Root Causes of a Slow Metabolism for those with Hormone + Thyroid Issues

In this blog, we will be going over all things METABOLISM and why people who have issues with thyroid health, PCOS, and hormones have such as hard time losing weight. 

If you would like to watch the VIDEO VERSION of this blog, please go to my YouTube Channel where you can find my video on this exact subject!!

Now, let's get into it! 

More Obvious Reasons You may have a poor metabolism:

Overeating

You are not tracking your foods and you actually don't have a poor metabolism -- you are just overeating! And it may be that you are not overeating foods as far as calories are concerned. But you may be overeating carbs or fats and under-eating what actually moves the needle for your metabolism, which is PROTEIN!

Most clients I see are not losing weight because they are overeating the wrong things. Usually fat, actually, since everyone tends to naturally decrease their carbs when they are eating healthier. But it's important to still have some carbs in the diet if you are having enough physical activity (and stress!) in your life. Which leads to the next reason people don't lose weight easily with hormone problems...

Chronically low Physical Activity

Being sedentary is the BIGGEST reason that people are not where they want to be with their weight or muscle tone. Most women will think that walking 2 miles per day is exercise, and yes, it technically is exercise but that should be your MINIMUM for the day. If you want to lose weight, you should really be strength training AND doing cardio (like walking or running). Most of us work desk jobs. We don't get in enough physically activity in a day. This is why I am not against running like most hormone "gurus" are. I personally have found that walking all the time often keeps me from getting in all of the steps/calorie burning that I need in a day to reach my goals. Some of us don't have an extra 2 hours in our day to walk all of our steps. 

If you are only doing cardio - that is not going to move the needle with weight loss. FAT loss happens when you do strength training and build muscle. You can do this by weight training, doing body weight exercises, going to pilates, or even starting to do yoga flows that require you to hold your own body weight well. This builds muscle, which burns fat and also causes you to burn more calories at rest. 

Poor Ingredients

Eating synthetic ingredients in our foods can cause inflammation (even if its a "low calorie" or "diet" food) which causes our insulin to spike, our gut health to be poor, and our thyroid to slow down. For example, if you eat highly processed protein powders or protein bars that are full of additives and you never eat whole foods instead - like fruits, vegetables, and meat proteins. You will only be able to go so far with your progress. Eating these foods continuously is not healthy. That is why I work with clients in my Fully Feminine course and teach them how to eat a whole foods diet and how to plate their foods in order to stay full but also lose weight. 

This is why you see many women who eat more (whole foods!) lose weight. Not only that, but they often end up having less inflammation which causes them to look younger, more glowy, and have more energy - just as God intended it!!

LESS OBVIOUS REASONS FOR A SLOW METABOLISM

Thyroid being suppressed

The thyroid is actually the powerhouse and metabolism-boosting organ in our body. If your thyroid is suppressed - you will most likely gain weight. But WHY is the thyroid suppressed? Most clients think that hypothyroidism and things of that sort are genetic. While genetics plays a part in everything that happens to the body, that is only ONE part of the story. Hypothyroidism is often lifestyle related as much as it is influenced by genetics. 

There are four root causes of a suppressed thyroid: stress, inflammation, gut issues, and nutrient deficiencies. I will talk a little bit about all of them below. 

Stress

Cortisol is your stress hormone. When stress is high, so is cortisol. The thing about cortisol is that is suppresses the thyroid and causes our body to go into "fight or flight" and makes every thing in our body work slower -- as a form of self preservation. Because we are prioritizing survival, we are not focused on thriving. 

We hear it all of the time, but reducing stress actually does help with weight loss. When we are able to reduce stress - we can support our thyroid. This is why laying in the sun, exercising, getting out of your house, making a home cooked meal, reading a cook, or doing a hobby is not only good for your mental health but also good for your metabolism.

I teach women how to support their cortisol levels in my Cortisol Course that can be found here. 

Chronic Under-eating (crash dieting causing metabolic syndrome)

Most people are surprised to hear this, but under eating for long periods of time can actually suppress your thyroid (metabolism) and cause weight gain. This is because your body has a basal metabolic rate (BMR), which is a set amount of calories that you burn at rest. So if you just sat on the couch and rotted for an entire Saturday, your body would still have a set amount of calories that it would burn (your BMR).

But when we restrict our calories for so long, say to 1200 calories for years -- that actually causes our BMR to slow down. This is because our bodies are freaked out by not being able to get enough nutrients and our body does not feel safe enough to burn extra calories. 

Gut Health issues

You are what you eat, yes, but you are even more so what you ABSORB! When you have poor digestion, you likely are not breaking down and absorbing all the protein, carbs, fats, vitamins, and minerals that you need in order to thrive. This is an issues. 

I personally experienced this and I was not breaking food down like I should be (because of stress!) and I was not absorbing most of the protein I was eating. You also could be leaky gut syndrome which is where you have inflammation in your gut because your gut barrier lining has been tarnished by the foods that you eat (hello, poor ingredients!). Inflammation = weight gain. 

Inflammation

Inflammation is often caused by these things:

high blood sugar

poor diet (bad ingredients in the foods you eat)

poor gut health (leaky gut syndrome)

environmental exposures that create inflammation such as mold, chemical, endocrine disruptors, and heavy metals.

Estrogen Dominance

Having high estrogen levels can lead to weight gain. This is because estrogen exacerbates the amount of cortisol that your body makes. Which suppresses the thyroid and leads to weight gain. High estrogen, or estrogen dominance, also causes fluid retention and your liver to become sluggish. This can trap toxins in the body and cause a rise in inflammation -- which also leads to weight gain! 

If you would like help with weight gain and if you would like to reverse issues with weight gain from thyroid or hormonal imbalances -- go to my FREE webinar are on 5 things you are missing when it comes to weight loss with PCOS and hormone issues!