Reset Your Metabolism: Beginners Guide
Reset Your Metabolism: Intro
So, resetting your metabolism.
How to go about it?
Why's it so tough to lose weight?
What are slow metabolism causes?
Well, keep reading - by the time you finish this article, you'll learn how to hack your metabolism, kickstart your metabolism in the morning, and have an overall metabolism-reset diet. Setting you up for solid and sustainable progress in life.
Sounds too good to be true? Well, take Kairos Online member Melissa.
She's from east London, has Portuguese and Venezuelan heritage, works a busy office job and recently cycled from London to Brighton to raise money for the British Heart Foundation.
She's had multiple trainers and coaches but with no success. Having gained weight during the pandemic - which, as you know, wasn't easy - she decided it was time to become a Kairos Online member.
This is where the magic started happening.
How so? Her consistency - she kills it weekly.
Nutrition, training, steps, and strength improvements. It's all there - and guess what?
They all play a role in helping her reset her metabolism. Fifteen weeks later, you can see the differences. Measurements down. Weight down. Old clothes fit better. Stairs are easier to climb. Strength is up. Doesn't tire as quickly. Enjoyed her birthday guilt-free.
Plus, most importantly, this is all whilst she's eating until she's too full to eat anything else with no restrictions.
Anyway, enough chit-chat - let's get started.
Reset Your Metabolism: What You Shouldn't Do
First of all, let's highlight what you shouldn't do when it comes to resetting your metabolism.
Here are a few slow metabolism causes:
'Detoxing'. This is a made-up solution to a made-up issue. You don't need supplements or diarrhoea teas to detox and reboot your metabolism. Your liver does a fine job of that.
Being sedentary.
Chronic high stress.
Not resistance training/losing muscle over time.
You'll want to be aware of these factors when resetting your metabolism.
Reset Your Metabolism: Walk More
So, now that we've got what you shouldn't do out of the way, let's get stuck into the first helpful point - which might surprise you.
It's more walking and getting that NEAT up (non-exercise activity thermogenesis).
"Leo, what the actual heck?! I wanna know how to reboot your metabolism, not be told to walk more!!!"
Well, believe it or not - walking more will help a ton, and you feeling hesitant about walking more highlights another issue - which is that in the past, whenever you've attempted to reset your metabolism, you've likely looked for the following:
The next shiny object.
Something that'll hopefully do the work for you.
But the reality of successfully resetting your metabolism starts with something as basic as walking. You'll find that this 'basic' approach will be a recurring theme throughout this 'reset your metabolism' article.
Your overall NEAT, which is the energy expended for everything you do that's not sleeping, eating, or sports-like exercise, e.g. walking, typing, cleaning, gardening, fidgeting etc., can't be overlooked as it's the most significant contributor to your daily calories burnt (after your BMR).
Suppose you're currently getting in less than 5,000 steps daily on average. In that case, you're considered sedentary, one of the slow metabolism causes.
Meaning 5,000 steps daily could be a worthy start goal. If you're already doing more - then take your average for the past month and see if it's realistic to do 2.5k daily extra on top of that.
A few tips that'll help you get in extra steps and help with resetting your metabolism are:
Always take the stairs over the escalator or lift.
Get off public transport one stop early.
Get on public transport one stop further along.
Park slightly further away than you usually would.
Walk instead of drive if it's within 5 minutes.
Best part? You can do all this whilst listening to 'The Leo Alves Podcast' on Spotify or Apple Podcasts (yes, some shameless plugging going on).
Reset Your Metabolism: Resistance Train
Suppose you've been dabbling with exercise up until now. In that case, you've likely been doing plenty of HIIT, burpees or lots of running on the treadmill to reset your metabolism.
My golden tip? Start focusing on building muscle and strength by lifting weights and ensuring you progressively overload - you'll suddenly find that resetting your metabolism feels much easier.
That's not to say that cardio is 'useless'; it certainly has many benefits - but it shouldn't be used as your primary 'go to' to reset your metabolism.
Perhaps you're surprised that resistance training needs to be your most significant workout focus if you want to reset your metabolism. Still, it's a way to 'hack your metabolism'. Not literally - but the more muscle you have, the more calories you'll burn when resting; your metabolic rate increases for every pound of muscle you add.
Each additional pound of muscle tissue requires about 6-7 calories per pound per day to maintain, whilst fat requires two calories/per pound/per day. Perfect for when it comes to resetting your metabolism.
You don't have to train at the gym either if you don't want to - order some decent equipment for a home gym, and you'll be good to go.
Reset Your Metabolism: Eat More Fruit and Veg + Drink More Water
It's funny because knowing you need to eat more fruit and vegetables and drink more water is similar to those who know smoking is bad for them and that they should quit.
How so? Because you know you should be following up with the more sensible choice. Still, you just won't for whatever reason - most likely because it's easier not to.
So this 'reset your metabolism' article won't try to convince you of something that you know you should already be doing, but it'll instead mention a few tips that'll help:
Eat more omelettes, as it's super easy to throw vegetables into, e.g. spinach, mushrooms, and broccoli. Great way to get protein up, too (low protein is one of the slow metabolism causes).
Have more home-cooked stir-fries as this dish is based around vegetables and protein.
Buy frozen fruit from your local supermarket. Then, with additional protein powder (my favourite is vanilla for smoothies) - you can make a great-tasting smoothie.
Buy a bottle and take it around. You'll be more likely to drink water if you carry a bottle around and it's always there, rather than always having to return for another glass of water.
Reset Your Metabolism: Eat More Protein
You'd do well to aim for anywhere between 0.7-1g per pound of body weight, although I'd recommend anywhere between 0.4-0.6g if it's your first time consciously being aware of protein intake.
Suppose you're wondering how to kickstart your metabolism in the morning. In that case, getting in at least 25g of protein could be an excellent suggestion - leaving you with a great head start regarding your protein intake.
Take Kairos Online member Hakeem.
From south London, Nigerian background, and is an estate agent for a living.
As someone who always had a rough idea of what to do at the gym, he joined Kairos Online to provide the accountability and guidance he needed to level up. One of his most significant improvements was his protein intake and understanding of how to build meals around it.
You bet this was a colossal metabolism hack.
Fast forward 13 weeks of hard graft towards his nutrition, training and consistency - his results speak for themselves.
Hakeem's killed it, and he knows this.
Reset Your Metabolism: Sleep Well
There's no more outdated saying than "sleep is for the weak" because the health benefits of good quality sleep, beyond its being a metabolism hack, are almost limitless.
It's understandable - sometimes a bad night's sleep in isolation is unavoidable and can and will happen, although you could minimise the chances of this by:
Reducing screen time up to an hour before going to sleep.
Most electrical devices come with night mode now, so turn it on whenever sunset happens.
The same goes for the night shift (where your screen turns into an orange tint).
Avoid listening to upbeat music in the build-up to bedtime.
Sticking to a consistent sleep schedule.
Limit daily naps.
Manage worries (not always an easy one, but being aware of your thought processes and catching them out is the first step)
These are just a few factors you'd do well to consider.
Although for what it's worth, a single night of poor sleep, however rubbish it may leave you feeling, shouldn't affect gym performance too much or be one of the slow metabolism causes. I've had some great workouts after a single poor night's sleep.
But a chronic lack of sleep will undoubtedly have a considerable impact because it will leave you a lot less likely to lift more weight and progressively overload - and you'll also be a lot more prone to injury.
Being chronically sleep-deprived will also give you a hard time when it comes to resetting your metabolism.
Reset Your Metabolism: Notice How These Are All Habits You'd Do Well to Implement Anyway
There's a common theme across this article - that these are all habits you'd do well to implement anyway, regardless of whether or not you want to know how to reboot your metabolism.
The most important thing is you execute. Because continuously learning more and more is one thing - but sometimes there's a paralysis that comes with always learning but not executing.
That's not to say you must implement every one of the points mentioned throughout if you're a beginner, as that could certainly feel overwhelming. Still, you'd do well to focus on improving one or two areas to start with - and then go from there.
There's no Such Thing as 'Resetting Your Metabolism'
You can't reset or reboot your metabolism either - your metabolism isn't a laptop.
These words were only used throughout the article so that you could more easily understand - plus, it's likely you wouldn't have noticed this article if these words weren't used.
The correct interpretation is just you improving your day-to-day habits, which will, in turn, almost be a metabolism hack and help you lose fat, gain muscle, improve performance at the gym, and take your quality of life to a whole new level.
Thanks for reading the 'Reset your metabolism: beginners guide'. If you enjoyed reading this, subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking here.
Speak soon,
Leo
P.S. If you enjoyed reading this and think it could help transform someone's life, then please share it with friends and family :) it'd be deeply appreciated.
