I was thinking about a conversation I had earlier in the day with a potential client that had completely lost her way, basically since the first ever lockdown began.
She has no exercise routine.
She has no plan or structure to her eating, and is always just grabbing whatever she can… and whatever is in the house.
She is working from home, and this has completely flat lined her activity during the day.
Her walk to and from the train station at each end on her commute has gone.
The subconscious movement on the school run has gone too.
The only walking she was doing during the day is to her fridge and back.
She could feel the weight gain over the last year, especially around her middle, and the way her clothes fit (or didn't!).
So this January (new year, new you!) she has decided to go on a diet.
She'd had a bit of success, but already completely plateaued before we were half way through the month.
Something she said to me on the call has stuck with me…
“Oh, I have always had a slow metabolism”
She was also a life long dieter.
On our call, I was explaining to her about her metabolism.
Your metabolism is the number of calories you burn (usually expressed in a 24-hour period).
The more calories you burn, the faster your metabolism…
And the more food you can eat without gaining fat!
Your Resting Metabolic Rate (metabolism) directly mirrors your bodyweight.
If you lose bodyweight, your metabolism will go down.
If you gain weight, your metabolism will go up.
This is why losing weight gets harder and harder the longer you are on a diet.
As you lose weight, your metabolism goes down, making it necessary that you keep decreasing your calorie intake to further induce weight loss.
But obviously there comes a point where you can't reduce your calorie intake any further.
When dieting, you want to do everything you can to keep your metabolism as high as it can be.
If you can keep your metabolism the same (not let it go down) while losing weight… that is a HUGE accomplishment and allows you to experience future fat loss success without starving yourself.
There are simple strategies that you can do to keep your metabolism from decreasing while on a diet.
First, don’t reduce your calories too much.
A severe calorie deficit is a sure way to cause your metabolism to nosedive like Katie Price's career.
Secondly, keep protein intake high when dieting.
Protein helps to spare muscle when dieting, and the more muscle you can keep the higher your metabolism will be.
Thirdly, do resistance training when dieting.
Resistance training when in a calorie deficit will help you to maintain your muscle mass and assist with more of the weight loss to come from fat stores, rather than muscle loss.
And remember, lets go right back to the beginning of this article:
The more calories you burn (due to the exercise and higher protein intake), the faster your metabolism.
And the faster your metabolism, the more food you can eat without gaining fat!
To learn more about how to master your metabolism and build a healthy, strong toned body, book in got a consultation with us today:
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