Diane Kress and the Metabolism Miracle: its whose eating what that is the key to weight loss

Ever wonder why one bagel can make your hips grow an inch while another carb-freak can eat pasta without end and stay a size 4? Its not just body type that determines dress size but also metabolism type. Diane Kress, a nutritionist and founder of The Nutrition Center of Morristown  (www.nutritioncenterofmorristown.com) explains this in her new book "The Metabolism Miracle" (www.themetabolismmiracle.com). I was lucky to get a chance to ask Diane about her program and what it can do for those of us with Metabolism B.

How is this book any different from all the other popular ones over the years?

The Metabolism Miracle is a first of its kind diet and lifestyle program that promises to change the way people diet from now on. Most diets (non-fad diets) are based on the theory that metabolism (the way your body processes food for the body’s needs) is the same from person to person. From this theory…the “calories in – calories out” style of weight loss is the framework for almost all weight loss programs. Using this premise…if someone wants to lose weight…they would need to decrease their intake of calories and increase their expenditure of calories to lose weight. Cut calories and increase the exercise. If the person also has high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or high blood sugar they would, in addition to counting calories, decrease their fat intake, sodium intake, and sugar intake.

As a registered dietitian with over 25 years of experience specializing in weight reduction, obesity, and diabetes, I became very aware that although I taught my patients by the traditional tenets, and although they tried to put into action everything I taught them, almost ½ of these motivated patients did not lose an appropriate amount of weight, were unable to keep it off, had minimal if any improvements in their cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar….and…..as if that weren’t enough…..continued to gain weight and need more and more medications for weight related health concerns. 

I guess I should tell you that I was one of those 45% of patients. I followed every rule, exercised daily, ate correctly, watched my calories, fat, salt…and as time went on….I got heavier, sicker, felt more fatigued and irritable, and eventually ended up with weight issues, hypertension, elevated cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes…..all while following and teaching “the perfect diet.”

The problem is that the diet I followed, learned, taught, advocated….the diet that matched the “if you are overweight you must be eating too much and exercising too little” axiom” was the diet that was making me sicker. I was not going to go down without a fight! As the years progressed, more and more research was done regarding weight, obesity, diabetes. As the results about metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, pre-diabetes came back, it became obvious that the diet we were teaching did not match many many peoples’ metabolism. Metabolic syndrome, a medical condition that eventually causes midline fat deposits (a roll around the middle), high cholesterol/triglycerides, high blood sugar, and high blood pressure was “discovered” over 20 years ago. I found that everyone who was having trouble losing weight on traditional diets had metabolic syndrome. The problem was that the diet for metabolic syndrome was and is a diet that focuses on calories, fat, salt, and a 50% carb diet!

I took apart everything I was taught about diet and started from scratch. At this time I was teaching the traditional diet at weight loss and diabetes centers at teaching hospitals. The program I was creating ran counter to almost everything I had to teach. As the results became more and more obvious, I decided to branch out and begin teaching the Met B approach at a private practice office. The outcomes were amazing! For the first time people who previously could not lose weight were losing and keeping it off. Their blood pressure, cholesterol, weight around the middle, and blood sugar dramatically improved. Medications had to be reduced or removed! I was onto something huge.

I opened a Nutrition Center and began to get referral from all over the tri-state area (NJ, NY, CT). Eventually world got out and I began seeing people from all over the country. I kept data, I tabulated long-term results. Over 3000 successful patients later, the Metabolism Miracle was born. It is time to get this program out to the public, make it accessible, affordable, and doable. I am so proud of this work and, if the reader has Met B, can promise an excellent result. This is not a fad diet, it is a diet based on physiology, science, and proven outcomes. 

How does the Metabolism Miracle differ from other low carb diets like Atkins or South Beach?

Remember that Dr. Atkins wrote his program 30 years ago. At that time, as a cardiologist, he realized that about ½ of his cardiology patients (those with high cholesterol, blood pressure, midline weight, and even high blood sugar) were not responding to traditional calorie based, low fat, low salt diets. He was a pioneer in that he stood up to traditional medical science and said…..something is different here. These people can actually lower their weight and cholesterol/blood pressure without counting calories and fat grams……if I restrict their carbohydrate intake, their weight, lipids, pressure improves. Voila!

Unfortunately, this was going on in the stone ages of research regarding metabolism. He had no Nutrition Facts labeling, did not know exactly how much carb was in foods, had no knowledge of saturated/unsaturated/monounsaturated fats, didn’t know of Omega 3 fatty acids, didn’t know about the harm of transfats, didn’t even really understand the root of the problem….Metabolism B. He got a big part of it right, but did not have the tools to get it all right. 

As a result, as soon as his patients moved from an excessively limited carb phase, and tried to add carb back in….they regained everything. In time, people felt that they had to live completely carb free to lose weight and keep it off. This style diet is unhealthy, unbalanced, and is not correcting the underlying problem. Fast forward to the year 2001 (ish) when Dr. Argasett (another cardiologist) released the South Beach Diet. If you analyze the mechanics of South Beach, it is an updated Atkins diet. The difference is that by 2001 we knew about the dangers of saturated fat, high fat diets, transfats…we had Nutrient fact labeling, and we knew of the glycemic index. 

The major problem….by updating Atkins …the diet was improved by promoting low fat, lean meats, discouraging trans fats, and emphasizing the glycemic index…..but the flaw remained! Neither Atkins or South Beach focused on the root problem …excess insulin production. They never succeeded in resting the pancreas and therefore suppressing insulin release for an 8 week period of time and then REPROGRAMMING the pancreas and liver to respond normally to carbs. 

The Metabolism Miracle is the only program that rests the hyperactive pancreas and liver, reprograms these organs (through proper introduction of carbs regarding the amount, timing, and type of carb presented to the rested system) and then teaching a lifestyle (not a diet) to maintain equilibrium in the metabolism. The Metabolism Miracle is the only program that matches all the components of Metabolism B!  

It’s in the labwork: Fasting labs only