In Catherine Wilbert’s new book, “Mending Your Metabolism,” she demonstrates her commitment to fitness, wellness and health.

Wilbert recently spoke about her book at the West St. Tammany Chamber of Commerce, at which time she touted the life style featured in the book as “not about not eating. You can eat if your metabolism works,” she said.

Most people make New Year’s Resolutions, 85 percent, are about weight loss. “It’s about balance and moderation, not about a diet,” she said. “Anyone who is going to give up everything they like and do everything they hate will not succeed.”

CATHERINE WILBERT

Wilbert said that most diets are about giving up entire food groups and the books are written in such a way one can barely read them.

She said the biggest challenge in writing her book was to make it short, understandable and easy to read.

Quite simply, Wilbert said the body is very complex chemically and it’s not about the math or calories. If you don’t eat, your body is burning muscle for fuel. If you lose muscle, you’ll lower your metabolism.

The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn.

She also said it isn’t about the weight. Muscle weighs three times what fat weighs. It may looko good on the scale, but calories don’t matter as much as what they’re made of.

When exercising, your body burns sugar first, protein second and last is fat. When fat is stored, it creates cholesterol.

Did you know that Louisiana is ranked highest in the country for diabetes? One in three people in the state suffer from the disease.

Most cases of diabetic are part of a metabolic syndrome. Sometimes the patient is producing the insulin, but the body has become resistant.

Elevated insulin affects everything — sleep, energy, stress hormones, serotonin. Wilbert said that all hormones are related.

“Everything you put in your mouth will affect how you feel the rest of the day,” Wilbert said.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day because it jumpstarts your metabolism and helps to maintain hormone levels the rest of the day. Protein should be eaten at each meal to build muscle.

Wilbert said that symptoms, or how one feels, is a clue that your body is trying to tell you something. In America, we live between two states: sick and not sick. Instead of treating the symptoms, treat the cause.

“Being overweight is only a manifestation of the bad stuff going on underneath...By increasing muscle, you burn fat. For every pound of muscle you gain, you lose fat,” said Wilbert.

Some suggestions Wilbert has to feeling better is not to use weight loss as a measure of success. Eat more often and eat things in moderation. Results are the best motivator. By eating right and keeping a food diary, you can see how, when and why you eat what you do.

This can then lead to better energy, better focus and better sleep.