Metabolic Typing Test
Adapted from The Metabolic Typing Diet (Wolcott and Fahey 2000, 135), this
simple test is the
most
basic way to
determine your
metabolic type.
Circle the letter of the phrase that best completes the following 25 statements according
to how you actually
feel, not how you think you should
feel. If you don`t usually pay attention to
your body`s cues before and after eating, then do so for a few days (while continuing your
present eating habits) before taking the
test. To ensure a valid result, be honest and do not skip
any questions!
Instructions for scoring follow.
Questions
1. When I
feel anxious,
angry, or
irritable,
A.
heavy fatty foods such as
meat or
salty nuts make me
feel better.
B.
fruit,
vegetables, or
fruit juice makes me
feel better.
2. I
feel best when I eat the following for breakfast:
A. sausage, eggs, and/or bacon.
B. cereal,
fruit, and/or toast.
3. If I attended a buffet and could eat whatever I wanted (all health rules aside), I would
choose
A. steak, pork chops, ribs, gravy, and a salad with creamy dressing.
B.
chicken, turkey, fish,
vegetables, and a dessert.
4. I
feel best when the temperature is
A. cool or cold; I don`t like hot weather.
B. warm or hot; I don`t like cold weather.
5. Coffee makes me
feel
A.
jittery, jumpy, nervous, hyper, shaky, or hungry.
B. okay, as long as I don`t drink too much.
6. In the morning, I am
A. hungry and ready to eat breakfast.
B. not hungry and don`t
feel like eating.
7. At midday, I am
A. hungry and ready to eat lunch.
B. not noticeably hungry and have to be reminded to eat.
8. In the evening, I am
A. hungry and ready to eat dinner.
B. not noticeably hungry and have to be reminded to eat.
9. I concentrate best if I have eaten a meal that includes
A.
meat and
fatty foods.
B. fruits,
vegetables, and grains.
10. When I have cravings, I tend to want
A.
salty and
fatty snacks (peanuts, cheese, or potato chips).
B.
baked goods or other carbs (bread, cereal, or crackers).
11. When I eat sugar or a sugary snack,
A. I
feel a rush of energy, then am likely to crash and
feel fatigued.
B. my energy levels are restored.
12. If dessert is served,
A. I can take it or leave it; I would rather have cheese, chips, or popcorn.
B. I definitely will indulge; I like to have something sweet after a meal.
13. If I have a dessert, I most often choose
A. cheesecake or creamy French pastries.
B. cakes, cookies, or candies.
14. For dinner, I
feel best (satiated) after eating
A. steak and
vegetables.
B. skinless
chicken breast, rice, and a salad.
15. I sleep best if my dinner is
A.
heavy and includes more proteins.
B. light and includes more carbohydrates.
16. I wake up feeling well rested if
A. I don`t eat sweets in the evening.
B. I eat sweets in the evening.
17. I
feel best during the day if I eat
A. small meals frequently, or three meals a day plus some snacks.
B. two to three meals a day and no snacks; I can last pretty long without eating.
18. I describe myself as someone who
A. loves to eat;
food is a central part of my life.
B. is not very concerned with
food; I may forget to eat at times.
19. If I skip a meal, I
feel
A.
irritable,
jittery,
weak, tired, or depressed.
B. okay; it doesn`t really bother me.
20. If I had
fruit and low-fat cottage cheese for lunch, I would
feel
A. hungry,
irritable, and sleepy soon after.
B. satisfied and probably could go until dinner after that.
21. During the day, I
feel hungry
A. often and need to eat several times a day.
B. rarely and have a
weak appetite.
22. I would describe myself as someone who is more
A. extroverted—I am a very social person.
B. introverted—I usually keep to myself.
23. When a
food or meal is very
salty,
A. I love it!
B. I don`t enjoy it.
24. If I get hungry midafternoon, I
feel best (more energized) after eating
A. cheese and
nuts.
B. something sweet.
25. After exercising, I
feel best if I eat
A. a
protein shake or
food that contains
protein.
B. a high-sugar drink or
food, such as a Gatorade or a banana.
Scoring
First, count how many times you circled A and B to
determine your scores:
Total
number of A answers = _______
Total
number of B answers = _______
Next, referring to these scores, select your
metabolic type classification according to the
following criteria:
If your A score is
5 or more points higher than your B score (e.g., A =
15, B = 10), then
you are a
Protein Type.
If your B score is
5 or more points higher than your A score (e.g., A = 10, B =
15), then
you are a Carb
Type.
If your A and B scores are within
3 points of each other (e.g., A = 14, B = 11), then you
are a Mixed
Type.
Now return to the Chapter on
Metabolic Typing in The
Diet Solution Program
Manual, and learn which
foods and eating habits best suit your
metabolic type.
This is a copy of the Chapter on
Metabolic Typing from the
Diet Solution Manual for your
quick reference. After you have completed the
Metabolic Typing Test, read through the
description of (and special considerations for) your
metabolic type in this chapter. You must
understand why certain
foods are ideal so that you can then make the best choices for your
personal meal plan.
As you learn about your
metabolic type, remember that each person is unique, so some
fine-tuning may be necessary as you change your eating habits. Pay close attention to your
body`s cues. Most people have fallen out of touch with their bodies and don`t know what true
health feels like. Pay close attention to the one and only source that knows what`s best for you—
your body!
Protein Types
Protein Types typically crave rich,
fatty foods such as pizza, sausages, and
salty roasted
nuts. If
you are a
Protein Type, chances are that you love
food. You may not
feel satiated after a snack
and may often
feel hungry, even after eating a large meal. When you have eaten too many
carbohydrates, you tend to crave sugar. And once you start eating sugary
foods, you want more
and more and may find it difficult to stop. Sugar often causes you to
feel jittery and will quickly
make your energy levels drop.
Protein Types may have tried to lose weight by using extreme calorie-cutting methods,
only to be unsuccessful—and
feel miserable in the process.
Protein Types cannot successfully
lose weight by drastically decreasing calorie intake.
When
Protein Types eat the wrong kind of
food, they may notice energy problems—
extreme fatigue or a wired ȁCon edgeȁD feeling. Eating often makes them
feel better when they
feel
anxious, nervous, or shaky, but then they
feel worse soon afterward. These cycles of energy ups
and downs are definite signs of a mismatch between
metabolic type and
food consumption.
What Does a
Protein Type Need?
Protein Types need a
diet high in proteins and fats and low in carbohydrates. But think balance—
not the Atkins
Diet!
Protein Types can eat various carbohydrates in the form of some grains,
fruits, and
vegetables, as long as they are adequately balanced with proteins and fats.
Because
Protein Types metabolize
food more quickly than other
metabolic types (which
is why they
feel hungry all the
time), heavier
protein choices such as whole eggs, dark-meat
poultry, beef, and dairy are essential for ideal meal planning. These
foods have long been
considered ȁCunhealthyȁD because of their high fat content, but as you will learn in the Chapter on
Fats in the
Diet Solution Manual, saturated fat is not the cause of disease; refined
carbohydrates, processed
foods, and hydrogenated oils are.
Protein Types who do not eat
heavy
proteins with a high fat content will be hungry all day and struggle with their weight. Even
worse, they will almost always
feel fatigued and
anxious.
ȁCMust DosȁD for
Protein Types
Eat
protein at every meal and with every snack. Eating only carbohydrates at a meal
causes your blood sugar to spike and then drop quickly, which will leave a
Protein Type
feeling hungry, fatigued, and
anxious as well as cause cravings for more carbohydrates
shortly afterward. Eating protein—especially animal protein—at every meal and for
snacks will help to control your blood sugar levels and leave you feeling satiated and
steady throughout the day. Again, remember to listen to your body; pay attention to
which meals and snacks leave you hungry or craving more.
Eat small meals frequently or healthy snacks between meals.
Protein Types need to
eat often; otherwise, they`ll suffer from extremely low blood sugar levels. Going too long
between meals (or snacks) also will create ravenous hunger, which in turn will cause
overeating at the next meal—only to lead to lethargy and an uncomfortable feeling
afterward.
Avoid refined carbohydrates.
Foods such as bread, crackers, and pastas—especially
those made from wheat—can be extremely disruptive for
Protein Types. Wheat breaks
down into sugar faster than any other grain and causes the rapid release of large
quantities of insulin. That is why sprouted whole grain bread products are the only
allowable sources of bread on the
Diet Solution Program. These products are described
in the Chapter on Grains.
Avoid most fruits and
fruit juices. Fruits are a wonderful, healthy
food, but
Protein
Types need to be extra careful with their
fruit selections. Some fruits are quickly
converted to sugar in the bloodstream and cause extreme blood sugar fluctuations. The
best
fruit choices for
Protein Types are apples and avocadoes (high in fiber and low in
sugar). Some people may be able to eat more of these fruits than others.
Carb Types
A Carb
Type tends to have a
weak appetite. If you are a Carb
Type, chances are that you`re
happy with a minimal amount of
food each day. You can get by on small amounts of
food and
don`t give
food much thought until you
feel hungry.
Carb Types tend to eat less often because they ȁChave no
time to eat.ȁD These goal-oriented
workaholics will skip meals to do what they need to do each day. They may go for extended
periods without eating, sending the metabolism into starvation mode. Decreasing the
metabolic
rate in this fashion can lead to weight management problems and obesity. Carb Types also are
more dependent on caffeinated beverages to get them through the day than other
metabolic types
are. This dependency often weakens their appetites even more, compounding their nutritional
problems.
Carb Types have a high tolerance for
baked goods and starchy
vegetables. This can be a
bad thing, because they tend to overeat these carbohydrates, which can lead to unhealthy
conditions such as hypoglycemia, insulin resistance, and diabetes.
What Does a Carb
Type Need?
A Carb
Type needs a
diet composed of more carbohydrates than proteins or fats. But that doesn`t
mean that Carb Types don`t need
protein throughout the day. Lighter, low-fat proteins such as
white-meat poultry and whitefish (e.g., tilapia, sea bass) are good choices. Carb Types can
choose from a wide variety of carbohydrates and can eat them in larger quantities than any other
type.
Although Carb Types convert carbohydrates into energy slowly (unlike
Protein Types), it
does not mean that they can go on carbohydrate binges. An elevated insulin response is still a
concern, especially if weight loss is the goal. Insulin is a fat-storing hormone, so large quantities
in the bloodstream will make losing weight quite difficult. Remember, excess of any particular
food can lead to weight gain and disease, and always maintain the
food portions and ratios
recommended for your
type (according to the Ideal
Food Ratios For Each
Metabolic Type
Chart).
Carb Types lose weight and
feel well on a high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet—the opposite
of what a
Protein Type needs.
ȁCMust DosȁD for Carb Types
Choose low-fat proteins. Incorporate a low-fat
protein such as white-meat poultry or
whitefish into each meal. Avoid (or eat only occasionally) high-fat proteins, which may
cause lethargy, depression, or fatigue.
Choose dairy products carefully. Carb Types tend to metabolize dairy poorly. The best
way to learn whether dairy is a wise choice for you is to carefully monitor your reaction
after you have consumed it with a meal. If you
feel lethargic or fatigued shortly after,
limit your dairy consumption.
Choose carbohydrates carefully. Choose plenty of low-starch
vegetables, like broccoli
and salad greens, and limit consumption of high-starch
foods such as bread, pasta, and
grains. If you
feel sluggish, sleepy, or hungry soon after a meal containing a low-fat
protein, a vegetable, and a grain, you may have eaten too much grain. Try increasing the
protein amount and decreasing the grain amount the next
time you have this same meal.
Monitor your response to legumes. Carb Types typically cannot easily digest the
type
of
protein that most legumes contain. Therefore, eat legumes infrequently. As with all
other
foods, monitor your response carefully, and pay attention to your
ability to combine
them with certain
foods. I have some clients who can eat
chicken,
beans, and
vegetables
and
feel great but
feel tired and sluggish if they eat
beans, rice, and
vegetables.
Limit the
nuts and seeds. Carb Types
feel best on a low-fat
diet, and
nuts and seeds add
too much fat to a meal.
Nuts and nut butters are great
protein choices for snacks, but lean
animal meats are
better protein choices for meals.
Mixed Types
A Mixed
Type requires an equal balance of proteins, carbohydrates, and healthy fats, and
including variety in the
everyday meal plan is essential. Of the three
metabolic types, this one is
actually easiest to manage, because the
food choices are greater. Some meals may resemble those
for
Protein Types, and some may resemble those for Carb Types; some may have features of
both.
The appetite of a Mixed
Type tends to vary greatly throughout the day—hungry at meals
but not in between; ravenous at times and no appetite at others. Of course, these responses
depend on what
foods have been eaten that day. Mixed Types generally don`t suffer from
cravings. However, like the other types, Mixed Types who eat too much sugar or carbohydrates
may develop strong sugar cravings.
Mixed Types must incorporate high-fat and low-fat proteins as well as high-starch and
low-starch carbohydrates into their meal plans. If you are a Mixed
Type, familiarize yourself
with the requirements of both types to find your perfect balance.
A Mixed
Type may be more of a
Protein Mixed
Type or a Carb Mixed Type—in other
words, have more qualities of one
type than the other. The only way to truly figure this out is by
trial and
error: by paying close attention to responses to each meal and then determining which
foods make you
feel good and energized and which
foods leave you feeling hungry, fatigued,
cranky, or craving more. Finding the right balance of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats is the key
to losing weight, feeling great, and achieving optimal health.
Buying & Selling
