Do you struggle with a slow metabolism? I get a lot of questions from clients, especially women who are 35 and older, who have problems with their metabolism. They feel almost like their metabolism has come to a complete halt, and they’re hardly burning any calories – even when they work out. It can be frustrating to watch what you eat, work out consistently, and still not see the scale budge – or even see the scale go up.

If you’re worried that your metabolism has come to a screeching halt, don’t worry! There are things that you can do to get your metabolism going again. Ramping up your metabolism has nothing to do with eating first thing in the morning – that’s a myth. Your metabolism doesn’t slow down just because you eat breakfast later in the day. So, what is actually causing your body to burn fewer calories?

Why does your metabolism slow down?

So why does your metabolism start to slow down as you age? The change in your metabolism has less to do with getting older in general. Instead, it’s strongly tied to the other changes that happen to our bodies as we age. As you get older, your muscle mass starts to decrease. Muscle burns a lot of calories, even when you’re resting. So, if you lose muscle mass, you’re also burning fewer calories every single day, which can easily lead to weight gain.

Metabolism Basics

Let’s dive into the basics about your metabolism. Your metabolism, or your basal metabolic rate, accounts for about 75% of the total calories that you burn each day. If you want to burn more calories, you need to increase your metabolism. So, if your goal is to lose weight, you’ll want to burn more calories and fat every day, which means you’ll need to focus on ramping up your metabolism.

What about exercise? Your daily exercise only accounts for 10% of the calories you burn every day. So, if you’re still spending an hour or more at the gym, you’re over-training. You can’t make up for what you’ve eaten by going to the gym. If you’re trying to restrict the number of calories you’re eating and you’re working out at the gym for an hour or even two, you’re only going to dig into your muscles and kill your joints. You won’t see results by over-training and under eating. Don’t focus on calories in vs. calories out—it’s not that simple.

How do you increase your metabolism?

The only way to increase your basal metabolic rate is to add muscle in order to increase your lean body mass. Like I mentioned earlier, as we age, we tend to lose lean muscle. So, it’s important to make sure you focus on adding lean muscle, especially as you reach the age of 35 and older. Your body starts to change tremendously in your late 30s and beyond. Not only do you lose muscle, but you also start to put on more belly fat. However, you can counteract those changes with the right fitness program.

So, what do you do if you’re like I was, and you’re a cardio junkie spending hours of day at the gym? I thought that if I just spent more time doing cardio, it would burn fat, but I was wrong. If you want to lose weight, you really do need to start looking at your workouts differently and start to build more lean body mass. When you have more muscle, you’ll burn more calories every day – even when you’re just sitting or resting.

If you want to turn your body into a fat-burning machine, you need build muscle by doing more strength training. But, you don’t have to lift crazy heavy weights. Simple body weight exercises can help you build muscle, which will increase your lean body mass. And, you’ll have to eat more so that your muscles can grow. You’ll be surprised how much weight you can actually lose by spending fewer hours at the gym and eating more of the right foods. It truly is the key to weight loss.

Are you ready to start a fitness program that actually works because it helps you build your lean body mass and ramp up your metabolism? You’ll love my Burn Fat and Feast Program. In this program, I teach you how to really rev up your metabolism. You’ll get workouts designed to help you build lean muscle so you can burn more fat, and you’ll also get a nutrition plan to follow so you can maximize your fat loss. Click here to learn more!  

Not certain if a 7 week online program is for you? No worries! We want to make sure you are armed with the BEST tips to increase your metabolism and balance your hormones. Download our FREE Metabolism and Hormone Checklist below to get started scorching calories even as you sit!

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