On the road to good health, naturally

When Dana Maňásková explains the strict nutritional guidelines for clients starting the Metabolic Balance diet, a common refrain is: "So if I can't eat bread or pork, what can I eat? Am I to just eat vegetables like a rabbit?"

According to Maňásková, a Metabolic Balance consultant doctor and coach, people fear the word "diet" and being told what they should or should not eat. But the Metabolic Balance diet is not about what people can't have, but more about what is right for each person as an individual, she said. It's about restoring balance.

"The goal of the whole diet - if you want to call it that - is about eating three times a day and not being hungry," Maňásková said. "It's about finding hormonal balance, eating foods designed specifically for you based on your blood and body type and being satiated. You can't be on a diet and stick to it if you are hungry."

The Metabolic Balance diet was developed in 2001 by German physician and nutritionist Dr. Wolf Funfack. While relatively a new method, it's based on 16 years of research and is gaining popularity in Germany because of its all-natural approach to weight loss and overall improved health. Since its inception, about 400,000 dietary plans of this program have been created in Germany, one of Europe's most obese nations with a 21 percent obesity rate, according to a report by the International Association for the Study of Obesity.

With the Czech Republic coming in at about 23 percent in the same study, Metabolic Balance coach Ivana Büttner said it's no surprise the program is becoming popular here, as well.

"Czechs have a similar diet to Germans: similar traditional foods that are full of fat, meat-oriented meals with dumplings and dense sauces," Büttner said. "In the Czech Republic, it is still, unfortunately, more important that the food is cheap and tastes as usual. But statistics speak for themselves. Germans are now willing to take more responsibility for their nutrition, even when it might burden their wallets."

The diet doesn't require any special or unique foods - everything can be found at most grocery stores - and is tailored to each individual.

Clients are given a blood analysis, have body measurements taken and give personal information like food allergies and food aversions. The blood samples go through 35 different tests to measure factors like glucose and insulin levels. From this, a certified nutritionist or "coach" can create a personalized nutrition plan specific to each client. The coaches not only explain what to eat, but why the body requires it in order to maintain real results. Coaches can be found on the Metabolic Balance website by area and work in adjunct to their own careers as either nutritional therapists or doctors.

"When creating a meal plan, I explain to my clients that our body is built from proteins and fats and we need to replace this when we use energy," said Anna Nandrážiová, a diet coach. "Carbohydrates are needed, but if you look at how we eat, we primarily eat a majority of carbohydrates every day, and we only need them when we are going to be using a lot of energy. For some lifestyles, vegetables, fats and proteins are enough."

The diet consists of four "stages," and coaches guide their clients through the first three. The two-day "preparatory" phase requires the individual to eat light foods and use Epsom salts to evacuate their bowels. The "strict adjustment" phase is next, lasting for at least 14 days, but can go up to three months or more, Nandrážiová said. This is the hardest phase, according to the coaches, because it requires the removal of all oils for the first 14 days and a primary diet of lean proteins, fats and vegetables in order to "coax the metabolism back to life." The third and final phase with a coach is the "relaxed adjustment" phase, where patients slowly introduce additional foods and oils back to their system as a test. The last phase is "maintenance," which is intended to last for the rest of a client's life.

"The last phases are about listening to your body," Maňásková said. "People are able to introduce more and more foods back to their diet, but they need to make sure they are feeling good and not go overboard. This isn't just about losing weight after all - it's about being healthy and feeling good."

In December 2010, a study was published in the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism about the overall effects of the Metabolic Balance diet. The study measured the success of a diet program on the long-term success of people reducing their weight 5 percent and sustaining it over one year. According to the findings, 62.5 percent of the participants easily cleared this hurdle, and a total of 31.1 percent of participants lost more than twice the recommended amount - that is, more than 10 percent - and kept it off for more than a year.

"The crowning achievement of this program is the weight regulation," Büttner said. "This is why many clients come to us. At the same time, this program is wonderful for improving type 2 diabetes, hypertension, elevated cholesterol, allergies, eczema, migraines and even PMS."

According to the study, participants also had improved health and quality of life. Before the study, only 38 percent said they were satisfied with their health, but after one year, this figure jumped to 68 percent. In addition, 27 percent complained of serious health problems prior to Metabolic Balance diet. After one year, however, this number had fallen to 11.3 percent.

Büttner, Nandrážiová and Maňásková were all skeptical of the diet at first, thinking it might just be another in a long line of fad diets. But all three said they were so impressed by their weight loss and increased overall health that they became coaches.

"I reject labeling this a trend; it's more of a direction," Büttner said. "Our wish is to get into the subconscious of the Czech people as a solid, scientifically verified way of losing weight and positively affect the metabolic process of the body."

Megan Battista can be reached at
features@praguepost.com