I hear it ALL the time.  

I haven’t eaten anything all day!  

I totally forgot to eat…  

I had a big breakfast, so I am skipping lunch.  

Gosh, I ate SO much tonight… I just won’t eat anything tomorrow.  

Please!  Have MERCY on your metabolism!  

We have all been in this boat at one point or another, and it is so easy to see why.  We are following the well-worn yet incorrect directive that we have to balance calories in with calories out.  We believe that if we eat LESS it just makes sense that we will be thinner, right? It’s simple math! And when we overeat, we feel guilt and even shame.  We believe that we have to make up for our dietary transgressions, and we often do so by skipping meals or eating less. Or when we know we will be eating a big meal later in the day, we assume we can balance that out by depriving ourselves all day… 

But your body is not a checkbook!  

What nobody is telling us is that when we are cutting calories and skipping meals we are doing WAY more harm to our bodies than good.  That all changes now because I am going to tell you the real truth about your metabolism and how to not only REVIVE it but set it on fire!  So much so that you will be able to have that celebration dinner you used to feel guilty about… and your body will not skip a beat. In fact, you will eat again 3-4 hours after.  I’m serious. 

There are two important keys to a healthy metabolism: fuel and muscle. 

And they go hand in hand.  When you skip meals, you are not providing your body with enough fuel to maintain your basal metabolism–the minimum amount of energy needed to live.  So, in order to preserve itself, your body goes into starvation mode. It assumes that since you are not feeding it, there is no food to be had, and it needs to step in ASAP.  As your blood sugar drops, the hunger hormone glucagon rises, and it eventually hits the panic button, sending out the alert for your body to step in.   

Sirens blare, red lights flash, your body goes into full survival mode and it’s all hands on deck!  Well, maybe there aren’t sirens and lights… but it is pretty darn close! 

During this time, your metabolism slows down in order to conserve fuel AND your body begins to pull stored energy.  It takes it from stored carbohydrates and stored fat, sure… but it also takes the protein from your lean body mass. In fact, after exhausting stored carbohydrates, the very next source of energy is glycogen, which is stored in your muscles and your liver.

This is a dangerous cycle because it weakens your muscles, and because muscles burn more calories than fat, the direct effect is a slower metabolism.

Do this after a big meal, and all you are doing is ensuring your body will hold on to all that extra food you just ate and store it as fat!

Do it throughout the day, and the next time you eat, which might be that huge dinner for which you have been dutifully saving up all those calories, cue the hallelujah chorus!  Your body rejoices that food has been found! So you eat MORE than you would have AND your body is ready to hold onto all that food, storing it as fat for the next famine that will inevitably come.  

Over time, the inconsistency of this approach, and the lack of proper fuel throughout the day, take their toll on your muscles and your metabolism.  You grow weaker, you feel more tired and cranky, your brain becomes foggier, your health suffers… and all because you believed that caloric intake could be viewed as a whole.

However, when you fuel your body every 3-4 hours with balanced, healthy meals that include proteins, fats, and carbohydrates (PFC), your body has all the macronutrients it needs to function. 

The proteins provide your body with the nine essential amino acids needed to build and maintain lean muscle mass, the fats ensure that you can absorb all the nutrients in your food and keep you feeling satiated, and the carbohydrates give you the energy you need to perform your daily tasks. 

When you provide your body with this necessary fuel throughout the day, you are keeping your metabolism going!  This means your body can take what it needs and dispose of what it doesn’t. You are also steadily building back muscle, which not only burns fat but further amps up your metabolism.  

Add in proper exercise and you further support the growth of lean muscle, which is truly the fountain of youth!  

So what that means is, if you are going to be having what we call an “appreciation meal” at the end of the day, the LAST thing you should be doing is saving up your calories.  

Each meal is unrelated to the one before or after, and each meal is necessary to fuel your body at THAT time of the day.  

Keep your metabolism well-oiled with small, PFC meals every 3-4 hours leading up to your celebration so that it will be up to the task!  The same goes for AFTER a big meal. Even if you do not feel particularly hungry, your body needs fuel again within 4 hours or hello, starvation mode!  

Keep your metabolism working with another meal, or if you really don’t feel hungry, with half of a meal.  Do not feel guilty about it! You are simply fueling your body, feeding your muscles, and getting your metabolism right back in rhythm.  

The best part is if you keep up this approach, not only do you get to skip that whole feeling bad about what you ate, but over time you can gain back energy, strength, and health by not just reviving but igniting your metabolism!

Coach Jessica