Metabolism – Why Am I Not Losing Weight?
I wanted to share with you something that I hear in consultations with clients all the time, I hear the phrase…
“I don’t even eat very much – so why aren’t I losing any weight?!”
Take the lady I saw yesterday. I am going to call her “Laura” for the purpose of this story. Laura came to see me with the goal to lose 2-3 stones. We chatted for a good 30 minutes, she told me that she can, and often does, go the whole day without eating a thing and just sticks with dinner as her only meal of the day. And yet she doesn’t lose a pound. Not an inch. Laura is pretty frustrated. Fed up. Demotivated. She wants to give up and accept she will just be fat forever. That she will never get the body she wants. She feels she has been trying and trying for so long but that nothing ever changes.
Recognise any of these feelings?
The problem? Laura’s metabolism.
So what is this “metabolism” that everyone always talks about when it comes to weight loss?
Your metabolism is actually not a singular thing, it is a collection of chemical reactions that take place in your body at all times, maintaining your living state. The body will be in a constant flux of breaking compounds (such as our ingested food and fat stores) down for energy, and synthesising elements to build new tissues (such as muscles).
Crash dieting and severely restricting calorie intake has a massive effect on your bodies ability to carry out these necessary processes.
Your body has a minimum energy requirement to carry out these processes everyday – and this is known as your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). This requirement can be anything from 40% – 70% of your bodies daily energy requirements. By crash dieting, or starving your body of nutrients and energy for long periods of time (such as Laura), you are reducing your BMR and therefore your bodies ability to burn fat. This is why you are not losing any weight. You are preventing your body from being able to perform it’s function correctly.
The solution to Laura’s problem?
Regular eating. Giving your body 3-5 small, nutritious meals a day will do more good than hours of calorie-deprivation. Consistent food intake will allow your body to continue its metabolic processes at all times – boosting your metabolic rate and allowing your body to burn more fat.
I can promise you – if you keep making Laura’s mistake… you will continue to stay at the size you are. Use her experience to change your future.
