Metabolic Health - What is is It?

Metabolism - the cellular actions that convert glucose to energy - is dynamic and largely under your control.  Do not believe that metabolic decline is inevitable.  So many clients and friends come to me suffering from low energy, stubborn weight issues, menopausal weight gain and feel hopeless. 

Have you too heard that after 40 or after menopause metabolic slowing is inevitable? It’s not true.  Just like physical conditioning interrupts the decline of the body; metabolic conditioning keeps energy up, weight healthy, and inflammation low.

Metabolism is essentially the generation of energy within the body from the environment - air - and food. The factors which inform metabolism are physical activity, stress, sleep, food composition, food order, and eating frequency.

When energy is available and steady, you have optimal metabolic health. 

With optimal metabolic health your experience:
Stable energy
Sharper memory
Exercise endurance
Less anxiety and depression
Stable mood
Clearer skin
Fewer wrinkles
Improved fertility and sexual health
Stronger immune system

If this is not you, then it is time to change how your metabolism is running with conditioning practices.

But how do you change your metabolism?  

Sleep more.  Lack of sleep slows down metabolism by hormonally favoring glucose storage over use.  This means when you consistently get less than 7 hours of sleep, your body is primed to hold onto fat, create more fat, and burn less of what you eat.  You can’t catch up on sleep, so the primary way to make sleep work for your metabolism is to consistently get 7-8 hours of sleep a night. The effect of sleep is cumulative so consistency is important.

Exercise. You have energy stored in your muscles.  The pathways that move energy from blood to muscle and from fat cells to muscles benefit and become more efficient with regular activation.  Daily exercise keeps these processes online, so that they are more accessible to you even when not exercising.  That way when you eat, instead of a spike leading to fat storage, your body will store energy in your muscles; then when you need glucose instead of the valley of hunger and tiredness, your body will draw fuel from the stored energy, glycogen, in your muscles.

Use your stress tool box.  Stress is normal when it is situational.  Chronic, all day, frequent stress is not what your system evolved to manage.  For that reason, you have to be intentional in bringing your stress down by stimulating your parasympathetic nervous  system.  Your natural de stress pathways are activated when you exercise, do yoga, breath deeply, spend time outdoors, have social connections, or enjoy a cup of tea. Not activating relaxation keeps you in a metabolic straight jacket - cortisol favors fat storage, hunger, high insulin.

Food wise you condition your metabolism by avoiding foods and food sequences which create glucose spikes.  Key ways to do this is to start each meal with vegetables, eat your starches and sweets at the end of your meal, and always avoid consuming sweets or carbs on an empty stomach.

Love,
Julia
xo