Understanding how metabolism works and all the different aspects that go into metabolic health can feel overwhelming. This week Jenn is breaking it all down into digestible pieces, so you can create metabolic flexibility. In this episode, Jenn is discussing metabolic flexibility. This is the body’s ability to burn different types of fuel (sugar or fat) depending on what’s available. She breaks down the different aspects that go into creating metabolic flexibility, including sleep, stress, movement, and nutrition. Jenn provides some great examples of how to implement each of these factors into your daily life, and which are most important when getting started. She takes the overwhelm out of this complex topic so that you can get started with one small thing today to create more metabolic flexibility in your life. Tune in today to learn more! The Salad With a Side of Fries podcast is hosted by Jenn Trepeck, discussing wellness and weight loss for real life, clearing up the myths, misinformation, bad science & marketing surrounding our nutrition knowledge and the food industry. Let’s dive into wellness and weight loss for real life, including drinking, eating out, and skipping the grocery store.IN THIS EPISODE:[3:15] Jenn tells members the recipe they are getting this week and about the quarterly live Q&A.[5:23] What is metabolic flexibility? [7:24] What is metabolism and how does it work? [8:37] What is metabolic health and what are the indicators of metabolic health? [13:45] What are the benefits of being metabolically flexible? [18:11] How does intermittent fasting and the keto diet impact metabolism and metabolic flexibility?[27:12] Does sleep impact metabolic flexibility? [31:21] Why does stress impact metabolic flexibility? [35:18] How does exercise influence metabolic flexibility? [40:00] Jenn summarizes how all these aspects come together when it comes to your health. KEY TAKEAWAYS:The ketogenic diet was originally designed to help treat seizures. If you do not experience seizures, the keto diet isn’t meant to be followed for life. Sleep is one of the most accessible, effective ways to support metabolic flexibility.The key factor to ensure that we remove fat without losing as much muscle is eating quality and sufficient amounts of protein and strength training. We need all the macronutrients in order to maintain muscle mass and not turn the muscle into fuel. QUOTES: [2:29] “Metabolic flexibility is the body’s ability to use different sources of fuel, depending on what’s available. So essentially it’s the body using sugar or glucose or fat as it’s fuel. In an ideal scenario, the body’s able to adapt depending on what's available and it might go back and forth.” - Jenn Trepeck[19:33] “When we’re eating processed foods, higher glycemic carbohydrates, foods that look like food but are really new to nature molecules, devoid of nutrition, it sets us up for challenges with glucose and insulin and again, allowing our body to do what it’s supposed to do. So whole, real foods meeting those dietary needs.” - Jenn Trepeck[34:53] “Think about all the little things that you can build into your day to help chip away at that stress whether we feel like we’re stressed in that moment, so that we can start to make the shift and turn off that nervous system response that keeps us in that glucose burning state.” - Jenn Trepek[44:35] “If you are in a place where you’re experiencing all of those symptoms, or signs of metabolic rigidity, let's start with a progression of working towards whole foods. Hitting our protein, fiber, quality fat. Let’s work to get our blood sugar in these middle ranges. Make sure we have all the stress reduction, the sleep, the movement, all of these other elements in place, and then we can evolve into a place where we start to experiment with some of the other things.” - Jenn TrepeckRESOURCES:The Mess of Stress EpisodeNutrition 101 EpisodeSleep on it EpisodeBeyond Cardio EpisodeAutophagy Nutrition NuggetBecome A Member of Salad with a Side of FriesJenn’s Free Menu PlanA Salad With a Side of FriesA Salad With a Side of Fries Instagram