4 THINGS THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW THAT CAN SLOW DOWN FAT-LOSS

AND CAUSES HORMONAL AND METABOLIC DAMAGE.  

Fat loss should not be hard. Hours of cardio should not be required to burn fat. Cutting carbs or calories should not be necessary to create a lean, healthy body.

Why is it so much harder for some people to drop kilos?  Why is it that some just have to look at bowl of pasta and the scales go up?  

As a coach, I see how frustrating it is when I work with those who have a slow metabolism or hormonal imbalance.  I see people that diet so hard and do so much cardio and yet they still do not get results.   It is simply so unfair!!!  It’s often the people that work the hardest that often do not the best results.   

Our Pro-Metabolic meal plans have been specifically created to find a solution for those that experience metabolic damage.  It is designed for those determined and focused folk who struggle to budge stubborn fat.

These are the 4 most common issues we see in those who have metabolic issues. These are also the 4 most common issues that we see impact fat loss.

1. UNDEREATING

Metabolic damage is often a direct result of over-dieting and not eating enough food to support body functioning. Dieting for long periods of time tells the body that food is scarce.  In response, body gets smart and starts slowing down metabolism. It holds onto food and calories as a protective mechanism.   A starving body slows down its metabolic systems to conserve energy and preserve life.  This also results in slowing down the conversion of thyroid hormones T4 to T3.  Thyroid hormones are very hormones that are needed to keep metabolism and fat burning efficient and active.   

When calories and the food consumed is not enough, the body responds by reducing temperature to base survival rate, it minimizes digestive processes, reduces pulse rate and slows thyroid gland activity. This action also decreases the production of essential “good, protective” hormones in an effort to conserve energy.

Most people then think that it is logical to eat less food in response to encourage further fat burning. This ultimately triggers all of the involuntary mechanisms that regulate fat storage to increase and all the systems that converge to generate energy such as fat burning to decline.   The best strategy to encourage fat burning should be to increase energy and decrease the mechanism that increases fat storage.  This is exactly what we teach and forms the basis of how our Pro-Metabolic meal plans are designed.  ProComp’s Boost and Shred 12-week meal plan program gradually increase calories from unique pro-thyroid food.  This approach increases metabolic rate and thyroid gland efficiency and helps to burn fat effortlessly and faster.

2. CUTTING CARBS

Everyone seems to wants to cut carbs in an effort to lose body fat.  It’s all the rage in just about every fitness magazine these days. I have to sadly admit that I have also adopted this strategy and attitude in the past and have used it in the past too many times. If I am being honest, cutting carbs work…until it stops working. The result is an even slower metabolic rate associated with a high probability of rebound weight gain.  This is short-term strategy that sets you up to fail.  

Carbohydrates are your most important macronutrient when it comes to metabolism, heat production and energy.   Carbs drive metabolism.   Carbs convert inactive energy to active energy. This conversion needs glucose in the form of which sugar stored in the liver.  I write a lot about the role that sugar plays in metabolic rate. Sugar sets the stage for powerful metabolic conversions to take place.   When I talk about sugar, I am referring to natural sugars not chemical laden sugars.

The ProComp meal plans follow the research of Dr Ray Peat to create a faster metabolic rate and greater hormonal balance.   The Ray Peat Nutrition Framework combines carbohydrates with quality proteins and fats so that they can be digested easily. This approach is also less likely to cause bloating, excessive or low blood sugar or digestive issues. ProComp’s meal plans prioritize carbs from fruits, roots and dairy. We gradually increase how much is eaten to enable your body to adjust to metabolize the carbohydrates using the energy efficiently.

3. EXCESSIVE, EXHAUSTING CARDIO3

When the body is stressed the conversion of thyroid hormone slows down.  The body main objective is to priorities survival.  Grueling boot camps, an hour of intense running, or any excessive exhausting cardio regime is stressful to your body.    No matter how much you what to fit into those skinny jeans, too much cardio causes thyroid hormone production to slow or even be stopped.  As soon as thyroid gland activity slows down, as does fat burning.  This is the opposite of what is required to achieve and amazing lean body.

Blood sugar drops during intense cardiovascular exercise and cortisol, adrenalin, estrogen and endotoxins rise. These hormones are antagonists to circulating thyroid hormone T3 and they cause thyroid hormones to drop.  45 minutes after starting cardio thyroid hormones will start to plummet.  

Exercising frequently until exhaustion will lower the thyroid gland function.  The primary goal when wanting to get lean and healthy should be to optimise thyroid gland functioning and metabolism.

The slow heartbeat of an endurance runner is largely the result of adaptive hypothyroidism.  Rather than considering a low pulse an indicator of physical fitness, it is actually an adaptive mechanism of the body that in turn slows down the rate of fat burning.

4. STRESS, SLEEP AND SUNLIGHT

I’ve written a lot about stress hormones and cortisol. It’s important to understand this simple point.when stress hormones increase, the thyroid gland responds by decreasing and all thyroid hormone conversion slows.  The result…BOOM…your metabolism slows down.  

Stress also deprives the body of Vitamin A. Vitamin A is essential for thyroid hormone conversion.  Darkness is also a stress and causes thyroid suppression.  Conversely, good exposure to sunlight helps metabolic processes and hormone synthesis.

12-WEEK BOOST AND SHRED MEAL PLAN PROGRAM

The Boost and Shred 12-week Pro-Metabolic meal plan program is designed to upregulate metabolic rate to enable faster fat burning.  The program will have you eating MORE food to get lean, gradually increasing (or reintroducing) simple carbs, eating food that reduces stress and helps balance hormones.  We also set out a plan to reduce excessive cardio if it’s being done.   

Try your own 12-week challenge to boost your metabolic rate and shred body fat the healthy, balanced way.

Feel free to email Blair or Cheryl at info@prometaboliclife.com for any recommendations or advise regarding Pro-Metabolic nutrition. We’d be delighted to assist and help.