everything you need to know about your metabolism (+ how to support it)

When you think of your metabolism, you usually think of weight. But your metabolism is much more than how easily you burn calories; it’s all of the chemical processes in your body to keep you alive and functioning. From converting the food you eat into energy, building and repairing tissues, and getting rid of waste products, the metabolism is a crucial part of maintaining life—it’s that important! 

In this blog post, I’ll cover the importance of a healthy metabolism, common myths about how it works, causes of an adapted metabolism and my top nutrition and lifestyle tips!

THE ROLE OF OUR METABOLISM

Before I jump into my tips, it's important to understand the many roles of your metabolism to grasp just how important it is to your overall health and why we want to make sure it’s functioning optimally. Some of its main functions include:

• Producing Energy: converting the food you eat (like carbs, fats, and proteins) into the energy your body needs to carry out daily activities

• Building & repairing tissues: synthesizes new molecules, such as proteins, which are essential for the growth, repair, and maintenance of your body's tissues

• Eliminating waste: helping to remove waste products generated from your body’s various processes, keeping it clean and functioning properly  

• Maintain Body Temperature: helping to keep your body temp within it’s normal range 

• Supporting your body’s many functions: keeping your organs, cells and biochemical reactions functioning properly (aka really important stuff!) 

It’s easy to see just how important a healthy metabolism is to overall health, which is why we need to make sure it's working as it should!

METABOLISM MYTHS

There are so many misconceptions about how metabolism works, especially within diet culture (I think we’ve all seen clickbait articles like “eat this food to supercharge your metabolism”, etc.). So let’s clear up some of the most prevalent myths before I get into my recos: 

myth #1 : metabolism is only about weight loss or gain

As I’ve covered, your metabolism is much broader than weight loss; it's literally responsible for all the processes that keep your body functioning, and its influence on weight is just one component. 

myth #2: the metabolism ‘slows’ down

This one might be the biggest misconception! Your metabolism doesn’t slow down...it adapts. For example, if you consistently eat fewer calories than your body is used to (like in the case of extreme dieting) your body will adapt to less fuel by burning fewer calories. It makes a lot of sense when you think about prehistoric times; if our ancestors were going through a period of less food, their metabolisms would adapt by using as little energy as possible to keep them alive. That said, your body can’t tell the difference between actual starvation and a crash diet and will use as little energy as possible (storing the rest as fat for later use) as a survival mechanism.  

myth #3: eating certain foods can significantly boost your metabolism

There’s no magical food that’ll dramatically ‘speed up’ your metabolism in the long term if your metabolism is adapted (it’s never about a magic quick fix!). So, put down the cayenne pepper and celery juice, and start focusing on developing sustainable, balanced nutrition and lifestyle habits (more on that below) that will help your metabolism function as it should.

SIGNS OF AN ADAPTED METABOLISM

Now you know how your metabolism works, but how do you know if it’s functioning optimally? Since your metabolism influences so many aspects of your health, the signs and symptoms of an adapted metabolism are broad. 

Your metabolism might be adapted if you are: 

1. Gaining weight despite doing ‘everything right’ (btw, we all have a set point weight that’s healthy for us and when your metabolism is working properly it should be quite easy to stay within that healthy range. That said, everyone’s natural set point is different and small fluctuations are totally normal. it’s a range, not a rigid number!) 

2. Always cold 

3. Tired (even after a good night’s sleep) 

4. Having trouble falling asleep 

5. Experiencing dry skin, hair loss or brittle nails 

6. Forgetful/have brain fog

7. Never hungry/low appetite (I always need to remind my clients that having an appetite is a GOOD thing!)

8. Constipated 

CAUSES OF A DAMAGED METABOLISM

Before we get into my tips for supporting a healthy metabolism, let’s go over some causes of an adapted metabolism.  Here are some common culprits: 

1. Eating too few calories and/or yoyo dieting: I already covered this one, but it’s worth repeating because it has a huge impact on our metabolic health

2. Loss of muscle mass: Aging, sedentary lifestyle, or inadequate protein intake can lead to a loss of muscle mass. Since muscle tissue burns more calories at rest than fat tissue, a decrease in muscle mass can contribute to a lower resting metabolic rate

3. Over-exercising: While a sedentary lifestyle can have adverse effects on our metabolism, overexercising, especially long cardio sessions, can actually put our body into a catabolic state (meaning breaking down lean muscle mass) and an adapted metabolism over time (interested in learning more? check out this blog post)

4. Hormonal changes: Our hormones affect all aspects our health, including our metabolism. Conditions such as an under-active thyroid can lead to metabolism issues

5. Inadequate protein intake: Protein is essential for maintaining muscle mass, and insufficient protein intake can contribute to muscle loss, affecting metabolism

10 TIPS FOR A HEALTHY METABOLISM

1. Consume enough calories overall: Women need to eat a minimum of ~2,000 calories per day (and often more depending on height, weight, activity level, etc.). Personally, understanding how metabolism works has really helped me to understand just how important it is to eat enough food, release all control I had around calories and to nourish my body appropriately—I hope it helps you too! 

2. Eat a balanced breakfast: While eating breakfast won’t ‘boost’ your metabolism, I think it’s important to start your day well-nourished, especially if you have symptoms of an adapted metabolism. Plus, it’ll help you meet your caloric needs, balance your blood sugar, and keep cortisol levels in check; all things that are key to metabolic health

3. Avoid skipping meals: As mentioned above, skipping meals makes it hard for us to meet our daily caloric needs and can cause our metabolism to adapt to less fuel 

4. Eat enough protein: Meeting our daily protein needs can support metabolic health in two ways: (1) protein has a higher thermic effect than carbs or fat, meaning it takes more energy to digest and (2) protein helps to build/maintain lean muscle mass, which also supports a healthy metabolism (for more info on the power of protein, check out this blog post)

5. Focus on gut health: It’s no secret that gut health hugely influences overall health...and this includes our metabolism. Research shows that poor gut health can hamper our body's ability to use nutrients and energy from the food we eat 

6. Take care of your liver: The liver is a major metabolic organ, meaning it plays a role in metabolizing nutrients we eat. So, supporting a healthy liver is key to a healthy metabolism (show your liver some love with this blog post) 

7. Thyroid health: Thyroid hormones heavily regulate the body’s metabolism, so if you feel like your metabolism is off, it might be worth talking to your main healthcare provider to rule out hypothyroidism (weight gain, dry skin, hair, and nails, sparse eyebrows and cold intolerance are all signs your thyroid might be off)

8. Focus on building muscle: As mentioned above, having more muscle requires the body to expend more energy, so incorporating strength training into your fitness routine is one of the best things you can do to support a healthy metabolism and overall health, especially as you age

9. Prioritize quality sleep: Studies show that sleep deprivation can alter how our body metabolizes nutrients, so make sure to get at least ~8 hrs of quality sleep each night 

10. Reduce stress: No matter the topic, somehow I always bring it back to stress management. But that’s because chronically high cortisol (stress hormone) negatively affects our body in so many ways, including altering our metabolic function (click here for my top strategies for managing stress)

BOTTOM LINE

A healthy metabolism is crucial to our overall health, and, luckily, there is a lot we can do to keep it functioning optimally...but it has nothing to do with extreme diet culture trends or quick fixes. It’s all about making balanced, sustainable changes that really support your overall health and wellbeing. I hope this info/these tips help you as much as they’ve helped me!

Interested in 1:1 nutrition counselling? Book your first appointment here. If you have questions about my fees or services, you can contact me here.