Are You Over 50? Having Trouble Keeping Weight Off? This blog post is for you!

Metabolism is the complex process by which your body converts the foods and drinks you take in into energy. Here are three crucial factors that help determine the health of your metabolism:

  1. The number of times you have tried to lose weight. The more times you have cut calories to lose weight, the more your metabolism slows and the harder it is to lose weight and keep it off. I call this “The Vicious Diet Cycle.”
    ► You drastically cut your calories to lose weight
    ► Your body goes into “starvation mode”
    ► You feel like you want to eat everything in sight.

    The body, in its wisdom, tries to save you from starvation, so it tries to hang on to every pound. Your well-intentioned attempts to lose weight have, for all intents and purposes, caused your metabolism to come to a screeching halt. Here’s a great diagram of this phenomenon.


  2. Your age and the amount of lean muscle you have. As we get older, we tend to lose lean muscle. The loss of lean muscle is called sarcopenia. The phrase “use it or lose it,” holds true here. With less lean muscle, we burn fewer calories and end up gaining weight.

  3. Your stress levels. If you are constantly under stress, you are essentially in a chronic state of fight-or-flight. Your body believes it is being chased by the proverbial saber-toothed tiger. During this stressful time, your body is producing copious amounts of the stress hormone cortisol, temporarily halting bodily functions that are not critical for immediate survival. As a result, your digestion and metabolism slow.

    Have you ever noticed yourself gaining weight during periods of extreme stress? Chronic stress leads to insulin resistance, which in turn leads to increased hunger, higher blood pressure, and weight gain.

So, what are the solutions and how do we get our metabolism back on track? There is much we can do! For this blog post, let’s address the three scenarios above.

  1. The number of times you have tried to lose weight. The solution here is to drop the diet mentality like a lead brick! You will want to take an entirely different approach to health! I encourage my clients to approach eating from the standpoint of “building health.” I teach them how to eat mindfully and intentionally instead of caving into emotional eating and cravings.

    Every time they have a meal or snack, they focus on what their body needs in that moment to be healthy. I teach them how to prepare healthy snacks and meals and encourage them to always have them available to grab on a moment’s notice. They are much less tempted to grab junk if they have healthy options at the ready.

    By taking the focus off from dieting and placing it on nourishing themselves and their body, they are leaving the deprivation mindset in the dust. Instead, they focus on how they can provide the body what it needs in the way of physical, mental, and emotional nourishment. See the mindset shift? It takes practice, but it is doable! Give it a try! I guarantee you won’t be dropping your calories too far and causing your metabolism to tank. 😊

  2. Your age and your lean muscle. There isn’t much we can do about our chronological age, but there is a ton we can do about our biological age!

    First, you will want to pay more attention to the makeup of your meals. You will want to keep them low on the glycemic load index so that you are not constantly spiking your blood sugar and contributing to any level of insulin resistance. If you need resources in this area, please reach out! I’m happy to provide them for you!

    Ditch the simple carbs and replace them with ½ cup of whole grains. Choose non-starchy vegetables with no restrictions on amounts. You will want to make sure that your selections contain generous amounts of fiber (increase amount slowly) to slow down the glycemic response. Include healthy fats and quality lean proteins.

    For the lean muscle piece, make sure to have a protein packed smoothie every morning for breakfast. This will get your morning off to a great start and reduce cravings. (Here is my favorite protein powder: https://bit.ly/2WUMFA8  I have many options. Let me know if you would like a different formulation, recipes, or help in constructing your smoothies.

    So how does protein relate to lean muscle? Protein helps build the lean muscle, especially if it is power packed with the amino acid leucine. The greater your lean muscle, the more calories you burn! 😊

  3. Your Stress Level. We all need to work on stress levels after the year we have had. I have an abundance of resources from my 5-month Stress Course, and I’m happy to share some of those with you. If you love journaling or would like to learn a bit more about the process, hit me up for my “Master Self-Love with Journaling Guide.” I think you’ll find it extremely helpful, even if you are a veteran of journaling.

    Other suggestions would be a gratitude practice, meditation, yoga, general exercise, getting out in nature, self-care, breathing exercises, and affirmations. Again, I am happy to provide resources!

Remember, NO MORE DEPRIVATION MINDSET!! A deprivation mindset ALWAYS backfires! We are BUILDING HEALTH and NOURISHING OUR BODIES! Take some time, go for a beautiful walk, and explore the mindset piece. How will you approach your journey to better health? What positive, encouraging, nourishing words will you use when talking to yourself? Write them down on sticky notes and paste those stickies everywhere! If at some point you can’t produce the right words, those stickies will be right there staring you in the face. 😊


Would you like to take a short Metabolism Quiz to see where you are and where you need to go?
Take the Metabolism Quiz here:  https://p.bttr.to/3sQxt5b


Would you like to chat about formulating your health goals?
Book your FREE Discovery Call here: https://p.bttr.to/3fl3MS4


Connect With Me:
Email: debbie@coachdebbiemiller.com

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