Our metabolic rate is largely in our control.
That's the good news. The bad news (but then good news again 'cause I'd never leave you off on bad news. I'm not a monster.) -- if you have a history of chronic or yoyo dieting, undereating, being sedentary and / or overexercising, there's a good chance your metabolism has taken a hit.
The good news again? While it may take some extra time for you to boost, your metabolic rate CAN be boosted. This differs from "weight loss". Let me explain...
The things you've likely tried in the past to lose weight or "tone up" were very short-sighted. Eating less and less calories. Exercising more and longer and harder. Fasting longer and longer. These things do often produce a temporary reduction in your scale weight of course. But they're hard to maintain because you feel like cr*p, right? But it's not just that. They are actually ruining your progress.
Typical diets and 'eat less, exercise more' plans lower metabolic rate, reduce muscle mass, increase inflammation (think: disease / auto-immunity), down-regulate thyroid, increase cortisol, and mess with things like sleep, moods, decision-making, energy levels, libido, satiety, feelings of well-being ...
When you focus on optimizing health instead what you're actually doing is helping all of your body systems operate on a higher level. It takes a lot of fuel to up-level to a greater foundation of health!! This fuel demand = boosted metabolism.
So now you can achieve those fat loss or "toning up" goals WHILE feeling amazing and improving your health markers because you are well-nourished, even while losing excess body fat.
This is what we do in TRANSFORM: Body + Mind, my 28-day metabolism-boosting course. You can think of it like an education on how your body *really* works + how to help it thrive to crush your goals. You didn't learn this stuff in high school biology class and the media / healthcare field tends to be 17ish years behind the research. If you haven't taken it yet, this course (and it's optional monthly membership sequel, The After Party) is your next step if you have fat loss, muscle-building, "toning up", or longevity goals. Our next round starts in less than 3 weeks! HOP ON THE WAITLIST to reserve your spot and receive a discount code.
What can you do if you aren't able to join us or in the meantime while you wait for thee course to start??
Do this. Little by little, not all at once. And start with things that feel like they'll be easiest to incorporate into your routine or things that feel like they might be big needle-movers for you (current weak spots ... you'll often get most traction starting with those).
Nutrition. We need to eat in a way that nourishes us really well to optimize all body systems and also helps us regulate hunger / fullness / cravings. Do this by eating at least 20g protein with EACH meal, 10-20g fat, and some fiber. As far as starchy carbs (or fruit, pasta, bread, sweets, potatoes, rice, beans ...), dial that into activity level. Not very active? Eating a 1/2 cup(ish) serving at 2 of your meals per day might be plenty. Very active or have an under-active thyroid or elevated cortisol? You probably need an intentional carb serving with 3 meals per day.
Sleep. Our metabolic rate tanks with a lack of sleep. Not only that, but hunger and cravings and blood sugar regulation are dysregulated. If your sleep is broken, I'd start here. Get morning sun everyday without sunglasses on and even on cloudy days. Shut off overhead lights in your house around sunset. No screens close to bedtime or if you wake in the middle of the night. This will tank melatonin and good luck with quality sleep after that. Also, if at all possible, get to bed before 11:00. We have certain repair mechanisms that we miss if we go to bed too late, even if we still get 8 hours of sleep.
Movement. If you crush your workouts but are sedentary the rest of the day, your metabolic rate will be upwards of 15% lower than it could be. I can't stress this enough .... walking, gardening, dance parties, active hobbies, stretching or yoga, sex, building snowmen or sand castles with your kids or grandkids, standing at your desk for half your workday ... these things MUST be a part of the equation if a boosted metabolism (and longevity) is part of your plan.
Exercise. This is NOT the same as movement and needs to be strategic. Not too much that it inflames more than it helps, but enough that it's effective! Ideally this includes for most of you: a progressively overloading strength training program to build and keep muscle, some steady state cardio mixed in for health, and 1-3 SHORT (maybe 5 -10 minutes) high intensity interval training sessions like sprints on and off or something.
There are lots of other things we can do to boost our metabolism (like consider gut health, hormone balancing, heat / cold exposure, tackle emotional eating, stress, the way we breathe, the cleaning and beauty products we use, etc.). While we will be covering all of that and more in TRANSFORM: Body + Mind, I didn't want to overwhelm you with a novel here today. The list above, I hope, will help you pull 1 or 2 actionable steps to start with right away.
Next week, I'll be sharing a progressively overloading workout routine that you can use and do from home or the gym. Can't wait to share it!
XO,
Tara