Food as Fuel: Eating to Reignite Your Metabolism

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A study in Nature found that your gut bacteria can literally change how many calories you absorb from food. It turns out your gut bacteria can actually make you gain weight, even if you don't eat more. There was this famous study that compared the gut microbiomes of obese versus lean mice. And then, of course, they later repeated this in humans. And what the researchers found was that obesity shifts the balance of gut bacteria. You have fewer Bacteroides and more Firmicutes. And here's the kicker. Hey, I'm JJ Virgin, PhD dropout, sorry mom, turned 4-time New York Times bestselling author. As a certified nutrition specialist, Fitness Hall of Famer, and globally recognized leader in health, I'm driven to keep asking the tough questions and use my podcast to simplify the science of health into actionable strategies that help you thrive. Want an ad-free experience? You can now subscribe to my exclusive VIP podcast at subscribetojj.com for just $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year. It's like your daily latte, but better for your health. I'd also love to hear your thoughts on the show. And here's the fun part. When you send me your review, I'll reply to you using my on-demand virtual me. That's right. My team and I created a virtual JJ packed with my books, speeches, and wisdom so I can personally connect with you. Here's how you do it. Subscribe and leave an honest review of the podcast. Take a screenshot of your review, text it to 813-565-2677. 27. That's 813-565-2627. My virtual JJ will reply directly, and trust me, this will make your day. So subscribe now at subscribe2jj.com and text me your review. Let's keep thriving together. If you've been stuck in the old just count calories trap, it's time to go deeper. Your body Your body is a bank account, but it's also a chemistry lab and a history book. And what you put on your plate either powers your fat-burning engines or brings them to a grinding halt. And today I'm going to show you how to eat in a way that works with your body in midlife. We cover why protein is non-negotiable, how to choose the right carbs and fats, the best meal timing strategies, and the hidden role gut health plays in your metabolism. Now, by the end of this episode, you're going to know exactly how to make every bite work for you, not against you. First, let's talk protein. And I like to say, eat protein first. It is metabolism's best friend. And it's metabolism's best friend for a couple reasons. Number one, protein digestion is expensive. It's got the highest thermic effect of food. It burns a lot of calories to digest and assimilate it, anywhere from 20 to 30% of its calories. Contrast that with basically nothing for fat and 5 to 10% for carbohydrates. It's also essential to build and maintain muscle. And that, of course, as you know, is your metabolism's engine. I call it a function macro for this reason, and it's super big for satiety. It helps keep you full. It stabilizes your blood sugar. And beyond just satiety, it's great for satisfaction too. It helps you curb those cravings. Most women 40+ are under eating protein. Do not go for the RDI. That is about half of where you need to be. Aim for somewhere between 0.7 to 1 gram per pound of ideal body weight. Here's your minimums: gotta get at least 100 grams in a day, and generally this is going to come out to somewhere between 30 and 50 grams per meal. So another really important thing with protein is that's going to help you preserve lean mass as you're losing body fat, and that's super important because when you go on a diet, if you are not careful, you will lose that muscle, and that is just horrific. So here is a brand new meta-analysis. It was published in Clinical Nutrition, ESPN, and it looked at 47 studies with over 3,000 adults who were overweight or obese and trying to lose weight. And the big question that this research looked at, this analysis looked at, is can protein protect your muscle during weight loss? And the answer is yes. People in this study ate more than 1.3 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, and they found that those people who did held onto significantly more muscle. But the people that ate less than 1 gram per pound, per kilo rather, were at a much higher risk of losing muscle. Here's the catch. Extra protein doesn't always preserve strength or physical function in these trials, but it clearly helped protect muscle mass. You still gotta use it, right? So if you're aiming to lose weight and you wanna keep your metabolism humming, and of course you do, the science is really clear. Don't just cut calories. Make sure you're getting optimal protein and you're gonna take some calories away from fat or from carbs, but don't steal from protein, deal? Okay, so you eat protein first and then what comes next? Carbs and healthy fats. Now, where I like to start here are with non-starchy vegetables. I really look at these as the foundation. My goal is for you to get 5 to 10 servings of these a day. And a serving is a half a cup of cooked or a cup raw. You're eating this for the fiber and for the phytonutrients. They're gonna help fill you up. They're great for supporting detox and they feed your gut microbiome. I subscribe to what the American Gut Health Project talks about. They say 30 or more diverse plants a week. So this, by the way, includes herbs too. Otherwise herbs and spices, you'd be like, are you kidding? But things like Brussels and broccoli and red pepper, red onion, all these things are gonna help you get a big diversity of all sorts of polyphenols. Now we're also gonna count in there fruit and other carbs, but right now I'm focusing on non-starchy vegetables. Both non-starchy vegetables and fruit and carbs are gonna give you fiber. And I want you to get a bunch of different types of fiber, resistant starch, things from cooled potatoes, barely ripe bananas. And then you're gonna get prebiotics and you're gonna get soluble fiber and insoluble fiber. They all play different roles in supporting your gut microbiome. So you want all the different ones. Now you're getting those from really whole carbohydrates. You know where you're not getting them from? Ultra-processed food, right? From processed carbs. They're processing the fiber right on out of it. So this is where you want to focus on again, non-starchy vegetables, rainbow of them first, then add in some fruit. I especially love berries, especially raspberries. They're like a fiber powerhouse, but we're getting in the different colors for all the different antioxidants. And then think about some of the slow, low carbs as close to nature as possible. I'm really into Japanese purple potatoes right now. Like, that's been my big one. They are a form of a sweet potato that are pumped with antioxidants and fiber. You might want some wild rice, some lentils. Those are all my favorites in the starchy carb thing, but basically I build it with protein, then I add my non-starchy vegetables, then I'll have a little bit of fruit each day. Then I look at my healthy fats. I'm gonna get a lot of my healthy fats, by the way, from my protein first. So if you are eating wild fish, guess what? I got some omega-3s. If I'm eating grass-fed beef, I've got some omega-3s, I've got some arachidonic acid, I've got some CLA. So I'm getting it from my food first, and then I might cook with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil. So protein, lots of non-starchy veggies, little bit of fruit, and then add in some healthy fats. What you did for cooking, and then play around and see how you feel. Do you feel better with a little more carbs or a little bit more healthy fat? If you are trying to fix your insulin resistance, your blood sugar, you're probably going to feel a little better with lower carb, a little higher fat. So just play around with it and see where you do best. For me, I love what Dr. Donald Layman talks about. He says, "Fuel your carbs for your muscle needs." So I do start with about 100 grams of carbohydrates a day, and then I'll push more depending on my workouts. So basically, healthy fats— let me just dig into them a little bit more because again, I always go with whole foods first, you know, fish, meat, nuts, avocados, seeds. And then if I'm using anything for cooking, it's either extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil or ghee or coconut oil. And sometimes I'll use a little sesame oil in my Asian cooking. What I avoid are the processed oils, the trans fats. And my issue there with seed oils really is that they're processed. They're like the junk food. So that's what you want to avoid because a lot of the processing that they've done to get these oils has brought in some toxic byproducts that we do not want in our food, and we definitely don't want them in our body. And if we're eating them, guess where they're going? There was a study in Cell Metabolism that found that people who ate ultra-processed foods consumed about 500 more calories per day and gained weight compared to when people ate minimally processed foods. This was a study by the NIH. It was led by Dr. Kevin Hall. He is like one of the top scientists in this area. And what they did was they had 20 healthy adults that they put into a controlled setting, and they fed them two 2 different diets. One was made up mostly ultra-processed foods—think packaged snacks and ready-to-eat meals—and another one was made of whole, unprocessed foods. Now, both of the diets were matched for calories, for protein, for sugar, for fiber, even for fat. The only difference was how processed they were. So here's what happened. This is crazy. So good, so good, so good.

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On the ultra-processed diet, 'cause they were allowed to, you know, get what they were gonna get, people ate about 500 extra calories a day without even realizing it. And guess what they got it from? Carbs and fat. And guess what? They gained nearly 2 pounds in just 2 weeks. Then they switched them over to the unprocessed diet and they lost that same amount of weight in 2 weeks. So what's the takeaway? It's not just about calories or macros. Ultra-processed foods, those refined carbs and damaged fats, make you overeat gain weight, right? And then eating whole real foods that eat protein first, non-starchy vegetables, slow, low carbs, healthy fats, they make you eat less and feel better while you're doing it. And that's why cutting out the processed junk, that's one of the most powerful things that you can do both for your metabolism and of course what's going to happen next. It's going to be better for your waistline. So let's talk about mastering meal timing, when and how to eat, because I get asked all the time, okay, but when should we eat? You know, with intermittent fasting and OMAD and all of that coming out. First of all, stop grazing all day long. That whole idea that was like, I guess it was so the '80s, it's like eat all day long. You're going to eat 2 to 4 balanced meals, 3 to 5 hours apart. I, and I say meals because I think of a snack like a mini meal. And again, what I want you to do is eat protein first, then veggies, look where you are with your fat, and then decide what's coming, what's, what do you need more of, fat or carbs? I personally feel better when I eat a bigger breakfast, a lighter dinner. I like people to eat about an hour or two after waking up. The reason for this is you want to give your body time to let your melatonin come down, your cortisol come up, your insulin come back online, right? Your pancreas is back online. So hour or two after waking up in the morning, you got up, you saw the sunshine, you're getting yourself going, then get your 2 to 4 meals in. So if you are doing a little bit shorter eating window, you might be eating between, say, you know, 9 and 6, or 9 and 5. For most of us, we're going to be eating 3 meals. If I've got an athlete or someone really actively working to build muscle, we might be working with a little longer window, say 10 to 12 hours, and they might be eating 4 meals. But generally, those meals are 3 to 5 hours apart. Again, they ate protein first, they added non-starchy vegetables, they used little healthy fats in the cooking, and then they decide more fat, more carbs, whatever works best for them. Biggest thing that I like to make sure of is that you kind of bumper your, your day with protein at breakfast, protein at dinner. I like to divide mine throughout the day because I like the protein-fiber-fat trifecta each meal for satiety. But be sure for sure that you're getting that protein, protein in dinner, good protein boluses and good protein overall. And then here's the thing. Stop eating at least 2 hours before bed. 3 hours is better. 3 to 4, and that is going to help you sleep better. You're going to have lower blood sugar when you wake up in the morning, because remember, when you're, you know, when you're sleeping, you should not be digesting. And whenever you stop eating, you've got about 5 hours of digestion still going on. So maybe you finish dinner at 6, you're still digesting at 11, right? But we want to make sure that you're able to sleep well. As you're going to sleep and melatonin's coming up, it's kind of putting your pancreas to sleep. Cortisol's down, you're not pumping out insulin. So if you eat too late, you're gonna have higher blood sugar in the morning. Next up, hydration. And this is super duper important. Now, of course, beyond just eating, hydration is another key thing. When I think of hydration, this could be water, it could be unsweetened tea, green tea for the win. I gotta do a shout out for Peak Life. I travel with their green tea. Black coffee, shout out Purity and Sacred Cups. That's, I've been traveling with there. So water, sparkling water, unsweetened tea, black coffee, and I also use electrolytes. I use my ElectroReplenish. So do that. Mild dehydration raises cortisol, makes you store more fat around your waist. Avoid that. Plus, it's important for detoxification and satiety. So talking again about front-loading calories, there was a trial in Cell Metabolism that found that front-loading calories earlier in the day reduced hunger and appetite scores by about 15 to 20% compared to people who ate the same calories later on. The researchers had 30 adults with obesity try two different 4-week calorie-restricted diets, same total calories, But one plan front-loaded the day, big breakfast, medium lunch, light dinner. And then the other flipped it, which is more typical, small breakfast, medium lunch, big dinner. Here's what they found. Weight loss was the same. You know, the calories didn't matter when the calories were eaten, but, and metabolism didn't change either. But this is what's important. This is a big deal too. Those who ate the bigger breakfast reported feeling less hungry all day long. I don't know about you, but that's a huge one for me. If I miss breakfast or skimp breakfast, I'm like hungry all the rest of the day. Next up, we got to talk about gut health and inflammation and really what you need to do to heal that gut, because your gut microbiome can influence your weight, your cravings, and your hormones. And what we know about gut health, and from that American Gut Health Project and getting all the plant diversity, is the more gut microbiome diversity, you actually have easier control of your weight. Another thing that you want to think about here are things that could damage your gut, or once your gut is leaky, might be triggering inflammation. And most common ones are gluten for damaging your gut, fructose for damaging your gut, but then dairy, corn, soy, eggs, and peanuts are what I found over and over and over again to be things that tend to cause inflammation when you have a leaky gut. Some of the other important things you can do to heal: prebiotic and probiotic fibers. So think fermented foods, sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, and then some of the different fibers that you can incorporate in because healthy gut improves everything, improves your mood, reduces cravings, gets less bloat. In fact, a study in Nature found that your gut bacteria can literally change how many calories you absorb from food. It turns out your gut bacteria can actually make you gain weight even if you don't eat more. There was this famous study that compared the gut microbiomes of obese versus lean mice. And then of course they later repeated this in humans. And what the researchers found was that obesity shifts the balance of gut bacteria. You have fewer bacteroides and more firmicutes. And here's the kicker: that obese microbiome had a greater ability to harness energy from the same food. Even more shocking, when scientists transferred the obese microbiome into the germ-free mice— so now they gave it to the other mice— the mice gained more body fat than the ones who got the lean microbiome. And by the way, I saw this play out in real life. So I had a client who I still remember when I got her referred to me. Her name was Leslie Hamill. She was Suzanne Somers' stepdaughter. And literally the doctor who referred her to me said, oh, she just needs a cheerleader. And I'm thinking, well, I'm not really the right person for this, but okay. I met her, loved her. And what was interesting was that she had this massive gut stuff going on, and every doctor she went to just kept giving her more probiotics, which is not what she needed. She had small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. She food intolerances. So we fixed those, and boom, she lost weight. And what was crazy was we didn't really— besides changing the food intolerances, it wasn't like we changed the calories. She just had a gut that was making her extract more calories from the food she eat and store it as fat. Here's the takeaway: obesity isn't just about calories in, calories out. Yes, calories count, but your gut microbiome can literally change how many calories you absorb and store. And this is why nurturing a healthy gut is one of the most powerful things you can do for your weight and your health. And think about this: more diverse gut microbes, better fuel efficiency, better immune system, and easier weight control. And if it's less diverse, you can potentially absorb more calories from the foods you eat and store them as fat. I mean, how unfair is that? All right, so there you have it. Food really is one of the most powerful tools you have to reignite your metabolism. When you prioritize protein, when you choose the right carbs and healthy fats that support your body, and you time your meals to keep insulin in check and blood sugar balanced and give your gut what it needs to thrive, that diversity weight loss stops being a battle and fat loss really becomes a byproduct of good health. Remember, this is not about eating less. It's about eating smarter. Making these small consistent upgrades like eating protein first and hitting that protein target, finishing your dinner earlier, or adding more fiber can add up to big lasting results. Now, if today's video gave you a few aha moments, hit the like button, subscribe if you hadn't already, and drop a comment sharing one change you're excited to make this week. Be sure to join me next time for more tools, tips, and techniques you can use to look and feel your best and be built to last. Would you prefer an ad-free experience? Join my VIP podcast at subscribe2jj.com for just $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year to unlock uninterrupted ad-free access to all the episodes and insights you love. Also, I'd love to connect with you and hear your thoughts on the podcast. Here's how. First, subscribe to the podcast and leave an honest review. Second, take a screenshot of your review. And third, text it to 813-565-2627. That's 813-565-2627. 2-6-2-7. When you do, I'll reply using my brand new Virtual JJ. It's my on-demand virtual self built from my books, talks, and years of experience so I can interact with you directly. You'll make my day and I can't wait to hear from you. Thanks for tuning in and I'll catch you on the next episode. Hey, JJ here. And just a reminder that the Well Beyond 40 Podcast offers health, wellness, fitness and nutritional information that's designed for educational and entertainment purposes only. You should not rely on this information as a substitute for, nor does it replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any concerns or questions about your health, you should always consult with a physician or other healthcare professional. Make sure that you do not disregard, avoid, or delay obtaining medical or health-related advice from your healthcare professional because of something you may have heard on the show or read in our show notes. The use of any information provided on the show is solely at your own risk.

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