No, your metabolism isn’t broken!
You might have heard people refer to their metabolism as ‘broken’, or blame their slow or difficult weight loss on metabolic damage. However, you actually can’t break your metabolism gf!
Your metabolism is adaptable, not breakable. Yes, you can experience metabolic down-regulation as a result of long dieting periods or under-eating, however this down-regulation is reversible, and is not permanent.
So, what is metabolic downregulation?
- Also known as adaptive thermogenesis, this is a natural process that occurs as a result of dieting and weight loss
- When dieting, our body naturally decreases our total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) in order to help us conserve energy
- It does this by slowing down our resting metabolic rate and reducing NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis), meaning you subconsciously move less throughout the day
- This means that your daily energy requirements will decrease, and your weight loss will plateau
The good news is, metabolic adaptation is reversible! Just like your metabolism can down-regulate, it can up-regulate too.
How to reverse metabolic adaptation:
- This can be done by incrementally increasing your calories slowly over time and 'reversing' the dieting process (also known as a reverse diet)
- By doing this, your TDEE will naturally increase as a result of your increased energy intake
If you’ve been dieting for a long time, or living on lower calories, then this is something I highly recommend you do in order to improve your metabolic health! Need help with this process? Email our team at hello@trainwithsoph.com and we can help!
Soph x