---
title: 'How I Reached Top 1% Metabolic Health With These Changes'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=KQuybJ_5YHs'
video_id: 'KQuybJ_5YHs'
date: 2026-10-21
duration_sec: 571
channel: 'Siim Land'
---

# How I Reached Top 1% Metabolic Health With These Changes

> Source: [How I Reached Top 1% Metabolic Health With These Changes](https://youtube.com/watch?v=KQuybJ_5YHs)

## Summary

The video details the dietary and lifestyle changes the creator made to optimize his metabolic health, achieving top 1% status. He emphasizes shifting from a lower-carb, higher-fat diet to a higher-carb, lower-fat diet, increasing fiber intake, adjusting protein and amino acid balance, eating earlier in the day, and increasing omega-3 intake. The video also presents client case studies and scientific evidence to support these changes.

### Key Points

- **Personal Metabolic Health Improvements** [00:01] — The creator optimized his hemoglobin A1C from 5.2% to 4.5%, fasting glucose from 90 to 75 mg/dL, triglycerides from 50 to 33 mg/dL, and visceral fat from 359g to 54g, all while increasing carb intake to around 300g.
- **Client Case Study: Matt** [00:41] — Matt's fasting insulin fell 62% (5.28 to 2), hemoglobin A1C dropped from 5.3% to 5%, and free testosterone increased by 188% by following these methods.
- **Client Case Study: Sam** [00:54] — In 5 weeks, Sam's fasting insulin went from 8.6 to 6.6, triglycerides from 88 to 56, and APOB from 147 to 79 mg/dL, all pointing towards improved insulin sensitivity.
- **Key Change: Shift to Higher Carb, Lower Fat Diet** [01:09] — The creator shifted from a lower carb, higher fat diet to a lower fat, higher carb diet. He argues that high carb and high fat together is the worst combination, leading to high triglycerides and blood sugar.
- **Key Change: Eating More Fiber** [03:12] — Increased fiber intake from whole food sources like blueberries, potatoes, apples, and beetroot. Fiber helps with satiety, slows gastric emptying, binds to lipids, and regulates metabolism.
- **Fiber's Impact on APOB** [04:06] — Increasing fiber and carbs was the biggest change to drop Sam's APOB from 147 to 79 mg/dL in just 5 weeks.
- **Key Change: Adjusting Protein and Amino Acids** [04:35] — Reduced total protein intake by about 25% to reduce methionine exposure and increased glycine intake. Glycine improves blood sugar and glycation, and low glycine is linked to insulin resistance.
- **Key Change: Eating Earlier in the Day** [06:35] — Shifted dinner from 8:00 PM to 4-5 PM, which is 4-5 hours before bedtime. A 2026 meta-analysis concluded that early time-restricted eating appears superior to late time-restricted eating.
- **Key Change: Increasing Omega-3 Intake** [07:25] — Increased omega-3 intake to raise omega-3 index, which is associated with better insulin sensitivity and metabolic health. High-dose omega-3s (4g/day) can lower triglycerides by up to 45%.
- **Exercise as the Most Powerful Tool** [08:23] — The creator notes that exercise is the most powerful way to improve insulin sensitivity, but this video focuses on dietary changes since he has been exercising for over 14 years.
- **Importance of Routine and Testing** [08:51] — The creator emphasizes that these changes are part of a routine, and he has measured his blood markers over many years. He suggests testing different dietary interventions to see what works.

### Conclusion

The video concludes that a combination of dietary changes—shifting to a higher carb, lower fat diet, increasing fiber, adjusting protein and amino acids, eating earlier, and increasing omega-3s—can significantly optimize metabolic health. The creator stresses that these changes are most effective when combined with an exercise program and consistent routine.

## Transcript

body composition and long-term health. Over the past few years, I've optimized Over the past few years, I've optimized my hemoglobin A1C from 5.2% to 4.5%. My 90s to 80 milligs per deciliter. Fasting glucose from 90 to 75 milligs per
deciliter. My triglycerides went from around 50 to 33 millig per deciliter. And my measured visceral fat went from 359 g to 54 g. This is significant because I was already lean and in good metabolic health to begin with. So, I
completely optimized the final percentages of my metabolic health. Now, it by cutting carbs or anything like that. I actually increased my carb carbs. Now, I'm eating around 300 g of carbs. I've seen similar results with my
clients too in their metabolic health. Matt's fasting insulin fell 62% from Matt's fasting insulin fell 62% from 5.28 to 2. Hemoglobin from 5.3% to 5% and his free testosterone increased by 188% by following these methods. In 5
weeks, Sam's fasting insulin went from 8.6 to 6.6, his triglycerides from 88 to 56, and his APOB from 147 to 79 milligs per deciliter. All pointing towards insulin sensitivity. So, in this video, I'm going to share with you the key
changes I made to my diet that allowed me to optimize my metabolic health. changes I made, which was shifting from a lower carb diet to a higher carb diet. narrative that low carb diets are better for insulin sensitivity and that a high
carb diet is bad. However, that's not really the case. Maybe for some obese not for people who are already lean and who are exercising. Now the change I made about 6 years ago was I went from a slightly lower carb higher fat diet to a
lower fat higher carb diet. Now, this is an important distinction because if you then that's going to confuse your body's metabolic pathways and that yes, can worsen your metabolic health over time. A high carb, highfat diet will then lead
to high triglycerides and high blood sugar as a result of that. That's able to burn them for energy. On a low carb diet, you use the triglycerides for energy because there's not that much glucose around. On a high carb, low-fat
because there's not that much fat around. The problem arises when you have together because the body is less efficient in using both fuel sources together. So whichever diet you choose, the body does best in a state of more
could prioritize one fuel source. That's why the worst diets out there, the high in fat and high in carbs at the same time. And the reason that triglycerides matter is because elevated triglycerides are one of the first steps
resistance. Before you develop high blood sugar, you have hydroglycerides production and as a result of that, your blood sugar rises. What I've seen from my own experience and from the research is that both a low carb and a low-fat
diet can work in lowering triglyceride levels. But in my experience, a generally higher carb diet is better for general insulin sensitivity. In the case of Matthew, he was quite lean, but his SHBG sex hormone bid was a bit high,
levels. There is evidence that low carb diets increase SHBG and lower free testosterone in men by increasing his carbohydrate intake. His SHBG dropped and his free testosterone went up 188%. At the same time, he lost body fat
because of a higher metabolic rate from the change in diet. The second big change I made was eating more fiber. If I'm eating more carbohydrates, then the come from sources that contain dietary fiber. I'm not drinking liquid sugar or
carbohydrates from whole food sources with added dietary fiber, things like blueberries, potatoes, apples, beetroot, etc. There are also various human random fiber supplements improve glycemic control, blood sugar, and lipids. For
example, a 2021 meta analysis of 29 random control trials and a 2024 meta analysis of 19 random control trials on psyllium. The reason fiber helps with metabolic health is by first of all being filling. You eat less, you're more
slows down gastric emptying so your blood sugar response is lower. Fiber binds to lipids like triglycerides which will improve insulin sensitivity. Fiber regulates your metabolism. Increasing fiber and carbs was also the biggest
change we made to drop his APOB from 147 to 79 milligs per deciliter in just a improvements in other metabolic health markers like insulin, hemoglobin A1C, stronger from the exercise program that we did from 25 push-ups to 45. If you
workout plans, and other protocols that I follow and what get similar results as my clients, then join my top 1% health community link down below. I also changed my protein intake and amino acid balance. Now, this is a bit more
did. There is some interesting research about the different amino acid balance sensitivity. Specifically, that reducing one amino acid called methanine could improve insulin sensitivity. In humans with metabolic syndrome, 16 weeks of
methane restriction, 2 milligrams per kilogram per day compared to a control diet that had 33 milligrams per kilogram per day has been seen to improve insulin reduce lipid content in the liver independent of weight loss. So what I
did was I reduced my total protein intake by about 25% which reduced my exposure to methane. But the other important part is that I increased my glycine intake. Glycine is another amino acid that balances methanine while at
the same time improving blood sugar and glycation. Low circulating glycine is resistance, obesity, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes. In one experiment, adding 5 g of glycine to 25 g of glucose reduce the blood glucose response by
more than 50% compared to consuming the glucose alone. More importantly, this occurred without increasing total insulin secretion. So, glycine can lower type two diabetics, supplementing five
grams of glycine three times a day reduced hemoglobin A1C by about 1% more than placebo from 8.3% to 6.9% in the glycine group versus 8% to 7.6% in the placebo group. This percentages refers to the hemoglobin A1C percentage not the
relative decrease but the total hemoglobin A1C percentage. So what I did was I reduced my protein from around 2 g per kilogram per day to 1.6 g per kilogram per day which is about a 25% decrease. This reduced my methanine
my glycine supplementation to 10 grams a day. Yes, you obviously need protein to But you don't need that much. You don't need 2 g per kilogram per day. I was just eating way too much. A large meta analysis found that the increase in
fat-free mass from additional protein appears to plateau around 1.6 g per kilogram per day on average. Yes, some people respond to higher protein intake, but most people don't need more than 1.6 g per kilogram per day. Another change
was me eating earlier in the day. I used to have my dinners around 8:00 p.m. which was around 1 to two hours before my bedtime. But over the course of the last 6 years, I've started to eat earlier and earlier. And nowadays, I eat
around 4 to 5:00 p.m. which is 4 or 5 hours before my bedtime. A recent 2026 meta analysis of 41 random control trials concluded that early timerestricted eating appears to be superior to late time restricted eating.
sensitivity is higher in the earlier part of the day and incident sensitivity is that it doesn't really matter how big fast. The most important part is the
matter that much if you eat breakfast or not. What matters most is when you eat meta analysis found that you don't need to have a super early dinner. You don't p.m. What I found was that a 4 to 5:00 p.m. dinner works best for me. It
improvements in my metabolic health markers. Finally, I increased my omega-3 intake. Now, the main reason I was increasing my omega-3s was because of wanting to get a higher omega-3 index. A higher omega-3 index is consistently
lower Alzheimer's, and lower mortality risk. However, a higher omega-3 index is also associated with greater insulin sensitivity and better metabolic health markers. The main way omega-3s improve insulin sensitivity is by lowering
evidence for lowering elevated triglycerides. You can lower people with elevated triglycerides as well as in metabolic syndrome. Highdose omega-3s at four grams a day can lower triglycerides by up to 45%. Now, I
I increased my omega-3 intake. So, it probably didn't have the most powerful 50 to 33, although it might have contributed slightly. Regardless, if you evidence does show that you can lower the triggerides with omega-3s, and you
also just eat a lot more fish. Now, the final disclaimer is that if you want to insulin sensitivity, then the most powerful way to do that is with exercise. However, I've been exercising for over 14 years, so I've always been
specifically focused on the dietary changes. Now, the most important part is routine. These are the changes I've made. I've measured my blood markers and my overall metabolic health markers over the course of these many years. So I am
these different dietary changes and these different supplements. But the You can test these different dietary interventions. We know the dietary metabolic health. And we do know that the best results you get by combining a
program. If you want to see where your own metabolic health and overall health health percent assessment inside my top 1% health community. It looks at your and lifestyle. gives you your health percentile score and identifies your
should focus on improving first. Then you get a program that help you to achieve top 1% health. Click the link below to start now.