Ep#093 Your Metabolism Is Not Broken – How To Reclaim Your Metabolic Power

0 (1s):
Welcome to the soul science nutrition podcast, where you’ll discover that when it comes to your health, you’re so much more powerful than you’ve been led to believe. And now your host, she’s a holistic nutrition and lifestyle coach, chef author, and Yogi, Christine Okezie.

Christine Okezie (22s):
Hello, and welcome to the soul science nutrition podcast. I’m Christine Okezie. Thanks so much for tuning in. So it’s February and right about now. It’s when those new year’s resolutions might be feeling a bit shaky. And if they’re weight loss related, you might find yourself back in that all too familiar pattern of why, despite your efforts to do all the right things, the results are somewhat lackluster or at best inconsistent. Well, this week’s solo podcast will hopefully shed some light on the hot topic of metabolism. So when people come to work with me, frustrated with failed diets and various attempts to lose weight, they learn right away that we’re not going to be focused on the oversimplified principle of calories in calories out.

Christine Okezie (1m 9s):
This outdated metric is incredibly flawed because first and foremost, when it comes to our metabolism, our bodies aren’t operating like some bank account with debits and credits, but rather our bodies are more like a highly dynamic, very individualized chemistry lab. Here are two fun facts about how our bodies work when it comes to weight loss. That really don’t get enough attention because in my opinion, if they did well, I think it would just stop the diet industry pretty much in its tracks. So number one fun fact, the more you work out or manage your calorie intake to lose weight, the more your metabolism wants to compensate by slowing down to maintain your current weight fun fact, too.

Christine Okezie (1m 59s):
If you’ve lost a bunch of weight in the past due to punishing exercise or restrictive diet changes, and then attempt to use those same strategies again, to lose weight, your body will adjust to prevent this from happening again. And you’re going to see fewer weight loss results. These two things essentially are the laws of nature at work as per the human body, the human body, our bodies have evolved to value storing fat and energy, and to interpret a shortage of calories as a sign of distress or famine bottom line, when you’re dieting, you’re fighting your biology and guess who’s always going to win that battle.

Christine Okezie (2m 44s):
So the 2,500 calorie propaganda, the appetite suppression drug industry, all these other fads and gimmicks that focus on how much you eat as the primary weight loss tool are all failed unscientific strategies because they all conveniently ignore the number one thing, but ultimately has the greatest impact on weight gain and weight loss resistance. And that’s our hormones, insulin cortisol, thyroid, and our sex hormones like estrogen and progesterone are just some of the big ones that regulate blood sugar, fat storage, appetite, mood, energy, and those cravings.

Christine Okezie (3m 31s):
Now there are lab tests that can help identify some major factors here and major imbalances. But I want to suggest that even before you have to go that route, there’s so much you can do right now to address the most common underlying causes of weight gain or weight loss resistance. First, you can decide to make food and lifestyle choices that are designed to balance your hormones and get your biochemistry if you will, back on your side. So the first one top of the list eat a whole bunch of unprocessed real food, you know, having healthy fat fiber and protein at every meal. So what do I mean by that healthy fats, olive oil, coconut oil, avocado, nuts and seeds.

Christine Okezie (4m 18s):
What am I mean by fiber? Anything that comes from a plant that’s whole, you know, those leafy greens, whole grains, berries, and protein: so animal or plant. So pastured, eggs, beans, and lehumes, wild caught fish, grass fed beef, organic chicken. So not only does this provide the nourishment that our bodies were designed and help keep us in balance. Well, when we eat this way and we make this, our dominant, you know, selection of foods, this helps keeps the toxins, you know, all those food additives and preservatives, those chemicalized fats and sugars off our plate. In fact, overloading our system with toxins, whether they are in our food, in the air, we breathe even our personal care or cleaning products.

Christine Okezie (5m 4s):
Well, an overload of toxins in the body can absolutely wreak havoc on those key hormones and disrupt fat deposition and how we metabolize sugar even. So number two, sticking to a consistent eating schedule, too much snacking or erratic eating schedules, taxes, our digestive power to break down those fat stores for energy. Number three, this is a big one getting six to eight hours of uninterrupted, high quality sleep and having a consistent bedtime routine research shows that even when you eat an exercise, right, you’re at risk for weight gain. If you’re not getting enough sleep, sleep is so key for the body’s natural detoxification healing and repair processes.

Christine Okezie (5m 52s):
Number four, being open to exploring the right kind of exercise for your body, too much exercise or the wrong mix of exercise.I see a lot of people overdoing on the cardio cardio cardio. Well, if your stress hormones are already imbalanced, this type of approach to exercise could actually cause the body to hang on to even more weight, number five, being open to exploring your relationship with food and your emotions letting go of using willpower alone and doing some inner work around why we’re eating in the ways that we know are not good for us. I mean, who doesn’t turn to food out of boredom, guilt shame, a soul sucking job, an unfulfilling relationship, right?

Christine Okezie (6m 40s):
Be willing to explore that intimate relationship between how we think what we feel and what we do so important. And finally, an all of this is held in place by a regular practice in your self-care toolkit that keeps your stress levels in check. The key to a balanced hormone system is a balanced central nervous system. So when I work with clients, these are non-negotiables, you know, incorporating practices that resonate such as yoga, meditation, conscious breathing exercises, walking in nature, anything ideally done on the daily that is helping to recalibrate the whole mind body energy system access cortisol is one of the most common causes of weight loss, resistance, elevated levels of that stress hormone, cortisol breaks down muscle and stores fat, an easy way to remember this.

Christine Okezie (7m 38s):
You can’t lose weight living in survival mode because your body is hanging on to fat for dear life. So these lifestyle strategies have the added benefit of course, of reducing chronic inflammation and keeping that gut microbiome healthy. As you’re aware, there’s an ever growing amount of research on the influence of inflammation on weight and how the different microbes in our gut play a huge role when it comes to our weight and metabolism. Again, this is where the calories in calories out eat less, move, more paradigm. It’s got to go. It’s so woefully inadequate for what we know to be true. So in adopting this more holistic, sensible approach to our unwanted weight issues, what are we doing?

Christine Okezie (8m 26s):
We’re putting our awareness where it, we need it. The most. We putting on our awareness on how we’re feeling in our bodies, tuning in to why we do what we do and slowing down long enough to really listen to the feedback that our bodies are giving us 24 7. So factors like our mood, our energy level, our digestive function, our sleep and mental clarity, none of that information, none of that knowledge, that empowering knowledge about ourselves comes from worshiping at the altar of I have to lose weight. So it’s not that we are giving up on our goals to lose weight, but rather we want to free up some mental energy and direct it where it’s really needed to make life enhancing changes, shifting to a more nourishing, empowering approach that makes the experience of genuine vitality and lasting while being the primary endeavors.

Christine Okezie (9m 31s):
Okay. So where do we begin? First and foremost, we can decide to stop equating our self-worth with the shape and size of our bodies. We can begin to set small focused lifestyle goals alongside taking care of our emotional health. Like I’d like to have more energy in my day to day. I’d like to have more patience and self-compassion when I’m having a tough moment. I’d like to be more mindful about my food choices. I’d like to find more health supportive versions of my everyday foods. I’d like to find ways to have more play and pleasure in my life.

Christine Okezie (10m 12s):
How about starting your day with five minutes of a conscious breathing exercise or a meditation practice, or perhaps ending your day every day with a calming, nurturing bedtime routine, bottom line, our metabolism operates equally and simultaneously in the body, the mind and our emotions, and thus gives us so many more ways to impact our metabolic power than we could have ever imagined. Balancing our bodies, balancing our hormones, strengthening our central nervous system, breaking out of fight or flight physiology, balancing our chakras, increasing prana or Qi.

Christine Okezie (10m 54s):
It’s essentially all the same thing. The question to ask yourself is this, is it really only your weight that you want to change? What would it be like if you embraced your health challenges, your not so great relationship with food and your body as portals back to your inner authority, a journey back to your true self. I think if you did, I believe there’d be no limit to what you could learn, transform and become. So I hope that’s been helpful. My friends, thanks so much for listening. Take care and bye for now.