Your Metabolism Isn’t Broken + A 30-Minute Workout You’ll Actually Do

NUTRITION
Your Metabolism Isn’t Broken

Good News: Your metabolism isn’t broken.
Not So Good News: Your metabolism has adapted.

Our body’s are designed to keep us alive. What that means is that our body and its functions are designed to adapt to the situations we’re in. When your metabolism “adapts”, it can cause frustration as your body is less responsive to a caloric deficit.

Here’s what you need to hear though- you are not broken and your body is not in so-called “starvation mode”. Your body has simply adapted.

The difference? Saying that your metabolism is broken implies that it can’t be fixed, or that maybe you did something wrong. But when you learn WHY these adaptations happen, you also learn HOW these adaptations can be fixed through time, proper fueling, patience, and planning.

When your metabolism adapts, its called “adaptive thermogenesis”. This is the concept where the body’s energy expenditure drops lower than what would be expected with a basic TDEE (total daily energy expenditure)  formula based on weight and activity while dieting.

To better understand this, let’s quickly break down the things that make up your TDEE as easy as possible:

1. Exercise Activity Thermogenesis- the energy (calories) burned during exercise

2. Thermal Effect Of Food- the energy it takes for your body to break down food and assimilate nutrients

3. Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis- The energy burned in your every day activities like fidgeting, walking, driving , etc.

4. Basal Metabolic Rate- The calories that we burn at rest

All of these parts of our TDEE influence our metabolism and they can all be altered. We can exercise more or in different ways, eat different foods, walk more steps, and…wait does our Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) ever change?

Yup- Your BMR  is influenced by your hormones, sleep, training status, hydration, body mass, and nutrient availability.  The largest factor we see affecting BMR during a caloric deficit are changes to body weight and body composition as weight is lost.  A body that has 20lb less on it will require less calories to maintain it.

SO. What does this mean for us? Just that we should consider the frequency and length of time spent in a caloric deficit.  There are also some really helpful steps you can take to help mitigate some of the negative metabolic adaptations that occur with dieting.  Keep in mind this doesn’t mean we can completely avoid them but we can help reduce them a bit.

Here’s how we can OPTIMIZE our metabolism through a diet phase:

• Eat the MOST calories possible while still making progress

• Lift heavy things often

• Eat enough protein (1g/lb of goal body weight)

• Incorporate re-feed days or diet breaks

• And most of all Don’t diet forever- Keep the length of your deficit in check.  Everyone is different in the amount of time they can spend in a deficit which is why working with a qualified coach through the process can be beneficial.  Paying attention to biofeedback such as mood, recovery, sleep, stress, energy and hormones such as menstrual health can tell you a lot about how your body is responding to a deficit.  After a dieting phase, we want to spend just as long as we were dieting, in a maintenance phase of higher calories.  This means eating an adequate amount of food and focusing on not dieting for a bit.  Know that sometimes it may take more than one dieting phase to achieve your overall desired results and that is ok and healthy.  

When we have implemented yo-yo diets or have been dieting for as long as we can remember,  our metabolisms aren't broken, they've just adapted.

We CAN fix it and with time, we can get to a place where we can maintain our results and eat an adequate amount of food while doing so.

FITNESS
30 Minute Snow Day Workout

Snow days are here and that means getting to the gym might not always be an option! If you find yourself snowed in, don’t worry all you need is 30 minutes and your body to get a killer workout in.

Here’s how it’s going to work: Set a timer for 30 minutes. Perform the following circuit, doing as many rounds as possible with good form. Rest 15 to 30 seconds between exercises, and 30 to 60 seconds between each round. These are pretty common exercises so search them on YouTube if you’re unsure what they are!

1. Perform 10 walk-outs (can add a push-up, if desired).
2. Perform 10 body weight single-leg Romanian deadlifts on each side.
3. Perform 10 deadbugs each side.
4. Perform 10 wall slides.
5. Perform 10 lateral lunges each side.

Health
How Your Menstrual Cycle Impacts Your Training

Aside from some lousy cramps or just feeling blah, have you ever considered how your menstrual cycle may affect your training?

From metabolism, to strength level, and even injury risk- your menstrual cycle plays a role!

Follicular Phase (First day of your period to ovulation day): In your follicular phase estrogen levels are increasing which means you have more energy and you’ll feel stronger, faster, and have more endurance. Pain tolerance tends to be higher and interestingly your insulin sensitivity is higher meaning your body can handle more carbs for those post-workout refuels!

During your follicular phase, it’s a great time to push those HEAVY strength training days and HIIT sessions.

Ovulation (release of egg from the ovary - about 13-15 days before your period begins): During ovulation your metabolism gets a nice boost, strength levels are high and your body’s ability to generate force is at its highest (hellooooo PRs!). But take note: estrogen is also high at this time which leads to decreased neuromuscular control and your risk of injury is slightly higher so make sure form is stellar.

Luteal phase (days from ovulation to when your period starts): During this phase we see an increase in progesterone. With the changes in hormones during this part of our cycle, fatigue, water retention, and increased insulin resistance. This is where if our hormones are out of whack we can feel those “PMS” symptoms and crave more carbs. It’s pretty normal during this time frame to want to cut back on the intense exercise and stick to more easy cardio days, yoga, or lighter training.

Menstruation: Your body temperature should return to normal, water retention/bloating should diminish, and insulin sensitivity will increase again (yay more carbs!). Short of some cramping on the first day or two, you should start to feel a bit more like your normal self once menstruation is underway.  This is a great time to transition back into more intense workouts  (some women experience their strongest workouts on their period!) so have at it!

Here’s the deal though: there is currently no research suggesting that you SHOULD train differently during your different cycles. It’s more so knowledge that can empower you to listen to your body and train smarter for YOU. Every day shouldn’t be a PR day!

MINDSET
I Didn’t Want to. Glad I Did.

“Didn’t want to. Glad I Did”.

If you’ve followed me on Insta recently, you’ve probably seen me post this after my workouts.

It has sort of become my mantra this year.

I’m an overtired, over busy, over stimulated mamma. The thought of dragging three kids to the gym with me when I’d rather sink down into a mid-afternoon nap is probably the last thing I look forward to.

But when I choose the hard, boring, unglamorous work of taking small consistent steps towards my goals- that’s when I see results.

And so, I’m glad to do the work.

And even on the days when I feel like I’m merely moving through the motions to get it done, I find solace in simply appreciating that I’m doing the work to move forward.

Here’s the truth you won’t often hear-

In the process of doing what we DON’T want to do, we often find:
- what we needed
- what we wanted
- the results we didn’t GET, but EARNED.

So in the gym, in work, in life- cheers, to not wanting to do it, but being glad we did!

Make yourself Better Today.