"My metabolism hurts!"
What if we said that? It would certainly help us get to the root of the issue, wouldn't it? This kind of reminds me of this religious saying that I'm going to butcher here because I'm paraphrasing but let's try ...
A man gets caught in torrential rains. His house is flooding and things are looking grim. He prays to God to help him. A man in a rowboat comes by and yells for him to get in. "No thanks", he says, "God will help me." The rowboat continues on. A motorized boat comes by next. "Jump in. I can get you out of here right away." "No thanks. God will save me." The motorboat passes. Next, a helicopter flies by with a rope dangling, asking the man to hold on tight. "No thanks. I've prayed to God and I'm waiting." The man dies and goes to Heaven. He says, "God, I believed in you and you let me die. What happened?" God says, "I sent you a rowboat, a motorboat and even a helicopter. What more did you expect?!"
I share that story because it reminds me a bit about how many people feel about their bodies, as well. Typically, before we are diagnosed with chronic disease, there were signs and / or symptoms. And when we understand a bit about how our body works, we can recognize those signs and symptoms as being helpful messengers sent to save us and often turn things around.
We say our knee hurts when we've injured it.
We said our head hurts when we have a migraine.
But we never say our metabolism hurts. Yet, we can assume our metabolism IS hurting if we have any of the following....
Excess body fat
Elevated fasting blood sugar
Elevated HgBA1C
High blood pressure
PCOS
Elevated insulin
Elevated triglycerides
Low HDL
Large waist circumference
Elevated triglycerides-to-HDL ratio
Elevated CRP or uric acid
Cravings
Get "hangry"
Hunger and fullness signals out of whack (for some it's low hunger and for others it's excessive or insidious hunger)
Mood disorders and certain other brain metabolic issues (most behavioral / "psych" disorders have a link here)
Brain fog
Reduced muscle mass
Energy crashes
The most recent research tells us only 6.8% of American adults are considered metabolically healthy. And unfortunately, that's using pretty lenient ranges of what they consider normal. In other words, some of those 6.8% still have lab values that are concerning and will likely to lead to eventual disease if unchanged. If we looked at more optimal ranges, ranges that aren't concerning, I suspect that number to be closer to 1-2% of American adults.
I never pour this much time and attention into things out of our control. That feels like a terrible waste of time. The reason I share about these topics so often is because it is largely in our control. Despite genetics and certain things we can't necessarily control like certain environmental toxins, the VAST majority of our metabolic health is on our own shoulders. It's our responsibility. It can worsen at any time. And it can improve -- usually by A LOT -- at any time. The choice is ours. But first we have to recognize if it's even a problem.
If you're in the 6.8% of American adults considered metabolically healthy (or an estimated 1-2% in the optimal ranges as I discussed more about the criteria here), amazing! My guess is you put considerable time and effort into your health. Optimal health doesn't just happen. Keep going!
But if you're part of the 93.2% (or more like 98 - 99% not yet in "optimal" ranges), you can take steps towards reversing metabolic damage right now, today!
It's everything we talk about each week in my newsletter and what I share about everyday on my feed and in stories on instagram. I will continue bringing you tools, resources, tips, tricks, recipes, workouts, mindset strategies and everything in between. And before this blog gets too long, let me share this list:
Food
Sleep
Movement
Stress / fear / joy / radical acceptance
Toxins
Temperature
Light
Muscle
Mindset
Purpose + connection
These are what I call, "The Big 10". The 10 buckets we can each dig through and uplevel, little-by-little. When we get these buckets mostly right most of the time (perfection isn't a thing, nor is it necessary), we get our metabolic health in order. When we have a lot off with these buckets over time, we usually notice one or many of the symptoms and signs of metabolic disease.
What if you need help? You don't know where to start? Or you feel like you're trying things and doing things and not getting the results you want? This is common! The information that's 'out there' and being shared by most healthcare practitioners, blogs and social media accounts is terribly outdated and problematic. If you can, I hope you'll join us for this May round of TRANSFORM: Body + Mind. It's my 28-day metabolism course. We're getting to the root of metabolic dysfunction to improve health and achieve fat loss goals by tackling all of the buckets above in great detail and with a doable plan and all the help + guidance you need. Tomorrow is the last day to join. You get access Thursday. We start Monday. I'd love to help you. <3
If you can't join us for this round, stay with me here. My goal is to help as many people as I can regardless of whether we ever get to officially work together or not. I will keep the help coming via free avenues as well. Your metabolic health will shape the quality of your life. It's that important!
XO,
Tara
P.S. Below -- people hardly ever notice "just" fat loss. There are typically improvements in energy, lab work, diseases, health markers and / or symptoms too. All of those signs and symptoms tell us something is off within the way the cell is powered up. This is metabolic dysfunction. When we get to the root of the metabolic dysfunction, all kinds of seemingly 'random' things start to improve. No promises ever because everyone is different, but if you decide to join us, I can't wait to hear what you notice in your own body!