If You Struggle To Lose Weight Like This, Is Your Metabolism Broken?
Article Round-Up: 1.7.24
Welcome to the first article round-up of 2024! Enjoy this week’s curated list of articles, podcasts, and more from the web to help you live a healthier, happier life.
Featured Thoughts: If You’re Going Through A Tough Time [video]
Published This Week:
Feeling Insecure In The Gym? You’re Not Alone.
Takeaway: Entering a gym for the first time (or even the first time in a long time) can feel intimidating. This is true even for someone who is used to spending time in gyms. In this article, you’ll learn to recognize common reasons for this insecurity, as well as tools to help overcome this anxiety to make the gym a less scary place.
How To Thrive In Relationships: 21 Science-Backed Tips
Takeaway: As I’ve gotten into my thirties, I’ve begun to realize that relationships really are everything. Romantic, platonic, familial—they all matter. They matter a lot.
This is a great article sharing some wisdom that can immediately help you improve your relationships. My advice to make the best use of these tips:
Don’t feel like you need to accomplish each piece of advice right away.
Do an audit of what and where you personally are most lacking in your relationships. Start by improving this area as it’ll make the biggest difference.
Implement this advice one change at a time. Work on it tirelessly until the changes feel automatic; as much a part of your identity as your own name. Then, continue this process for the next change.
Don’t start trying to convince your partner/friend/family member to improve their shortcomings until you’ve shown initiative working on your own. Trust me, it won’t go well.
3 Tips To Help You Say NO To Social Invites
Takeaway: I’m currently in my era of “say yes to everything.” I suffer a little FOMO, but I am always on the hunt for a great memory and a good story. Sometimes, this has worked well for me. And other times, I’ve said yes to things and regretted it later. In this situation I’m left pinching myself KNOWING I probably wouldn’t enjoy myself.
This article shares these three tips to tactifully say no to social requests:
Give a reason instead of just an outright "no."
If you're invited to an event with an expected cost — like dinner or a show — mention that in your reasoning for not being able to attend. Givi said that people will be more understanding and less likely to pressure you.
Respectfully decline, but offer an alternative activity in the future to show them you still care and value that relationship.
Just For Fun:
Planning To Travel This Year? Here Are Travel+Leisure’s 50 Best Destinations for 2024
Takeaway: You could, quite literally, sign me up for any of these. (See above about my “say yes” era.) Which destination would be at the top of your list?
Reader Question:
After I turned 35, it feels like weight loss has become impossibly difficult. No matter what diet I try or workout program I adopt, I just can’t seem to keep weight off. Is it possible my metabolism has slowed down enough to make weight loss impossible?
Let’s talk about broken and aging metabolisms.
Metabolic slowdown with age is a real thing.
That’s the bad news.
The good news is that it happens much slower than most people think. According to the latest research, our metabolism will slow at a rate of 1-2% annually after the age of 30.
For someone with a basal metabolic rate of 2000 calories per day (the number of calories needed to maintain bodyweight), this would mean their metabolism would reduce by 20-40 calories per year.
Not exactly life-altering numbers.
While your metabolism is likely to slow with age, this doesn’t paint the full picture. In fact, a slowing metabolism might not be the culprit at all.
Here are common reasons people struggle to lose weight after the age of 35 and beyond:
Changes in activity levels
Added stress and emotional eating
Loss of muscle mass
Changes in dietary habits (or lack thereof)
Inconsistent sleep patterns
Shifts in lifestyle circumstances
Hormonal changes, especially in women
Note: while hormonal changes can impact body composition in women, it is one of many factors that negatively impact bodyweight.
More often than not, the reasons for a “broken metabolism” are actually broken habits.
Broken habits are fixable. Activity levels can be increased and muscle mass can be preserved. Stress, emotional eating, sleep, and diet habits can be improved.
If you’re worried your metabolism is preventing you from losing weight, I suggest taking a hard, honest look at these other areas of your life. The results may surprise you.
You might struggle differently to lose weight now, but you aren’t broken.
That is the most relieving news of all.
~ Coach Alex