As a mom of 2, who is speeding towards turning 40 this summer, I’m always worrying that I look like a ‘frumpy mom.” Also to compound to that insecurity, being a wellness coach in a space that appearance is very much judged, also adds to it. As a nutrition coach (who also teaches nutrition science), I am always researching ways to boost my own metabolism (and so I can teach it to others!)
Like everyone else, even though I do work very hard at my appearance (vanity and health reasons), I am not immune to the same insecurities that everyone else has. I would imagine to some extent most of us in this wellness space have them (its probably why we are in this space! We want to feel better about ourselves too).
Over the last decade and a half I have tried probably every diet out there (veganism, low fat, low calorie, keto, etc.). And every time, I stop because I love to eat! But this past April, I had a bit of an epiphany.
Why did all of these diets work for a bit?
What did they all have in common? What are the biggest levers in fixing your metabolism, so you can lose fat?
And how I can leverage these things, so I do not have to make myself crazy with strict dieting.
So, I compiled all of them and wrote the Sizzle Program (which is found inside the Radiance Collective). Then I started to implement them myself.
However, I did not see any noticeable change.
For months.
Which is very defeating. Because if the science says its supposed to work, then why doesn’t it?
Fast forward to January 1st.
I had this idea to take a progress photo of myself on the 1st of each month this year to see changes (if any). After I took it, I went into my phone to find the last full body photo of myself (that wasn’t edited. A “real” photo if you will). It was in July.
This was actually posted on my Instagram, if you want to see the full post.
That’s when I saw the change. The scale only has moved about 10 lb since April. But there was a noticeable improvement in how I looked. So all those big levers I implemented ARE WORKING. (And another reason why we are constantly told to ignore the scale).
Here are the TOP 3 Things that I did (still doing!) that ARE working:
- Prioritizing Protein at every meal and eating it towards the beginning of the meal. WHY this works: Protein is very satiating, which means you get full faster preventing overeating. Protein also burns more calories than the other two macros (carbs and fat). Excess protein doesn’t get stored and converted to fat like the other macros.1 Eating protein first will also balance your blood sugar2, preventing insulin and sugar spikes which prevents sugar cravings, increased appetite, irritability, and low energy. (Check out my free Protein Cheat Sheet to help you eat more protein).
- Upped my supplements. Its easy to get your macronutrients in most meals, whether you eat “healthy” or not. But its much harder to get in your micronutrients3. 4 AND its the micronutrients that ensure your metabolism is working properly. Without adequate amounts of vitamins and minerals, your metabolism will be stunted. So I became a lot more diligent with making sure any micronutrient gaps were filled in via supplements (for me this was iodine, magnesium, omega 3 (fish oil), Vitamin D+K). In addition to these, I also started taking 5 g of creatine everyday to help boost muscle building56. 7
- Prioritized muscle building in my workouts8, and not just calorie burning. This way I can increase my bodies ability to burn calories, in between my workout too! Also more muscle mass improves your bodies ability to burn sugar and fat, and increases your sugar storage (glycogen) so that extra sugar doesn’t convert to fat!9 10 Plus vanity wise, I like the look of being more toned and feeling like I am getting stronger.
That’s it. A few implements that look simple on paper, but had the most impact. Why overhaul your entire life, when you can pick the things that will give you the most bang for your buck? Which is what I did.
Want some more healthy and easy tips to help you boost your metabolism at 40? Then you will love the Radiance Collective!
I also have lots of free resources to help you with your current nutrition and health needs. Click here to see them!
References:
- https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2016/FO/C5FO01530H ↩︎
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7398578/ ↩︎
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1868363/ ↩︎
- https://karger.com/anm/article/66/Suppl.%202/22/40738/The-Epidemiology-of-Global-Micronutrient ↩︎
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7915263/ ↩︎
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7871530/?report=reader ↩︎
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5469049/ ↩︎
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7288608/ ↩︎
- https://nutritionandmetabolism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12986-015-0055-9 ↩︎
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6019055/ ↩︎