So, you want to fix your metabolism. Amazing! You’re in the right place.
Fixing metabolisms is what we help women do every single day! What I want to say right off the bat, though, is that this is not an overnight process. Far from it.
Depending on the person, the repair process can really vary.
Some people need a few helpful and strategic tweaks in order to operate more efficiently. Other people are coming from a place of a lot of metabolic damage and need much more repair.
No matter where you might be on this spectrum of fixing the metabolism – it’s going to take time. Imagine how much time you may have been slowly decreasing your metabolic health. It didn’t happen quickly, but rather slowly over several years.
Now, don’t think I’m trying to say that making over your metabolism also requires several years, but it does take more than a month. Maybe six months. Maybe over a year.
Patience is definitely an important ingredient in the process and I just wanted to remind you of that first and foremost.
In general, though, fixing the metabolism has three very consistent steps that everyone must follow.
Maybe I’m coming off a little harsh, but I do think it’s important to take a step back and realize that what you have been doing to try to lose weight and have a better metabolism maybe hasn’t been working so well.
If it has, would you be reading this blog post?
Maybe eating less and “watching your calories” isn’t the answer. Maybe getting to the gym more isn’t the magic solution either.
The first step to fixing your metabolism is letting go of what you’ve been previously taught or practicing in order to lose weight. You don’t have to completely forget about it, but you need to at least set it aside. Table it.
Give yourself the chance to learn how the metabolism actually thrives and functions. How some of our behaviors actually slow it down. How maybe you’ve been getting in your own way this whole time without knowing it.
Step 2 to fixing your metabolism. We’re going to take a look under the hood and understand what the metabolism even is in the first place.
Because here’s the thing: it’s not just your body’s ability to lose weight or not. It’s so much more than that!
Your metabolism is the sum of all the processes in the body that take energy from the food we eat and then use it for immediate energy or store it for energy for later.
Your metabolism is constantly thinking about your best interest. It’s thinking about how it can digest this food and use it for energy to keep you functioning OR storing it for later so you can keep doing all the things you need to do.
Your metabolism is not out to get you. People aren’t either blessed with a perfect metabolism or cursed with a bad one.
We all have a metabolism that is capable of thriving. What you need to understand though is that there are 6 main areas that either support or diminish our metabolic potential.
What I often see women doing that harms their metabolism is focusing solely on keeping their calories low (especially 1500 calories or fewer) and increasing their time spent exercising.
They think this will help them burn more calories and increase their metabolism, but the reality is that it:
Long story short: eating less and moving more as a long-term strategy is going to bite you in the butt when it comes to your metabolism.
Instead?
Understand the 6 key pillars of your metabolism:
These 6 areas of health all work together to support an optimal and thriving metabolism. Think of them like an ecosystem. They all need to be in harmony or something is going to be off in the system.
If you’re getting enough sleep, taking a lot of steps, but you’re not eating to balance your blood sugar…your metabolism is not going to function as well as it can.
If you’re eating to balance your blood sugar, you’re eating lots of fiber for your gut health, but you’re getting only 5-6 hours of sleep a night…..you guessed it….your metabolism is not going to be optimal.
How is this “ecosystem” better than the “eat less, move more” approach?
There are many other reasons but those are the big hitters why a supported metabolism works better.
As you can imagine, a lot of time can be spent digging into each of these 6 areas of metabolic health. I’ll give you the quick and dirty info you need to start here:
Blood sugar balance: include a protein, fat, and fiber source at all meals
Daily movement: move in some way every day. It’s not just about your structured workouts.
Muscle: strength training > cardio. Focusing on adding more lean muscle tissue to your body.
Gut health: eating enough and a variety of fiber every day will help support a healthy gut
Sleep: 7-8 hours of sleep a night minimum.
Stress management: stop living in fight-or-flight mode. Include daily practices that truly help manage your stress and cortisol levels.
To dig even deeper into how your metabolism really works, join the waitlist for Metabolism Makeover here or get a copy of Metabolism Makeover the book here.
Phew, ok, time for step 3. In order to truly fix your metabolism for the long term, it’s important that you take all the new information and perspective you have about your body and create a realistic new lifestyle with it.
Because, honestly, if you can’t take the new knowledge you have about supporting your most happy metabolism and create realistic habits out of it….what’s the point?
In order to truly make a new lifestyle instead of a temporary thing you try, you have to ask yourself what your why is.
Why is it that you want a fixed metabolism in the first place?
Why do you want to lose weight?
Why do you want to fit into a certain pair of pants?
Because let me tell you something…it’s always more than simply wanting to lose weight. It’s about a certain feeling. Being able to live your life a certain way. Being able to show up for your family how you want to. It’s about living your most fulfilled life.
If you don’t dig into your true why, losing ___ amount of weight just isn’t enough. It’s not going to keep you consistent. It’s not going to matter much when things get hard. It’s not going to hold as much meaning over the next several months as your work on fixing your metabolism.
Do the deep thinking and reflection. Your future self will thank you.
After doing this, it’s critical that you slowly add in new healthy habits over time. Do not overwhelm yourself! Focus on creating a new normal and those habits will become what you do on autopilot.
If you add in 10 new healthy habits, it’s going to be really hard to keep up. Avoid that “all-or-nothing” thinking! You can focus on one thing at a time and it’s still going to yield good results. Small changes add up!
Fixing your metabolism is something you can absolutely do, and our team is here to help you do it in the most successful way possible.
Our 30-day Metabolism Makeover program is the best place to start if you know your metabolism needs some love and you’re not seeing any changes with old methods.
We also have 1:1 support if you know you need that high-touch support and accountability from a coach and a customized metabolism repair plan.
We are here for you!
Coach Elle
