Metabolism Survival Guide

Have you ever been dieting and dieting and dieting, and get to a point where you can't seem to lose any weight; in fact, you may get to a point where you're eating the least you've ever eaten, yet the scale doesn't budge an ounce?  Or maybe you're eating very little, and actually *gaining* weight?

Let me introduce you to one of your body's survival mechanisms.

Imagine you're a caveman (or woman).  You hunt for your food, you eat when you can, but sometimes have to go without food because you just can't find any.  Fortunately, your body is designed to survive these times.  How?  By slowing down your metabolism so as not to use as much energy--a conservation mechanism.  You might feel yourself getting cold.  You may feel fatigued, unmotivated to make extra movements.  And when you finally find a rabbit to catch and eat, you're body is going to really hold on to the calories the rabbit provides, because who knows when the next meal is going to be?

Fast forward to present you.  You hunt for weight loss, you eat according to a restricted plan, and sometimes you skip meals in hopes of progressing your weight loss.  Unfortunately, your body doesn't know that there's a Taco Bell around the corner.  So it slows down your metabolism as a conservation mechanism.   And then you wonder why you don't have enough "will power" to go to the gym, when actually you just literally don't have the energy--the energy is being stored because who knows when your next meal is going to be?

Long story short, you need to eat!  You need to reassure your body that it will not starve.  It's like your body is a camp fire, and in order for the fire to continue, you need to throw logs in there on a regular basis.  If you fail to do so, the fire will slow down, and eventually die.

Don't let your fire slow down.  Keep it nice and full and warm, and it will support you and your metabolism.