“I think my metabolism is broken” . . . I have uttered that THOUSANDS of times and I hear that twice a day from clients!
It’s so easy to feel that way when it seems like you are doing all the right stuff and working harder and harder for less and less results.
I can promise you, your metabolism is not broken . . . it’s doing what it is meant to be doing (keeping you alive).
Let’s talk about what is happening inside of your body.
When the body senses a deficit of calories it triggers adaptive thermogenesis, a process which further reduces resting metabolic rate – and may slow or stop weight loss even with caloric restriction. Want to know the craziest thing? Adaptive thermogenesis can kick in within just 3 days of starting a diet!
So if you’ve been on a diet for awhile and notice that you aren’t losing weight anymore you may naturally cut your calories even lower . . . well guess what . . . in a few days or weeks your body is going to down regulate again and you will hit another plateau.
If you do this often enough, you could end up stuck eating 1,200 calories or less and still not lose weight!
Ok, don’t despair!
This is completely reversible and something that I work with a lot of my clients on.
A few solutions I use to avoid / reverse a slowed down metabolism are:
- carb cycle
- diet breaks
- diet less aggressively
- reverse diet after dieting
- more time at maintenance
- avoid rapid weight loss (>1% of body mass per week)
- eat sufficient protein
- avoid excessive cardio volume and frequency
These steps may benefit your metabolism:
- Don’t skip meals. As you just learned -your metabolism adapts quickly and starts using fewer calories for normal body processes. If you restrict calories too much, your body starts to break down muscle to use for energy.
- Fuel your metabolism remember what your mom said? Eat your veggies! And don’t forget about fruit, lean proteins & healthy fats too.
- Strength train Lift heavy stuff! I suggest at least 3 times per week. 4-5 is even better.
If you feel like you are working out super hard, limiting your food intake and essentially living in a diet phase . . . STOP!
The answer to losing weight in menopause is not doing more of the same . . . it’s feeding your body, giving it rest and training differently.
Contact me if you want to chat and learn how you can heal your metabolism!
