cronometer doesn’t auto-adjust.

  • Choose "Custom" and input your exact targets (grams, not %).

Build Custom Meals and Recipes

Make life easier by creating your go-to meals and snacks:

• Under Foods > Custom Recipe, enter your breakfast smoothie, lunch salad, etc.

• Weigh everything once, input it once, and reuse it daily.

• Include common toppings and extras (e.g., butter on potatoes, honey in yogurt ).

Track Meals Strategically

• Aim to hit at least 70% of your daily protein and carb targets by lunch or afternoon snack.

• Save some fat for dinner and your bedtime snack—especially if you're on a low-fat protocol (e.g., <40g/day).

• Use the "Consumed" button until lunch to see how your %s are building.

• After lunch, switch to "Remaining" to visualize what macros you still need to hit with dinner and the bedtime snack.

Hit Your Macros with Precision

• Strive for 99–101% accuracy on all macros—protein, carbs, fat, and total calories.

• If there’s a mismatch between your macro totals and calorie totals, it’s usually due to bad food database entries. Be sure to hit your calorie goal!

• Any leftover calories at the end of the day should be assumed to come from carbohydrates. Don't try to "fix" it by adding protein or fat.

Nighttime Check-In: Finish Strong

• Always check your totals by dinner.

• Adjust final meals/snacks to meet macros exactly.

• Prioritize a bedtime carb + protein + salt snack to stabilize cortisol and support deep sleep (e.g., milk + honey + pinch of salt). =sleep magic.

Final Priorities

Meet your calorie target. This is non-negotiable. Under-eating by even 100 kcal/day adds up fast.

Meet each macro within 1%. This ensures hormonal balance, recovery, and energy.

Done right, this makes tracking second nature—and turns your metabolism into a finely tuned engine.

Stay consistent. Stay meticulous. And stay metabolically strong.

🌾 Sprouted Oatmeal (Soaked + Simmered)

Sprouted oats can be a gentle, nourishing way to reintroduce grains on a pro-metabolic protocol—especially when properly prepared. Unlike conventional oatmeal, this method respects digestion by neutralizing anti-nutrients through soaking and using sprouted grains, which are naturally lower in phytic acid. When paired with metabolically supportive ingredients like raw milk, honey, and a touch of saturated fat, this bowl becomes a warming, blood sugar–friendly option that’s easy on the gut and aligned with ancestral wisdom.

Serves: 1
Prep time: 5 minutes (+ overnight soak)
Cook time: 5–10 minutes

🛒 Ingredients

• ½ cup sprouted rolled oats (ideally organic)

• ½ cup filtered water or skim milk

• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice)

• Pinch of sea salt

Optional (add after cooking):

• ¼–½ cup milk (skim, low-fat, or raw)

• 1–2 tsp honey or maple syrup

• 1 pat butter (optional for those not on low-fat)

• Dash of cinnamon or vanilla

• Pinch of collagen powder (stir in gently)

• Handful of berries, sliced banana, or stewed apple

🥣 Instructions

1. Night Before: Soak the Oats
In a glass jar or bowl, combine:

• ½ cup sprouted oats

• ½ cup water or skim milk

• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  Stir, cover lightly, and let sit at room temp overnight (8–12 hours).

2. Morning: Drain & Rinse
Drain and rinse the oats with warm water to remove excess phytic acid and sour flavor.

3. Simmer
Add the soaked oats to a small saucepan with:

• ½ cup fresh water or milk (more if you prefer looser oats)

• Pinch of sea salt
  Bring to a simmer and cook gently for 5–10 minutes, stirring often, until soft.

4. Customize
Turn off the heat and stir in any desired additions:

• Extra milk for creaminess

• Honey or maple for sweetness

• Cinnamon or vanilla for flavor

• A small pat of butter for richness

• Collagen or fruit for protein and carbs

🍽 Notes

• Sprouted oats are gentler on digestion and higher in bioavailable nutrients than unsprouted.

• The overnight soak with ACV helps further neutralize anti-nutrients like phytic acid.

• Keep fat minimal if using this during a cut — skip the butter and use skim milk.

• For higher-protein versions, stir in collagen or pair with a scoop of low-fat Greek yogurt on the side.

Why I Don’t Recommend Nuts, Seeds, Grains, or Legumes

Nuts, seeds, whole grains, and legumes are often promoted as health foods — packed with fiber, protein, and “healthy fats.” But if you're dealing with gut issues, low thyroid function, hormone imbalances, or chronic fatigue, these are the last foods you want in your diet.

Behind the wellness branding is a harsh biological reality: seeds are the most chemically defended foods in nature. And your body knows it.

🌱 They're All Seeds — and That’s the Problem

Whether you’re eating almonds, oats, black beans, or quinoa, you’re eating a seed. From an evolutionary standpoint, seeds are how plants reproduce — and they don’t want to be eaten. So they defend themselves with compounds designed to injure or deter predators.

In humans, that means:

• Phytic acid — binds to essential minerals like zinc, magnesium, and iron, making them unavailable

• Lectins & saponins — damage the gut lining and increase intestinal permeability

• Enzyme inhibitors — impair digestion and reduce protein absorption

• PUFAs (omega-6 linoleic acid) — suppress thyroid function, slow metabolism, and promote inflammation

These defenses don’t just block nutrients — they actively signal danger to your gut, liver, and endocrine system.

🦠 Gut Damage Starts Here

The modern rise in autoimmune disease, food sensitivities, IBS, and even anxiety and depression is directly linked to gut integrity. And seed foods are one of the primary offenders.

Their anti-nutrients inflame and weaken the intestinal lining, feed dysbiotic microbes, and block the nutrients your gut needs to repair itself.

If you’re using biofilm disruptors, antimicrobials, motility agents, or collagen — but still eating seeds — you’re working against yourself. I’ve seen client after client stay stuck in their healing until we remove nuts, seeds, grains, and legumes completely.

🔥 PUFA: The Root of Modern Disease

Polyunsaturated fats — especially omega-6 linoleic acid from seeds — are the single most damaging input in the modern diet. These oils are not just linked to hormone issues or sluggish thyroid. They are a primary driver of all chronic disease: obesity, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, autoimmune conditions, infertility, neurodegeneration, and more.

PUFAs are highly unstable and oxidize easily, creating cellular damage, mitochondrial dysfunction, and chronic inflammation at every level of the body.

Here’s what linoleic acid — the dominant omega-6 fat in seeds and seed oils — does to your system:

• Inhibits the conversion of T4 to active T3 (slowing thyroid output)

• Increases estrogen and lowers progesterone

• Suppresses fat burning and increases fat storage

• Damages mitochondrial respiration

• Drives oxidative stress and inflammatory cascades

• Alters cell membrane function and impairs detoxification

Sunflower seeds and almond butter are surprisingly concentrated sources of linoleic acid — the same inflammatory omega-6 fat found in industrial seed oils. A tablespoon of sunflower seeds contains roughly 4–5 grams of linoleic acid, while almond butter provides around 2–3 grams. For comparison, a tablespoon of soybean oil contains about 7 grams. These ‘health foods’ can quietly add up, pushing your total PUFA intake into disease-promoting territory — even without touching a bottle of oil.

Chronic disease formation begins when daily linoleic acid intake exceeds 5–10 grams. But studies show that insulin sensitivity can return within 30 to 90 days when total LA intake drops below 5 grams per day. Since even high-quality whole foods like eggs, poultry, and red meat contain small amounts, most people are already halfway to that limit — meaning there’s no margin for seeds, nut butters, or hidden oils if healing is the goal.

PUFAs are the Trojan horse of the modern health food industry — and until they’re removed, true healing remains out of reach.

🦜 You’re Not a Bird — You Don’t Have a Gizzard

Birds evolved a gizzard — a muscular organ that grinds up seeds with swallowed stones. Some animals produce enzymes that help them break down seed-based toxins. Humans have neither.

Most wild seeds are toxic or indigestible to humans in their raw state. Without processing, they are unsuitable as a regular food source. We simply don’t have the anatomy or enzymatic profile to eat them safely in large quantities.

🌍 What Traditional Cultures Knew

Ancient peoples were aware of this — and they respected seeds accordingly. Over generations, they developed methods to reduce seed toxicity: soaking, sprouting, fermenting (like sourdough), nixtamalizing corn, or removing the anti-nutrient-rich bran from rice to produce more digestible white rice.

Even with these precautions, seeds were never the centerpiece of ancestral diets. They were backup foods — used in times of scarcity, to stretch calories, or consumed in small, infrequent amounts.

The modern obsession with seed-based foods — nut milks, oat bars, flax smoothies, chickpea pasta — is completely unprecedented. And it’s come with a cost: metabolic collapse, digestive disease, hormonal breakdown, and chronic fatigue.

🧠 Hormones, Mental Health, and the Gut-Brain Axis

The damage seeds do isn’t just physical. Seed toxins affect neurotransmitter synthesis, stress hormone regulation, and blood sugar stability — all of which impact mental health. Gut permeability (leaky gut), triggered by lectins and saponins, allows inflammatory compounds into the bloodstream and brain, driving symptoms like brain fog, mood swings, anxiety, and insomnia.

PUFAs, meanwhile, suppress progesterone and promote estrogen dominance — a hormonal pattern tied to PMS, infertility, low libido, and autoimmune flares.

🚫 What to Do While You’re Healing

If you’re actively working to rebuild your gut, restore thyroid function, or reverse chronic illness, seeds don’t belong in your diet. Even properly prepared versions — sprouted oats, sourdough, white rice, nixtamalized corn — should be minimized until your digestion, hormones, and immune function are stable.

Once your system has healed, you may tolerate a small percentage of your calories from traditionally prepared seed foods — just as our ancestors did. But during the healing phase, the fastest results come from removing them entirely.

✅ What to Eat Instead

A true healing diet is anti-inflammatory, pro-digestive, and metabolically supportive:

• Pro-metabolic proteins: dairy, collagen, bone broth, eggs, high-quality meats

• Digestible carbs: ripe fruit, honey, maple syrup, white rice, cooked potatoes

• Safe fats: butter, coconut oil, cacao butter

• Gut support tools: gelatin, mineral salt, raw carrot, and targeted antimicrobials

This approach supports the gut lining, balances blood sugar, restores hormone production, and increases energy — without the inflammatory baggage of seeds.

🔊 Ray Peat Wisdom

“Nuts and seeds are rich in unsaturated fats and enzyme inhibitors, which are stressful to the body and interfere with digestion.”
“Plants don’t want you to eat their seeds — that’s why they load them with toxins, allergens, and irritants.”
“The increase in degenerative diseases in the 20th century parallels the increase in seed oil consumption.”

⚡ Final Thought

Seeds are not sacred — they’re plant defense mechanisms. If you’re struggling with gut issues, metabolic slowdown, hormone imbalance, or unexplained fatigue, seed foods are a hidden driver of stress.

Remove them, rebuild your system, and you’ll be shocked at how quickly things start working again.

Want help creating a seed-free, gut-healing, pro-metabolic plan?
Book a consult. I’ll show you how we combine collagen, anti-microbials, food-based healing, and macro strategy to help your body finally heal.

Masa Pancakes

These are the ultimate metabolism-supporting pancakes—warm, fluffy, gut-friendly, and completely free of added fats. Perfect for anyone healing their liver, recovering from keto, or just looking for a high-carb, low-fat breakfast that doesn’t feel like diet food. Made with masa harina and sweetened with maple, they deliver the flavor and texture you want, without any butter or oil in the batter.

🌽. Masa harina is a traditional flour made from corn that has been nixtamalized—soaked and cooked in lime (calcium hydroxide)—which enhances its nutrient bioavailability, increases calcium content, reduces phytic acid, and makes it easier to digest, making it a gut-friendly, mineral-rich, and ancestral source of resistant starch and glucose.

🍽 Yields:

~14 pancakes (4-inch)

🌟 Ingredients

• 2½ cups low-fat buttermilk
  (or 2¼ cups low-fat milk + 2 Tbsp lemon juice or ACV)

• 1½ cups heirloom masa harina (nixtamalized, e.g., Masienda or King Arthur)

• 2 tsp aluminum-free baking powder

• ½ tsp kosher salt

• 1½ tsp ground Ceylon cinnamon

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 2 large eggs (or 4 egg whites for even lower fat)

• ¼ cup pure maple syrup

🔧 Directions

1. Make buttermilk (if needed):
   Stir lemon juice into milk and let sit for 5–10 minutes.

2. Mix dry ingredients:
   In a bowl, whisk masa harina, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon until lump-free.

3. Whisk wet ingredients:
   In a large bowl, whisk eggs (or whites), maple syrup, vanilla, and buttermilk until smooth.

4. Combine:
   Stir the dry mix into the wet until just combined. Don’t overmix—batter will be thick but scoopable.

5. Cook:
   Heat a nonstick or ceramic skillet over medium. Lightly grease with a small amount of butter or oil (just enough to prevent sticking—this adds only trace fat). Scoop ¼ cup batter per pancake and spread into ~4-inch rounds. Cook ~2 minutes per side, until golden and cooked through.

6. Serve with:
   Warm maple syrup, stewed fruit, nonfat Greek yogurt, or a splash of OJ for the full pro-metabolic vibe.

🧮 Macros per Pancake (1 of 14):

(with 2 eggs, no added fat in batter)

• Calories: ~78 kcal

• Carbs: ~13g

• Protein: ~2.5g

• Fat: ~1g

If you use egg whites instead:

• Fat drops to: ~0.3g per pancake

• Calories drop slightly: ~73 kcal

✅ Notes & Tips

• Still Fluffy: Even without fat, the pancakes stay tender thanks to the buttermilk and maple.

• Pan Tips: A well-seasoned cast iron or ceramic nonstick pan is essential here.

• Batch Prep: These freeze and reheat well, so make a double batch and pop them in the toaster all week.

These cinnamon-vanilla masa pancakes are gluten-free, low-fat, easy to digest, and sweetened naturally with maple. With no added fat in the batter, they’re the perfect high-carb breakfast for metabolic repair and hormone support — kid-approved and nutritionist-designed.

The Pro-Metabolic Approach to Mast Cell Activation and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

What to Eat (and Avoid) When Your Nervous System and Immune System Are Both on Fire

Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS/ME) often go hand-in-hand: one is a hypersensitive immune response, the other is a crash in energy production. The overlap is staggering: histamine intolerance, post-exertional crashes, food sensitivities, insomnia, gut issues, and chronic inflammation.

And yet, in today's mainstream health culture, you're often told that nutrition doesn't matter. That what you eat has no real impact on these conditions, that nutrients can't touch what's "broken," and that the only path forward is pharmaceuticals and symptom suppression. You're expected to manage, not recover. To cope, not heal.

But this simply isn’t true.

Much of the insight in this approach is inspired by the excellent breakdown in this article on healing histamine intolerance and MCAS, which explains how nutrient deficiencies, chronic stress, environmental toxins, and microbial imbalances contribute to overactive mast cells and energy collapse.

There is a massive body of evidence — and growing clinical experience — showing that chronic illness is not a random stroke of bad luck. It’s often the result of a body that’s been undernourished, overburdened, and inflamed for years. A nervous system locked in fight-or-flight. A liver overwhelmed by environmental toxins, synthetic hormones, and mold. Gut bacteria producing excess histamine. And mast cells acting like your immune system’s faulty fire alarm — going off at every little thing, leaving you exhausted, itchy, swollen, and reactive.

The right foods can stabilize mast cells. The right nutrients can repair mitochondria. And when you stop flooding your body with inflammatory, hard-to-digest, immune-triggering ingredients, everything starts to shift.

That’s where the pro-metabolic approach shines.

Instead of bouncing between low-histamine elimination diets, vegan detoxes, or keto flares, this strategy focuses on giving your cells fuel and safety at the same time.

🔥 Foods to Avoid with MCAS & CFS

These foods are commonly high in histamine, gut-irritating, or hard on the liver, immune system, and mitochondria. They are also not part of a truly pro-metabolic framework.

Fermented & Aged Foods

• Sauerkraut, kimchi

• Vinegar, kombucha

• Soy sauce, miso

• Aged cheese

• Cured meats (salami, prosciutto, bacon)

PUFA-Heavy & Inflammatory Fats

• Vegetable oils (canola, soybean, sunflower, safflower)

• Peanut butter, nut butters

• Seeds (chia, flax, hemp)

• Walnuts, almonds, cashews

Vegan "Health" Traps

• Lentils, black beans, chickpeas (especially canned)

• Tofu, tempeh, fake meats

• Nutritional yeast

High Histamine or Histamine-Releasing Produce

• Avocado, spinach, tomatoes, eggplant

• Citrus, bananas, strawberries

• Dried fruit (unless verified very fresh)

Other Common Triggers

• Leftovers (histamine increases over time)

• Bone broth (high glutamate)

• Chocolate, caffeine

• Alcohol

✨ Foods to Eat for Calm, Energy, and Recovery

These foods are low in histamine, nourishing to the nervous system, and aligned with a pro-metabolic philosophy. They support gut integrity, blood sugar balance, and mitochondrial repair.

Pro-Metabolic Proteins (Low Histamine)

• Fresh white fish (cod, sole, haddock)

• Pasture-raised egg yolks

• Freshly cooked ground lamb or beef (lean, no leftovers)

• Goat milk yogurt (plain, fresh)

• Collagen or gelatin powder (no additives)

Easy Carbohydrates for Mitochondrial Fuel

• White rice (cooked fresh)

• Mashed peeled white or sweet potatoes

• Well-cooked carrots, zucchini, yellow squash

• Ripe peeled apples, pears, mango, papaya

• Fresh blueberries or cooked peach

Nourishing Fats (Histamine-Safe)

• Virgin coconut oil

• Cold-pressed olive oil

• Occasional ghee (test tolerance)

Extras That Help Heal

• Raw carrot salad (binds histamine, estrogen, and endotoxin)

• Chamomile, marshmallow root, or ginger tea

• Aloe vera juice (inner filet)

Why It Works

Pro-metabolic foods aren’t just about metabolism. They’re about cellular safety. They keep blood sugar stable, reduce stress hormones, lower histamine production, and support the liver in clearing out estrogen and toxins.

This approach gives your body what it needs to repair: glucose, minerals, amino acids, and gentle support for the gut-liver-brain axis.

If you're tired of getting worse from "healthy" foods and you're ready to heal your nervous system and immune system together, pro-metabolic eating is the strategy you've been looking for.

Need help building your low-histamine, pro-metabolic plan? We build personalized protocols that help you stabilize symptoms without starving your cells. Reach out for 1:1 support or browse our course library to learn how to eat for cellular healing.

How to Eat Pro-Metabolic (Even If You’re Totally New)

If you’ve been trapped in diet culture—counting almonds, fearing fruit, or surviving on coffee and cortisol—you’re not alone. Most of us have spent years chasing thinness while unknowingly wrecking our metabolism in the process.

Enter the pro-metabolic approach: a way of eating that nourishes your body instead of fighting it. It’s not a trendy detox or a quick-fix gimmick—it’s a return to biological sanity. Pro-metabolic eating is about restoring cellular energy, supporting your thyroid and hormones, and teaching your body how to feel safe again.

If you’re brand new to this world, here’s your clear, science-rooted roadmap to getting started.

What Does "Pro-Metabolic" Even Mean?

At its core, pro-metabolic means supporting the body's natural ability to make energy—primarily through the thyroid and mitochondria.

When your metabolism is working well:

• You feel warm and energized

• Your digestion hums

• Your sleep improves

• Your cycle is regular and painless

• Your mood is stable

• You burn food efficiently—without stress

Most mainstream diets (keto, fasting, veganism, calorie restriction) achieve quick results by slowing your metabolism down—forcing the body into stress mode. Pro-metabolic flips the script. It feeds the body what it needs to thrive.

Principle #1: You Need to Eat More—Not Less

Most people have no idea how underfed they are. If you’re eating 1500–2000 calories a day and wondering why you’re cold, tired, bloated, and gaining weight—that’s your metabolism screaming. Your body downshifts to survive.

A healthy adult woman generally needs:

• 2,000–2,500+ calories/day

A healthy adult man generally needs:

• 3,500–4,500+ calories/day

You may need even more if you’re healing, exercising, or coming off years of restriction. When you give your body enough energy, it stops hoarding fat and starts functioning.

Our hunter-gatherer ancestors—and even our grandparents—ate far more food than most people do today. We didn’t start gaining weight from eating too much—we started gaining when seed oils wrecked our mitochondria and we responded by slashing calories. All that did was slow us down. Just one degree drop in body temperature lowers caloric needs by nearly 1,000 calories/day, and hardly anyone is sitting at 98.6 degrees anymore.

Principle #2: Carbs Are Not the Enemy—They're the Fuel

Your cells run on glucose. Your liver converts T4 to T3 (active thyroid hormone) using glucose and fructose. Your brain, heart, and reproductive system all rely on it.

Carbs don’t make you fat—PUFAs and stress hormones do.

Choose easy-to-digest, nourishing carbs, like:

• Fresh-squeezed or not-from-concentrate orange juice

• Raw honey, maple syrup

• Ripe fruit (banana, mango, melon, apple, berries)

• Sweet potatoes, white potatoes, carrots

• White rice, masa harina (corn flour), sourdough (if tolerated)

• Dried fruit like pineapple, dates, or mango

Avoid excessive:

• Hard-to-digest starches (beans, whole grains, bran)

• Artificial sweeteners

• Low-carb/fiber-heavy substitutes that tax digestion

Principle #3: Protein Matters—but Type Is Key

Protein is essential for hormone production, liver detox, skin repair, and blood sugar stability—but not all protein is created equal.

Pro-metabolic proteins are:

• Bioavailable (easy to digest and assimilate)

• Low in inflammatory amino acids like tryptophan and cysteine

Top picks:

• Dairy (milk, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese)

• Collagen (bone broth, gelatin, collagen powder)

• Eggs

• Shellfish (especially shrimp, oysters)

• Lean red meat (beef, lamb)

• Skinless poultry (chicken, turkey)

A solid target is 1g/pound per day, depending on body size and goals. Another good goal is up to 1/4 of your protein from collagen and gelatin, and the rest from low-fat dairy and lean meat, to balance your calcium/phosphorus ratio. Calcium builds and maintains bones while phosphorus supports energy and cell function, and getting protein from half dairy (high in calcium) and half meat (high in phosphorus) helps balance these minerals to protect bone and metabolic health.

Principle #4: Ditch the Seed Oils—But Don’t Go Keto

Your body needs some fat—but too much, or the wrong kind, shuts down thyroid and mitochondrial function.

The worst offenders are PUFAs (polyunsaturated fats), found in:

• Vegetable oils (canola, soybean, sunflower, corn)

• Nuts and seeds

• Nut butters and vegan spreads

• Pork and poultry fat (especially with skin) - because these animals are monogastric (one stomach) and store the oils they are fed. Even organic and pastured-raised pork and chicken are usually still fed seed oils.

These fats oxidize easily, promote inflammation, and damage cellular metabolism. They also accumulate in your fat tissue and take years to detox.

Stick with saturated fats in moderation:

• Butter or ghee

• Coconut oil

• Tallow

• Dairy fat (in full-fat milk or cheese)

For most, 15–20% of calories from fat is ideal while healing the metabolism. Going higher slows things down. That’s because high fat + high carb creates a metabolic “swampland” where fuel can’t flow efficiently—your body gets stuck storing instead of burning.
Keeping fat low lets carbs do their job: refill glycogen, increase thyroid output, and drive real energy. The challenging part is keeping fat low—but the good news is you get to eat more food, enjoy plenty of carbs, watch symptoms disappear, and eventually maintain a leaner body on higher calories.

Principle #5: Eat Every 3–4 Hours

If you’re skipping breakfast or intermittent fasting, your body is likely surviving on adrenaline and cortisol—not a good long-term plan.

When blood sugar drops too low, your body raises stress hormones to compensate. This wrecks thyroid conversion, breaks down muscle, and causes energy crashes, irritability, and poor sleep.

A good rhythm is:

• 3 solid meals + 1–2 snacks per day

• Front-load your calories earlier in the day

• Always pair protein + carb (never carbs alone)

Principle #6: Salt + Sugar + Saturated Fat = Yes

You heard that right. Your body needs salt to make stomach acid, adrenal hormones, and digestive enzymes. And sugar (from fruit, juice, honey) feeds your cells, not your waistline—when paired properly.

Skip the low-sodium fear-mongering. Salt your food to taste. Balance blood sugar by eating sugar with protein, not alone.

Principle #7: Heal Digestion, Don’t Fight It

If you get bloated or constipated eating this way, it’s not the diet—it’s your damaged digestion from years of stress and restriction. That can be fixed.

Start slow. Build resilience.

Helpful supports:

• Raw carrot salad daily (antibacterial, anti-estrogen)

• Apple cider vinegar before meals

• Bone broth, gelatin, or collagen for gut lining

• Prokinetics if you’re sluggish (ginger, artichoke, vitamin B6)

• Ox bile or betaine HCl for belching or fat intolerance

What a Pro-Metabolic Day Might Look Like

☀️ Breakfast: orange juice with collagen, eggs, sourdough toast with a little butter and lots of jam, and nonfat Greek yogurt smoothered in honey.

🍓 Snack: lowfat cottage cheese with a bowl of pineapple, gelatin gummies, and a skim milk cappuccino with maple syrup.

🥩 Lunch: grilled chicken breast, white rice, cooked carrots with butter.

🥕 Snack: raw carrot salad with ACV and salt, a glass of fresh lemonade with a side of honey-sweetened Greek yogurt, and a handful of fresh berries or melon.

🍠 Dinner: lean ground beef and shrimp, mashed sweet potato, sautéed squash with butter, and bone broth with sea salt.

🍬 Dessert: 1 cup skim milk hot cocoa with 1 scoop collagen, 1 tbsp honey-sweetened gelatin, and gummy bears.

How Do You Know It's Working?

Watch for these metabolic green flags:

• Warmer hands and feet

• Better energy without stimulants

• Stronger libido

• Regular, painless periods

• Less bloating or constipation

• Improved sleep

• More stable moods

If those signs are trending up, you’re doing it right—even if weight shifts temporarily while your metabolism heals. That’s just water from restoring glycogen stores (carboHYDRATE), and we either increase calories slowly enough to minimize it or follow with a short, strategic cut once your body is ready.

Final Thoughts

Pro-metabolic eating is not about perfection or dogma. It’s about rebuilding trust with your body. It’s about reversing the damage from years of deprivation and learning to thrive—not just survive.

Yes, it’s different from what you’ve been taught. But if you’re cold, tired, bloated, puffy, overweight, hormonal, or just plain stuck—it might be the path back to the version of you that feels vibrant, capable, and alive.

What Is the Pro-Metabolic Diet?

So... What Is Pro-Metabolic Nutrition, Really?

If you’ve ever felt worse on keto, gained weight from "clean eating," or hit a wall with intermittent fasting, this might be the missing piece. Pro-metabolic nutrition isn’t a brand or a fad. It’s a way of eating that works with your biology instead of against it—especially your hormones, thyroid, and energy systems.

It’s not about tracking every macro, or cutting everything out. It’s about finally giving your body the fuel it actually wants: real food, the right carbs, and a break from metabolic stress.

It All Starts with Your Metabolism

Most people think metabolism just means how fast you burn calories. But your metabolism is actually the engine behind everything—your energy, mood, digestion, hormones, temperature, and sleep. When it’s sluggish, everything feels harder. When it’s supported, your body runs like it’s supposed to.

Pro-metabolic nutrition is about helping your cells make energy more efficiently—especially in your mitochondria (your body’s little power plants). More energy = better function across the board.

Wait... So Carbs Are Good Now?

Yep. Your body, especially your brain, thyroid, and ovaries, prefer glucose. And when you deprive it for too long (looking at you, keto and low-carb), stress hormones spike and your system slows down.

Pro-metabolic eating isn’t about eating ALL the carbs. It’s about the right kinds, in the right combinations:

• Ripe fruit and fruit juice

• Raw honey and maple syrup

• Root veggies and tubers

• Maybe white rice or sourdough, depending on tolerance

Carbs help you:

• Sleep deeper

• Keep your hands and feet warm

• Support your cycle

• Improve thyroid output (T3!)

• Restore liver glycogen (aka stable blood sugar + less hanger)

So Why Not Just Add Carbs to My Normal Diet?

Good question. If you add carbs on top of a high-fat, high-PUFA (seed oil) diet, it backfires. Your body gets stuck in “metabolic swampland”—can’t burn fat or carbs efficiently.

That’s why pro-metabolic protocols often start with low fat and high-carb, with protein held steady. That way, your system actually gets a chance to shift gears and heal.

What About Protein?

Yes, protein matters—but balance matters more. A lot of people (especially carnivore/keto crossovers) are eating tons of muscle meat but still feel awful. That’s because:

• Too much methionine (from muscle meats) without glycine (from collagen) = stress

• Not enough carbs = more cortisol

So we focus on protein sources like:

• Dairy (milk, yogurt, cheese)

• Gelatin and collagen

• Eggs, fish, and liver (in rotation)

Minerals: The Spark Plugs of Metabolism

You can eat all the right food and still feel off if you’re low in minerals. Sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, copper—they run your cellular engines.

Pro-metabolic plans include:

• Orange juice + salt (adrenal cocktails)

• Bone broth

• High-mineral fruit

• Milk + honey

You’ll feel the difference in your sleep, mood, and digestion.

What Pro-Metabolic Nutrition Actually Looks Like

• Mostly carbs: fruit, juice, honey, roots, dairy, sugar

• Low fat: to reduce mitochondrial congestion

• Moderate, bioavailable protein

• Eating frequently thoughout the day

• Paying attention to biofeedback—not the scale

• Increasing calories slowly to ramp up metabolism and feel amazing, without weight gain

Myth vs. Fact: Clearing Up the Confusion

Myth: Carbs make you fat.

Fact: Excess PUFAs + metabolic dysfunction + stress hormones make you store fat. Carbs, when paired with low fat and metabolic support, actually help your body burn more efficiently.

Myth: Keto is the only way to heal your metabolism.

Fact: Keto can suppress thyroid function and spike cortisol. It may help in short bursts, but it's not designed for long-term metabolic repair.

Myth: If you're not losing weight, you're doing it wrong.

Fact: Healing your metabolism often comes before weight loss. When your body feels safe and energized, it naturally starts to let go of what it doesn't need.

Myth: Low-carb diets are better for blood sugar.

Fact: Chronically low-carb diets can worsen blood sugar control long-term by making your body less efficient at using glucose.

Final Thoughts

This isn’t another food religion. It’s not about rules or fear. It’s about understanding how your body actually works—and feeding it accordingly.

If you’ve been cold, tired, bloated, foggy, or stuck in a cycle of restriction and rebound, pro-metabolic eating might be the thing that finally makes sense.

Eat the carbs. Support your metabolism. Feel like you again.

Shepherd’s Pie

It took me awhile to come around to the health benefits of the white potato, a true superfood! Our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate a lot of tubers - which are very low toxicity since they grow underground and don’t have to chemically deter animals from eating them as much as other plant parts. They’re also high in protein, vitamins and minerals - and cultures that ate a lot of them enjoyed robust health. Pair with ground beef, any other chopped vegetables of your choice like zucchini, carrots, summer squash, mushrooms, and even a little garlic, onion, and tomato paste if your body tolerates those! Be sure to make extra, even a double batch, as this freezes well and is sure to be a hit!

Ingredients
2 pounds lean ground beef, salted and browned

1 cup bone broth

1 zucchini, chopped

1 summer squash chopped

3 carrots, chopped

10 crimini mushrooms, rinsed and chopped

1 tablespoon potato starch

italian seasoning

sea salt

garlic, fresh or powder

onion, fresh or powder

Optional: 1 tablespoon tomato paste

Optional: 2 tablespoons worchestershire sauce

4 large potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks

2 tablespoons butter

2/3 cup milk

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 400°F.

2. Bring a pot of water to a boil for the potatoes.
   Boil potatoes until fork-tender, about 15 minutes.

3. Brown the meat with the onions and garlic if using fresh.
   If using powders, add them after browning the meat.

4. Add broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce (if using), Italian seasoning, and vegetables.
   Cover and let steam for 5–10 minutes, or until carrots are tender.

5. Scoop out ½ cup of the brothy sauce into a bowl.
   Whisk in the potato starch to make a slurry (immersion blender works great).
   Pour this slurry back into the pan and stir to create a gravy. Add more broth if needed.

6. Strain the boiled potatoes and mash with milk, butter, and salt to taste.

7. Arrange the meat/vegetable/gravy mixture in the bottom of a baking dish or Dutch oven.

8. Spread the mashed potatoes on top of the filling.

9. Sprinkle with parmesan.

10. Bake uncovered for 20–30 minutes.
    Optional: Broil for a few minutes at the end if the parmesan isn’t browned enough.

11. Cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

Healing Metabolism

Let’s set the record straight: slow metabolism isn’t something you’re born with. It’s something that breaks down—gradually, and often silently—through years of stress, under-eating, overtraining, low-carb diets, and toxic exposures that chip away at your thyroid and your cells' ability to make energy.

The good news? You can repair it. But not through crash diets, fasted cardio, or metabolism supplements from the checkout aisle. True metabolic healing takes strategy, structure, and bioindividual support. It’s not a quick fix—but it’s the only fix that works long-term.

What Happens When Your Metabolism Slows Down?

When your body senses a lack of fuel—especially carbohydrates—it downshifts into survival mode. Your thyroid, which is your metabolic thermostat, responds by decreasing output. And often, so does your liver, gut, ovaries, and even brain.

You might notice cold hands and feet, hair shedding, constipation or slow digestion, and weight gain or a stubborn plateau even in a calorie deficit. You may experience low mood, low energy, or anxiety, along with hormonal symptoms like PMS, painful periods, peri-menopause, or missing cycles. Poor sleep, low libido, and feeling "tired but wired" are common, as are mental health shifts like depression or anxiety. Gut issues often show up due to decreased organ tissue and downregulated digestion. Other symptoms include headaches, insomnia, fatigue, muscle cramping, cravings for sugar and salty snacks, constipation and/or diarrhea, cold intolerance, and flaky, dry skin.

Common Lab Markers in Metabolic Dysfunction

And here’s what we often find on labs (even if you’ve been told they’re “normal”):

• Low T3 – the active thyroid hormone that fuels your cells

• High TSH – your brain shouting for help

• Elevated thyroid antibodies – signaling immune stress or autoimmunity

• Elevated cholesterol – from excess fat intake and because low-carb diets suppress T3 which is required to convert cholesterol into hormones

• Low vitamin D despite sun exposure – because your body isn’t converting cholesterol properly

• Elevated prolactin – often a red flag for thyroid dysfunction or chronic stress

• High reverse T3 – from excess inactive thyroid hormone that isn’t being properly converted to active T3

• Low basal body temp + low pulse – cells aren't producing enough energy (ATP)

• Low ferritin, zinc, selenium, or protein status – needed to make and activate thyroid hormone

• Blood sugar instability – often with elevated fasting glucose or insulin, not from overeating but from metabolic downregulation and seed oil toxicity

T3 is the Real Driver of Metabolism

TSH and T4 get all the attention in conventional medicine, but they aren’t the whole picture.

T4 is a prohormone. It has to be converted into T3, which is what actually enters your cells and turns food into energy (ATP). This conversion mostly happens in the liver, intestines, and other organs—and it’s highly dependent on carbohydrates, minerals like selenium and iodine, and overall stress load.

That means your thyroid gland could be making TSH and T4 just fine, and you could still be functionally hypothyroid.

What This Looks Like in Real Life

Clients come to me all the time saying:

• “I can't lose weight on 1400 calories.”

• “I’m cold and tired all the time, but my doctor says my thyroid labs are fine.”

• “If I eat more, I get bloated and gain weight.”

• “I don’t even lose weight when I diet anymore.”

• “I have high cholesterol, and my doctor wants to put me on a statin.”

Here’s the thing: most of these symptoms are rooted in low cellular energy. Your cells are ATP-deficient. And ATP is made with the help of T3. Without enough of it—or without the ability to use it—you’re essentially running on backup systems like adrenaline and cortisol. You feel wired, anxious, and depleted, and you never actually recover.

What Reverse-Dieting Really Means

The reverse-dieting process is about more than calories. It’s about sending a clear signal to your body that the famine is over and it's safe to thrive again.

In this phase, we:

• Increase food strategically (especially carbs)

• Focus on pro-metabolic macros to support liver and thyroid function

• Encourage muscle building without overstressing the body

• Track body temperature, pulse, and symptoms to gauge progress

• Prioritize nutrient-dense, digestible food—not just more food

And no—this isn’t just a free-for-all. We’re rebuilding your metabolic infrastructure. That means we look at what your body can handle, not just what it “should” be able to do.

What a Repaired Metabolism Looks Like

When you get this right, your body starts working for you again. Your waking temperatures rise and your pulse steadies. Energy improves, sleep deepens, and mood lifts. Digestion strengthens, bowel movements become regular and effortless, gut infections clear up, and inflammation calms down. Food sensitivities start to fade. Your menstrual cycles smooth out and become more predictable. You build a leaner body composition while eating more food—not less. Lab markers like cholesterol and hormones normalize as your metabolism regains its rhythm.

You go from running on stress to running on energy.

“But I Don’t Want to Gain Weight…”

This is the hardest part for most people—and it’s the one that keeps them stuck.

If you’ve been under-eating or overtraining, your body needs a season of rebuilding. That might mean a few pounds of scale weight—but often, that weight is water, muscle, organ tissue, and glycogen - muscle fuel reserves. Your body is catching up.

Remember, you can’t burn fat from a body that thinks it’s starving. And you can’t make hormones from thin air. Sometimes you need to gain to lose—and to feel human again.

I call it this: Gain 5 pounds to lose 20, and eat more food for the rest of your life.

We may have to gain a few water weight pounds now to retrain your body to handle 50% more food permanently, so you can lose fat later—with a higher metabolic set point and the ability to keep the fat off and eat more food forever. 

How Did We Get Here?

Let’s zoom out for a second. Humans evolved over hundreds of thousands of years eating real, whole foods from nature—fruit, honey, roots, tubers, meat, raw dairy. We didn’t track macros, skip breakfast, or swap butter for seed oil. Our ancestors moved their bodies, ate to satiety, rested when needed, and passed on resilient metabolic blueprints from generation to generation.

Even just 70 to 100 years ago, our great-grandparents regularly ate 2500–3000 calories per day for women and 3500–4000 for men—without the modern rates of obesity, insulin resistance, infertility, or fatigue. Meals were hearty: meat, milk, cheese, eggs, potatoes, fresh bread, seasonal fruit. Pie after lunch and pie after dinner! Our grandparents ate three meals a day and never needed to “hack” their metabolism. Their body temperatures ran warmer, their pulse was stronger, and they had the metabolic headroom to handle illness, stress, and create lean muscle without sacrificing function.

Then came the industrial revolution. Seed oils replaced animal fats. Processed food replaced traditional meals. Low-fat and low-calorie propaganda flooded our culture. And in the last 60–70 years, we've unintentionally trained our bodies to expect famine—while flooding our systems with fake food and toxins.

Calorie intake dropped. So did protein, saturated fat, healthy carbs, and nutrient density. Over time, body temperatures began to fall. And that’s no small detail: for every 1°F drop in basal body temperature, we burn roughly 1000 fewer calories per day. That’s how powerful metabolism is. You didn’t lose your “willpower.” Your body just adapted.

Now, most women are eating 1200–1600 calories and gaining weight. Men are averaging 2000-2200. The government tells us “based on a 2000 calorie diet”. That’s not a real thing! We’re tired, constipated, anxious, and inflamed—not because we’re broken, but because we’ve drifted so far from the blueprint we evolved for.

The good news? You can return to that baseline. You can teach your body to feel safe again, rebuild metabolic flexibility, and actually thrive on food. And yes—you can be lean, strong, and high-functioning at 2500-3500 calories a day.

What Happens After Metabolism Repair?

Once your metabolism is functioning well again, you’re no longer stuck in survival mode. That means you can actually enter a short fat loss phase—and stay lean—without crashing your hormones or cutting calories to unsustainable levels.

You become someone who can:

• Cut strategically (and briefly) without rebound

• Reach and maintain your goal body fat percentage

• Keep calories high and energy stable after the cut

• Stay lean while eating like a healthy, thriving human being

This isn’t new—it’s how our bodies are meant to work. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors, and even our grandparents just 70 years ago, regularly ate 2500-3500—without obesity, insulin resistance, or chronic fatigue.

Once your metabolic baseline is restored, your body stops fighting you. Instead of resisting fat loss, it participates. It trusts that you’ll feed it again. That’s the goal.

How Do We Know It’s Working?

We track the signs:

• Your basal temperature rises toward 97.8–98.6°F

• Your pulse steadies around 75–85 bpm

• You tolerate carbs again

• PMS, bloating, and fatigue begin to fade

• Your cravings chill out

• Your body feels warmer, stronger, and more stable

These changes often happen before the scale moves. That’s how we know we’re healing—not crashing.

Ready to Get Off the Diet Rollercoaster?

If you’ve been told your thyroid is “normal” but you feel anything but… if you’re eating less and gaining more… if your labs, hormones, and gut are a mess—there’s a reason.

And there’s a strategy.

I don’t share exact macros or calorie plans online because this work is deeply individual. But if you're ready to:

• Restore thyroid function

• Heal your metabolism at the root

• Reclaim your body’s ability to feel warm, energized, and resilient

• And finally get results that last—

Then let’s work together.

Ready to Start Your Healing Phase?

If this resonates and you're ready to stop guessing, I’d love to help you reconnect with your metabolic blueprint and build the strong, high-calorie body you were born for.

Click here to schedule your Initial Session with me and let’s map out your custom strategy for sustainable fat loss, thyroid repair, and metabolic resilience.

Spots are limited, and I work closely with each client—so if your body is asking for help, trust it. Let’s rebuild from the root.

Creamy Spaghetti Squash with Chicken and Parmesan

This has quickly become one of my favorite quick weekday lunches. I can prep a couple spaghetti squashes on the weekend, and then have the shredded squash and chicken ready to go, and just assemble the meal in minutes. If it’s for a crowd, I would recommend combining everything in a casserole dish and baking it in the overn, which I do have another recipe for. This is more of a quick meal for one person. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked spaghetti squash, shredded

3-4 oz cooked chicken breast, chopped up

1/2 Cup Milk of choice, I use skim raw milk separated with this

2 Tablespoons of shredded parmesan

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried italian seasoning or fresh basil

Salt to taste

A little melted butter for pre-baking the spaghetti squash

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375. Cut the spaghetti squash in half with your biggest sharpest kitchen knife. Be careful. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon, and rub the inside of the squash with a little melted butter. Salt the inside of the squash, and place that side down on a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Bake in the oven for about 45-60 minutes until it softens and the spaghetti squash strands can be scraped out with a fork. This can then be stored in the fridge for a week.

Place 2 Cups of shredded spaghetti squash in a small saucepan, add all other ingredients and bring to a simmer, covered. When hot, serve and enjoy! If you’re using fresh herbs, add them at the end.

High-Protein Orange Julius Smoothie

I love this smoothie! I drink it with my breakfast almost every day—or sometimes for a quick lunch. It’s such a great way to make sure I get my collagen in daily. It’s also a great source of protein and healthy carbs!

If it’s your whole meal, use low-fat or full-fat yogurt to get some fats in. Or go with nonfat yogurt if you’ve got another fat source in your meal (like eggs or buttery sweet potatoes).

You can also switch up the fruit additions—this morning I added half a cup of frozen wild raspberries for extra carbs. I also love this little glass blender I found on Amazon, so I don’t have to pull out and wash my big Vitamix every time: https://amzn.to/40M02kw

Ingredients:

• 1 cup organic orange juice (I like pulp-free)

• 1 cup yogurt (I use nonfat or low-fat Greek)

• 1–2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup

• 4 tablespoons collagen peptides – I use this one

• ¼ teaspoon real vanilla extract

• Small dash of sea salt

• Optional: Add-ins like frozen fruit, mango juice, etc.

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth, pour into a glass, and enjoy!

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are probably my favorite food. I eat them almost daily. With eggs in the morning, in a curry, with chicken or beef for lunch or dinner. I often batch-cook these on the weekend to last me through the week, I can easily reheat them for a quick meal on a busy day. I’ve even taken to simply washing and slicing them with the skins still on, and then easily peeling them off just before eating them, to avoid the dreaded task of peeling them raw. I hope you love them as much as I do!

Ingredietts:

2 pounds of sweet potatoes, any size or color, cut into 1-inch rounds

2 Tablespoons of butter, melted

At least 1 teaspoon of sea salt

Optional: Garlic powder

Instructions:

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Put all ingredients into a large mixing bowl and toss well to coat. Place the sweet potatoes on a large baking sheet in a single layer. Pour any remaining butter mixture from the bowl over the sweet potatoes. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes, and then flip them with tongs. Roast for an additional 20-30 minutes, or until they are golden brown and easily pierced with a fork. Take out and enjoy! Leftovers can be kept in the fridge for up to a week.

Egg Roll in a Bowl

I just found this recipe and love it so much! My whole family loved it and I hope yours does too.

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef or seed oil-free ground pork, lightly salted while browning

1 cup shredded carrots

2 cups raw sauerkraut

1 t ginger powder

1 t garlic powder

3 T coconut aminos

2 T fish sauce

Poached eggs, one per person minimum

Small drizzle of sriracha

Instructions:

Brown the meat in a cast iron or stainless steel pan with a little salt. Add the shredded carrot, ginger powder, garlic powder, coconut aminos and fish sauce, and cook until the carrots are slightly softened. Turn off the heat and add the sauerkraut to warm through. Poach the eggs by boiling a saucepan of water and cracking the eggs into the simmering water, letting them cook through for a few minutes until the whites are cooked and the yolks are still runny, scooping them out with a slotted spoon. Serve in bowls with an eggs and a drizzle of sriracha. Enjoy!