katie.jayne.king 
This is a continuation of Alice’s journey on Metabolic Balance®. If you haven’t read part 1 catch up on that first here.
1 week into the program now, it was time for me to touch base with this lovely young lady again today. This second touch point, shortly into the plan is an important one. The first week can be a bit of a harrowing journey for some, especially if they are coming from a high sugar diet. This was not the case for Alice (her diet was fairly good before, just a bit inconsistent… due to life really), but it’s always good to reflect on the first week regardless. It’s also important to look at what symptoms have changed and check on body composition as well – it’s about celebrating the little wins.
Metabolic Balance® kicks off with a 2 day ‘cleanse’ and Alice was kind to herself the first day, mainly resting and doing a bit of computer work at home. The second day was a little bit more brutal with a stubborn headache, a foggy brain and a general feeling of exhaustion. These are typical detoxy type symptoms, which most people experience to some degree. By dinner time, Alice said she had gotten through it so it did pass quickly.
By Sunday, Alice started on her official food plan. She was a little shocked with her portion of vegetables in particular, thinking that it didn’t look like a lot. However, when married with her protein, she was surprised that it did indeed satisfy her. Monday was back into routine and a full day out of the house, and keeping up with hydration was tough (water intake is individually assigned on Metabolic Balance®). By Tuesday, there was a big turnaround and Alice said she felt a little bit ‘euphoric.’ One of the biggest wins on that day was noting the absence of consistent aches in the fingers and hands – a symptom that had bothered her for some time. This seemed to have disappeared and still today (Friday) had not been noted again at all. This is a good sign that systemic inflammation is beginning to correct itself with the right foods for the individual. Obviously, its not going to happen overnight, but it will slowly dissipate over many months. Symptoms improvement and weight release are signs that this is the case.
Alice had reported consistent bloating in her first consult and this came good pretty quickly into the plan. Usually, chickpeas are a major trigger for this, but even following a chickpea meal, the bloating wasn’t near as severe as usual. Alice thinks a big part of this comes down to meeting her actual hydration requirements. I believe as a practitioner a big reason for digestion improving is ‘uncomplicated food’ and simple protein choices for the body.
Despite feeling less ‘fluidy’ and less ‘blah’ (we can all relate to those feelings can’t we), Alice said she had no expectations when it came to measuring. She knew things were going to take time and didn’t expect a huge change. A nice surprise when the scales reflected a weight loss of 2.0kg and a scan confirmed a loss of 1.63kg in body fat (the remainder was water weight). Her waist measurement was 2.5cm lower, directly over the belly button. Think about what this might mean to someone who has felt out of control of their body and their health for some time, not knowing what to do or how to help themselves, yet trying to do ‘all of the right things.’
One of the most significant and rewarding changes at this point would be quite a fast turnaround in Alice’s mood. Over the previous month she’d had some time off and she realised she’d stayed at home almost the entire time. Really hadn’t wanted to see anyone and had avoided doing anything…. Just felt blue. She said that she was feeling more like herself already and wished she had the time off all over again – to catch up with some loved ones and do some fun things. It’s so nice that some zest for life is coming back and obviously such an important aspect of health to monitor. Another clinical example of why nutrition is such an important consideration for mental health.
The foods Alice stuck with were really basic this week. Having to juggle this program, alongside a large family and full time study commitments, she didn’t get too adventurous. Creating some new meals and bringing in some other proteins will be the focus for week 2.
A good start to a journey. Everyone’s being unique.