THE ROLE OF METABOLISM – PART II

There are many factors that can affect your metabolism and weight gain – like genetics, body composition (which is your muscle and fat percentage, etc.), gender, activity level and your age, but one of the most overlooked reasons for metabolic dysfunction and weight gain is hormonal imbalance.

Whenever any step in the hormonal process does not work as it should (and you have over 60 different hormones), you end up with a hormonal imbalance. It’s a finely-tuned machine. When hormones are released, they send signals to an organ or system to do something in particular. If you have insufficient hormone production or the inability of a hormone to connect to its receptor due to inflammation or toxicity, your organs or systems won’t get the signal to do their job.

For instance, the primary function of your thyroid is to produce hormones that regulate metabolic function. Thyroid hormones influence these little energy producers in your cells – and all your cells depend on it for proper growth, brain, heart, muscle and digestive function. This is why improper thyroid function can cause metabolism dysfunction, leading to weight gain.

This is why we always tell you that it’s not about calories… it’s about body chemistry. Two other examples of hormones that influence energy balance and metabolism are leptin and ghrelin. Leptin helps suppress food intake, while ghrelin makes you hungry. The two need to be in balance or you will eat too much, causing weight gain; or not eat enough, causing your metabolism to slow way down to conserve energy.

The cellular level is where it all takes place. The pathways of your metabolism rely heavily upon your nutrient intake. You need various nutrients, like proteins, carbohydrates, fats, minerals and vitamins to produce energy that is then used by the body to make new tissues and proteins. It’s one of the reasons we use supplements and teach you about nutrient dense foods – to make sure your body has what it needs to function properly. Without them, we won’t have enough nutrients to build, upkeep and repair body tissue. A diet too low in calories (which covers most of the major plans available today), misses key nutrients that rob the body of raw materials that we can only get from quality carbohydrates, fats, protein and water.

Weight loss potential decreases when your body is deprived and thinks you are starving through calorie deprivation. Even if you cut calories on purpose and work out more, your body doesn’t know the difference between starvation done on purpose and the kind that ensues from famine. So, the body goes into survival mode when we cut calories too much or diet over and over, which tells our metabolic hormones to hold on to every calorie we eat to ensure survival. Hence, the body lowers metabolism to conserve energy – not burn it.

Too little energy production from too little calories, means metabolism has less fuel to work with. So, you’re more likely to be susceptible to colds and viruses or other infections and have reproductive issues and mood changes. These are signs that your body is putting its limited energy to other places. When there is only so much energy to go around, your body devotes its resources to essential daily functions like keeping our hearts beating, lungs breathing and so on.

Your hormonal balance is key to your weight loss results. All the information points to what we have said all along: “It’s not about calories… it’s about body chemistry.”