In "Metabolism Makeover," registered dietitian nutritionist Megan Hansen challenges the conventional wisdom of the diet industry and offers a refreshing approach to weight loss and overall health. Rather than focusing on restrictive diets and calorie counting, Hansen advocates for understanding how our bodies actually work and nurturing our metabolic ecosystem.

Through the book, readers will discover the six key pillars of the Metabolic Ecosystem—blood sugar control, muscle, movement, stress management, good sleep, and a healthy gut—and learn how to optimize each pillar to fit their lifestyle. Hansen simplifies complex concepts and provides practical strategies for mastering long-term weight loss without relying solely on willpower.

Central to Hansen's approach is the concept of informed intuitive eating, which empowers individuals to tune into their body's signals and make choices that support their health goals. By understanding and anticipating cravings, readers can effectively manage them and prevent derailment from their dietary intentions.

Moreover, "Metabolism Makeover" introduces the Next Best Choice framework, equipping readers with the tools to navigate challenging situations, such as vacations and holidays, without succumbing to the "f*ck it" mentality. Hansen emphasizes that our bodies inherently know how to lose weight and maintain it—we just need to learn how to listen to them.

With Hansen's guidance, readers will gain the confidence to reclaim control of their appetite, mindset, and overall well-being. "Metabolism Makeover" serves as an empowering owner's manual for optimizing metabolic health and achieving sustainable weight loss.

Megan has opened my eyes into the negative effect of diet culture. Her program has helped me lose 20lbs and gain confidence in myself and my body. This book does not disappoint! You will not be sorry.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

"Metabolism Makeover: Ditch the Diet, Train Your Brain, Drop the Weight for Good" by Megan Hansen is a refreshing take on the saturated diet and wellness book market. Hansen's approach is holistic and empathetic, focusing on sustainable lifestyle changes rather than quick fixes.

The book's central premise is that traditional diets have misled us with their focus on restriction and calorie counting. Rather, Hansen promotes a deeper understanding of our bodies' metabolic processes and how we can harness them to achieve lasting weight loss and well-being.

What makes this book unique (in this always over-saturated market of weight loss material) is Hansen's emphasis on 'training the brain.' Hansen gives us practical tools to reshape our relationship with food, encouraging mindful eating and a positive mindset.

The narrative is empowering, urging readers to reclaim control over their health without falling prey to the diet industry's often harmful myths.

Hansen's writing is accessible and relatable, making complex nutritional information easy to "digest" . She doesn't shy away from the science but presents it in a way that enlightens rather than intimidates. Structured to guide readers through a journey of self-discovery and transformation, each chapter builds on the last to create a comprehensive picture of the subject.

Anecdotes and testimonials are interspersed throughout the book adding individual flair, and illustrating the real-world impact of Hansen's methods. From overcoming disordered eating to managing weight through pregnancy, there are various engaging personal stories...

I have been struggling with a sluggish metabolism. This book provides some great advice and suggestions for stimulating the metabolism.

This book was so well-done. I loved all of the charts/info that went with each of the chapters and the way each section was broken down. It is very easy to follow and I have taken the quiz multiple times now after every few months just to see where I think I am in each category and how I can improve more. Just wonderful!

This is more of a 3.5 stars for me. Informational without getting super technical. It is nice to read something about health that takes a more holistic approach compared to focusing on calories alone. As someone that recently started keto, this was beneficial to read. I do think this is one that would be better as a physical book instead of an ebook just so you can flip back and forth and easily look at certain parts again.

A thoughtful and educational book on a new lifestyle food journey. It gives practical advice and tips to change how we think of food and what we should focus on. I wish it gave more practical advice about how to implement the new lifestyle when traveling abroad. Also if there are food allergies what can a person eat? Overall, it was a good book. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for my review.

I have been following Megan on instagram for a few years, so I was excited to read some of her thoughts in a book form. I thought it had a lot of her candidness and good advice, if this is the type of diet/lifestyle change you're wanting to make.

Metabolism Makeover by Megan Hansen was a quick, easy read chock full of good information about how to jumpstart your metabolism. It is not just a diet book, covering a wide range of topics including exercise, sleep, and reducing stress. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Book Review

Title: Metabolism Makeover: Ditch the Diet, Train Your Brain, Drop the Weight for Good by Megan Hansen, RDN

Genre: Non-Fiction, Medical, Science

Rating: 4.25 Stars

The introduction of Metabolism Makeover simply sets out the goals of the book which aren’t to provide set meals and exercise plans like most self-help books but rather to help us how our bodies work in regards to food and the processing of food. If we understand this better than we can better met our body’s needs while also maintaining the ideal weight loss. The author also relates to this struggle as she had her own issues with weight and food while studying and through her own research rather than what she was taught, she learnt that she could lose weight without depriving her body of what it needs in order to survive.

Chapter One focuses on introducing us to the metabolic system and what it actually does when we eat and how it responds differently depending on the types of food we consume. Hansen makes it clear early on that the diet industry and culture often set people up to fail as it doesn’t provide them with the right tools for their goals. In most cases, people start with the physical aspect, such as increasing exercise and restricting their calorie intake which does lead to weight loss temporarily. However, it also leads to an unhealthy relationships with food and a wretched metabolism, Hansen’s approach is the reverse to start with fixing the metabolism and creating a healthy relationships with food which ultimately leads to sustainable weight loss in the long term. Hansen walks us through the metabolic ecosystem and the six pillars it contains: blood sugar control, movement, muscle, good sleep, stress management and healthy gut as well as looking at your relationship with food. These six pillars in harmony create a productive ecosystem but she works on the 80/20 rule meaning that if 80% of these pillars are good you can give yourself some grace with the remaining 20%. For me personally, my lowest score were in muscle and movement because I live a sedentary lifestyle but score highly in all the other areas.

Chapter Two moves on to managing our blood sugar which is actually something many people struggle with since they don’t recognise the signs of their blood sugar rising or falling. This where most of the science kicks in as Hansen explain how are body metabolises different types of food and the effects these have on our blood sugar. Carbs will cause your blood sugar to spike and when the converted energy is stored in muscles and fat cells, this causes a drop in blood sugar leading us to feel hungry again. The easiest way to prevent this is to slow down the metabolization of the carbs by balancing them with proteins, healthy fats and fibre. Throughout this chapter Hansen gives many different examples of different foods you can use in meals with carbs in order to slow down the drop in blood sugar meaning you stay fuller for longer. She also provides a few different meal plan options but leave it open because everyone is different and has different dietary requirements. This chapter was really helpful as it helped me understand the amount of these foods I should be eating for the size I am and the effects these will have on me. I also apricated that Hansen doesn’t believe that the BMI index works because it doesn’t take into account this like muscle and bone density, which can affect weight or things like race and other factors that might contribute to someone’s weight and that we should ignore that using other methods of measuring weight instead.

Chapter Three focuses on muscle, Hansen discusses here the role muscle and muscle mass plays in weight loss. Most people don’t seem to know that having more muscle mass actually means you burn more calories at rest since it costs your body a lot more energy in order to maintain these muscles even when not actively trying to enhance or grow them. What this means in reality when compared to cardio is your weight loss might be slower and less noticeable on the scales at first since you are swapping fat for muscles which scales can’t distinguish but in the long term you are going to burn more calories at rest by gaining muscle than you will be doing intensive cardio workouts. This doesn’t mean you have to cut out cardio, you’re just shifting your perspective in order to make your body more efficient at burning calories in the long run. What this means for most people is that you will lose weight, maintain that weight loss and be able to eat more within reason since you have more metabolic flexibility.

Chapter 4 moves onto living in motion which is aimed at people like me that have a more sedentary lifestyle or don’t actively workout. Much like the previous chapter, Hansen drives home the point that some movement is better than no movement, so even if you can’t hit the gym three times a week a 20 minute walk a day or twice a day if you can manage it is more than sufficient to begin your weight loss. Looking at the real account of people Hansen has helped allows us to see the real results of these facts and methods and it really suits anyone. Even for me, who lives a very sedentary lifestyle I can incorporate the right food, good sleep and a small walk a day and still lose weight over time.

Chapter 5 is one that Hansen has been referring to for a while and this chapter focuses on sleep. Most of us underestimate the role sleeps plays in the body and how many different areas it can affect if you sleep poorly or don’t get enough sleep. Not only does a lack of sleep or quality sleep affect our moods, it also affects how we eat and metabolise food, which means poor sleep can actually lead to weight gain over time. Having suffered myself with poor sleep for years I completely agree with Hansen on these points, in recent months I have fixed my sleeping pattern and even take small naps during the day which has not only improved my mood and productivity, I also snack a lot less frequently than I used to.

Chapter 6 is the chapter Hansen has referred to the most in the course of the book so far and it is most likely the issues that most people struggle with and that is stress management. Much like sleep, how you manage or don’t manage stress it can have a huge impact on your body over time. Hansen goes into detail on how stress can affect you physically including weight loss. This is due to raise hormone levels within the body during times of stress, you do have to remember that small amounts of stress are useful but prolonged periods can be extremely damaging. Hansen most effective advice here is to get rid of the small stressors in your life and to manage the ones that you can’t get rid of.

Chapter 7 continues from the chapter on stress as it focuses on gut health. The health and state of your GI tract actually plays a huge role in weight loss. Obviously, there is a lot of bacteria in your gut, most of which is extremely useful to your body but when the GI tract is thrown out of balance but illness, poor diet and much more can actually have a lot of negative effects. This is because the body’s efforts are focused on fixing the issues like illness and weight loss is virtually impossible during this time. This links to Chapter 6 because we know that stress can suppress the immune system leading to illness which can completely derail any planned weight loss.

The final two chapters are intertwined so I will discuss them together. These chapters focus on the mental mindset you need to have in order to get effective and sustained weight loss and how you can use the information in this book in order to achieve it. The mental mindset is probably the most important part of this book because we form a lot of subconscious habits and when we try to break these habits and it fails many see it as a lack of willpower when it is actually a subconscious habit. With any habit, these are easy to form and a lot harder to break and have to be dealt with first before you can use any of the other information in the book. Overall, I found a lot of the information in Metabolism Makeover to be useful although I do disagree personally with some parts. If you’re like me and have struggled with weight loss using conventional diets then I’d highly recommend picking this book up but do use your own judgement before putting anything into practice since everyone is built differently.

At this stage in my life, I'm over fad diets. I've adopted the attitude of, "You lose weight in the way you want to maintain it." The diet industry has plied us with so many fallacies, this book was. a breath of fresh air. Its approachable, clear, and easy to adopt suggestions made this a great source of information I know I can trust. Highly recommend.

This book offers a refreshing approach to weight management, emphasizing the importance of understanding and retraining our metabolism rather than resorting to fad diets.
Thank you to NetGalley and Girl Friday Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I actually really enjoyed this one! I learned a lot about food and the way I should eat and think about food.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a e-arc

Metabolism Makeover by Megan Hansen is a comprehensive guide to ultimate health & wellness. A true gem in the realm of nutrition literature. For anyone seeking a profound understanding of the vital role nutrition plays in our lives, this book is a must-read. Unlike your typical diet book, it delves deep into the intricacies of why & how nutrition matters, earning my enthusiastic 5-star rating.

One of the book's standout features is its excellent presentation of essential information related to nutrition. Hansen adeptly elucidates the significance of macronutrients, blood sugar regulation, stress management, and the importance of quality sleep. The comprehensive coverage ensures that readers gain a holistic understanding of their body's needs.

What sets Metabolism Makeover apart is its remarkable ability to simplify complex concepts. Hansen takes intricate nutritional knowledge and translates it into easily digestible content, making it accessible to readers of all backgrounds. This user-friendly approach ensures that even beginners can grasp the fundamentals without feeling overwhelmed.

The inclusion of past diet profile scenarios adds a personal touch to the book, allowing readers to relate their experiences to real-life examples. Additionally, the extensive references provided throughout the book showcase the author's dedication to providing accurate and reliable information. This meticulous attention to detail enhances the book's credibility and value.

I am immensely grateful to #NetGalley, #MetabolismMakeover, and the author for providing this Advance Reader Copy (ARC). The content was nothing short of excellent!

My review is strictly voluntary.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to receive this book for an honest review..

I found this book help and wil use this as a reference book.
If your looking for some ideas or help with your metabolism give this one a try.

I have been looking for a way to revamp some of the unhealthy habits in my diet and this book really knocked it out of the park for me. It is easy to follow and offers ways to change the thinking and ways to compartmentalize the issues I have been having into activities and ways to work through them, I will definitely be buying this in book form and have noticed that there is also a workbook to supplement this. I really enjoyed this read and am looking forward to incorporating the tools that have been introduced. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

This book is readable and relatable, and I was happy that it wasn’t full of fad diet advice that seems to circulate so widely these days. Any other approach to food other than eating as your body requires -to fuel both brain and body-is dangerous. The info in this was accessible and clear cut. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher of the ARC

This is a great resource for hacking your health, and undoing the damage diet culture has done to so many of us for so many years. PHFF is an easy to follow takeaway, and the author offers many tips for every facet of life to help manage your metabolism. Understanding the 80/20 rule is most realistic for success, Metabolism Makeover isn’t an all-or-nothing diet mindset shift, it’s a manageable, and easily implemented in your daily life. Highly recommend for anyone tired of staring at the scale and seeing no change, despite following every crash diet there is to a T. This is sustainable change.

I'm a very science-based learner. I always need to know the how's and why's of how things work, so that I grasp a better understanding. I loved this book specifically for that reason. This isn't just an "eat better like this..." and "you can lose weight by...." type of book. It breaks down the metabolism and what to eat to better your overall health. I thoroughly enjoyed this one!

This is an unconventional method of maintaining weight and feeling healthy. It makes sense. It was written by a dietitian who discovered that the traditional method of counting calories is flawed. She began to focus on how our bodies metabolize protein, fat, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes. She discovered which foods satisfied her body as opposed to the foods that triggered cravings.

I have a lot more reading to do, but I feel I can recommend this book.