When the clock strikes 2024, I want you to try a different approach to lose weight. Hear me out.
I want you to stop cutting calories and start actually fueling your metabolism instead. Crazy, right?
Think about it – when has cutting calories actually helped you lose weight for good? Correct me if I’m wrong, but it has probably never helped you keep the weight off long-term (along with almost everybody else)
Sure, maybe you stuck to a 1,500-calorie plan for a few months in the past and that helped, but how long were you able to keep that up? How long could you stick to the plan when weekends, vacations, and parties started popping up?
And there’s a reason for this. It’s not just because you “fall off the wagon” and have no willpower. Whenever we cut our calories or follow a diet plan, our bodies are literally designed for this to backfire. Backfire big time, actually.
Your metabolism catches wind that it has to function on half a tank of gas every day, so it starts to make some shortcuts to keep up with the demands of everyday life.
Primary example: whenever you start a low-calorie plan, you will lose weight at first, but then the scale stops moving. Your metabolism has adapted to the new amount of fuel and slows down. Fat burn becomes a nonexistent priority in comparison to keeping you breathing and digesting food.
And the biggest problem with this situation is that you think it’s because you’re doing something wrong! So, you keep trying to eat low calorie, but in reality, your metabolism keeps adjusting to what you’re doing and you become more and more weight loss resistant.
Does this sound familiar? I hope so because it’s time to try something different.
What do I mean by this exactly? I mean that we are going to keep your metabolism in a state of optimal efficiency. It’s going to be able to keep you in a fat-burning mode, feeling energetic, and able to build muscle without ever having to adapt and slow down.
Oh, and did I mention we can do this without you cutting calories like you were doing before?
Yup, It’s magical and it freakin’ works.
In the program, we shift your perspective about your metabolism as either being “good” or “bad” …to thinking about it as an ecosystem instead. In fact, this ecosystem has 6 areas that need love and attention. They include:
When all of these areas are in harmony, your metabolism is literally unstoppable. It doesn’t struggle with weight loss resistance. It doesn’t require eating a low-calorie diet. In fact, when you support your metabolism in this way, you can eat more food than you probably thought possible.
Now, I know each of these topics is pretty big, and there’s so much to talk about, so let me just give you the highlights to get you started and your wheels spinning.
Blood sugar balance – crucial for a happy metabolism and weight loss! The body needs steady blood sugar levels throughout the day to stay in a fat-burning mode and also keep your hunger cues reliable!
The best way to accomplish steady blood sugar is to focus on protein, healthy fat, and fiber in your meals. Mastering this is more impactful than eating a low-calorie diet for your goals. I break this down for you in this blog post if you want to learn more.
Movement – Instead of stressing about getting in enough workouts every single week, I simply want you thinking about moving in ways that feel good every day. This could be a leisurely walk, a 10-minute yoga session, using your standing desk + walking pad while responding to emails – whatever works for you!
Regular nonstressful movement feels good for our bodies and mental health. It helps manage steady blood sugars (yay!), and it’s one of the biggest sources of calorie burn in a day (more than workouts!). Everyone has different movement amounts, but I like to recommend getting at least 6k-10k steps a day in some way, shape, or form at minimum.
Muscle – Another crucial piece of successful weight loss: putting on more muscle. This is the most effective way to increase your metabolic rate and I want you to focus on strength training more than anything when it comes to your workouts.
Yes, I mean reducing your cardio and your HIIT workouts for fat loss. I promise it’s going to make a difference. You’re not going to get the scale to move if you keep your cortisol levels high from so much high-intensity movement. You’re also doing nothing to increase your metabolism like I mentioned. Having more muscle on your body is the single most effective way to do this.
I recommend strength training 3-4 days a week for most women, and I urge you to lift heavy! No more 5-pound dumbbells for everything. Lift an amount that really challenges you by rep 8-12.
Gut Health – ahh, yes, the gut. Very underrated and very related to our metabolisms! If your gut is unhappy, it will let the rest of the body know that, and fat loss becomes very low on the priority list. Our gut or microbiome is connected to almost every other system in the body and can potentially be a huge source of inflammation, so we really want to keep this part of our health at the forefront.
What does good gut health look like? It means eating enough fiber and probiotic foods every day to support happy bacteria. It means paying attention to our poop every day! Are you going daily? Are you fully emptying or struggling with any constipation/bloating/diarrhea? Your poop can say a lot about the state of your gut.
If you do have concerns related to your gastrointestinal system, I highly recommend reaching out to a practitioner who can help. Although it may seem unrelated to focus on your gut instead of weight loss, let me remind you that your gut health has everything to do with it! A happy gut = happy metabolism.
Stress management – holy smokes. If I have to pick a favorite pillar of the metabolic ecosystem, it’s probably this one. You cannot achieve sustainable weight loss if you’re living in fight-or-flight mode every single day. It impacts SO many things related to your weight loss progress.
My clients who lose weight successfully are able to identify how to truly manage their stress and slowww down. You need a happy nervous system and you can’t live life never making time for yourself. Our mental stress can directly create physical stress in the body and mess with our daily hormone balance.
Shifting into proactive stress management instead of letting yourself completely burn out every few months is absolutely necessary to support a more efficient metabolism for weight loss.
Sleep support – If you’re skipping a full night’s rest to get in your workouts, I want you to stop doing this ASAP. Sleep is simply non-negotiable and it can make or break your progress in several ways.
Getting 7-8 hours of sleep every night plays a huge role in your hunger levels, workout recovery, building muscle, and keeping good blood sugar levels. If you’re not getting enough sleep this is probably the area I would focus on the most to see results.
Again, this is why we created an entire program dedicated to teaching this, and it’s the science class you wish you had in school.
If you’re ready to completely change the way you think about your metabolism and never have to eat low-calorie meal plans again to lose weight, Metabolism Makeover is the place for you to be.
You can join the waitlist here and make sure to follow us @themetabolismmakeover on Instagram for tips and tricks on the daily.
You got this!
Coach Elle
Every week, Megan pops into your inbox with whatever's on her mind. Think of it like a voice memo from your bestie except that it's an email and jam-packed with useful information. This isn't a regular newsletter. This is a cool newsletter.