These are the top five reasons your metabolism has stalled.
Want to release the “brakes'' that have caused your metabolism to slow its roll – or even come close to breaking down? Having a healthy metabolism is important to reach your fat loss goals but also for total health and longevity.
All of a sudden, what you have been doing STOPS working. Sometimes, we refer to this metabolic halt as “hitting a plateau.” It's so frustrating - but there's hope!
Here, we’ll shine the light on the most common things you may (or may not be!) doing that could be stalling your metabolism and compromising your health so you can break through that plateau and thrive toward your goals.
Here are five reasons your metabolism may be stuck in a rut!
Your Workouts Don’t Support Muscle Building – If this is you, you’ve likely been focusing on cardio or have been doing the same workouts with the same weights for some time now. In order to rev your metabolism, you need to perform workouts that support lean muscle building like strength training. Excessive cardio will result in you having to do more and more to burn the same amount of calories. Incorporating strategic workouts that emphasize muscle building and fat burning will be a key.
Your Sleep is Suffering - Getting enough sleep is crucial to your metabolic function! Sleep affects your hunger hormones, stress hormones, mood, and energy. Ever had a poor night’s sleep and the next day all you want is sugar and carbs? If you sleep poorly, emphasizing better sleep habits and routines will be key for your metabolism as your hormones will be more balanced.
Stress Has Got a Hold on You – Along with sleep, stress also affects your hormones, and hormone balance plays an important role in a thriving metabolism. We all have stressors in our lives, and some level of stress is manageable and “normal,” if you are constantly under intense pressure and responding to non-stop stimulators, your metabolism pays a price. Chronic stress levels can cause your body to burn less calories and bring your metabolism to a crawl. Yes, stress can cause you to store fat. Prioritizing stress management will work wonders for your metabolic function.
Your Caloric Intake is Off – Either you’re under-eating for your goals (in too much of a caloric deficit) or you’re overeating (in too much of a surplus). Both of these scenarios can result in your metabolism functioning sub optimally. Two classic cases we see are people under-eating over an extended period of time and thus teaching their metabolism to slow down, and people underestimating what they are eating, resulting in fat gain…we’ve seen it all. Finding out how much your body needs to fuel your goals is critical.
Your Macronutrient Ratio is Out of Whack – This is a major player when it comes to your fat loss goals.. Your macronutrient ratio (protein, carbs, and fats) may be such that your body isn’t able to respond to training and caloric intake optimally. For instance, out of your allotted calories, you may only be eating 15% protein - which isn’t nearly enough for muscle building and preservation. Or, your carb intake may be too high and instead of fueling your workouts and activity, they're being stored as fat. Establishing the proper macronutrient balance for you will help ensure your metabolism can run at its prime.
Luckily, there's hope for you and your metabolism! The FASTer Way fundamental strategies train your body to be a pro fat burner while promoting healthy hormones and food freedom.