Do you actually have a slow metabolism?
“I have a slow metabolism.”
“I just don’t have good genes.”
“My metabolism has slowed down since I’ve gotten older.”
“I just can’t eat as much as I used to.”
These are phrases I’ve heard time and time again.
But are these statements true? Does age automatically equal slow metabolism? Are your genes its main controller? Do you actually even have a slow metabolism?
While genetic influence, hormones, and other health factors do play a role in metabolism, I commonly see 3 reasons that new clients report a “slow metabolism.” Even when there are other factors worth addressing, we can often still make substantial progress when focusing on these 3 root causes:
#1 Nutrition — chronic dieting or under-eating
It’s important to note that this could be conscious or subconscious – conscious in that someone is actively monitoring their caloric intake or yo-yo dieting (losing and regaining those same 10 pounds) or subconscious in that someone doesn’t understand their body’s nutritional fuel needs.
#2 Body Composition — low amount of muscle mass
Sally is 30 years old, 5’ 6’’ and 145 pounds. Jenna is also 30 years old, 5’ 6’ and 145 pounds. Sally has a significantly higher muscle mass percentage than Jenna and so Sally burns more calories at rest than Jenna. In other words, Sally’s metabolism would be higher than Jenna’s due to her higher muscle mass. Decreased or low muscle mass could be due to lack of overall exercise or lack of resistance-based exercise. This is also impacted by nutrition, as protein is needed to maintain and build muscle.
#3 Overall Movement — minimal movement throughout the day or outside of training sessions
I often see people put so much emphasis on the calories burned during a workout, but then they are seated for the rest of the day. How you move outside the gym is just as important as how you move inside the gym when it comes to overall expenditure and metabolism.
> Sooooo what do we do?
My first thought when a client mentions a slow metabolism is considering a reverse diet. To determine if the client is a candidate for a reverse diet, I have them track their intake for ~4-7 days. I then compare this data to a calculation of their total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) based on factors such as bodyweight, height, age, sex, and activity level. If their intake averages significantly lower than this calculation, the next step is likely a reverse diet.
>> What is a reverse diet?
A reverse diet is the process of slowly increasing caloric intake toward estimated maintenance calories after a period of dieting or under-eating. Reverse diets are important for a variety of reasons, including:
To reverse metabolic down-regulation → the body adjusts to its caloric intake and therefore metabolism can “decrease” or down-regulate when intake is consistently under maintenance
To exit a deficit → as mentioned above, the body will adjust to its caloric intake so a gradual reverse helps you return to maintenance so that you are not “stuck” at a significantly lower caloric intake to maintain results
To prioritize health in a stressful season → think of maintenance as your body’s happy equilibrium. A deficit is a stressor on the body because you’re under the line of equilibrium, whereas a bulk is a stressor on the body because you’re over the line of equilibrium. All phases have their own benefit and purpose, but maintenance is a great place to be when combatting life stressors.
My next step as a coach addressing metabolism is progressive overload, as this goes hand in hand with both a reverse diet and increasing muscle mass. Progressive overload is gradually increasing the intensity of workouts – this can be done by manipulating training principles such as the volume of the workout (weights/sets/reps) and tempo of exercises. This is why consistent resistance programming is so important during a reverse diet – I typically like to keep clients on the same training program for 4–8 weeks for most significant progress. We strategically update training goals for sessions typically every 2 weeks so that we have progressive overload targets going into every training session.
The third piece of the puzzle when addressing metabolism has to do with overall movement. In terms of overall expenditure, you’d be far better off burning 200 calories in a workout and hitting 10k steps per day than burning 600 calories in a workout and remaining sedentary throughout the day. I often find that many people are unaware of how little they move – even routine gym-goers. Implementing a step goal, standing desks, or just making intentional movement a priority are great ways to increase overall movement, and therefore expenditure, throughout the day.
My favorite part of being a coach is customizing each client’s process. Supporting them through nutrition habits, exercise programming and progressive overload goals, and exploring ways to be intentional about overall movement in their specific lives is rewarding.
Next week’s blog post is a spotlight on my client Allie. Her results are a beautiful example of going through a reverse diet and implementing progressive overload to enhance metabolism and body composition. Check back next Friday to see what these protocols looked like over her 9-month journey.
Could you be a candidate for a reverse diet? Interested in learning more about how we customize nutrition and training to meet your goals in the 1:1 coaching process? Let’s chat this week!
