Have you struggled to lose those extra kilograms or lost count of how many diets you have tried?   Maybe you need to increase your metabolic flexibility.  What is that, I hear you say?  Let’s break it down into simple language to show you how it could boost your weight loss.

So, what is metabolic flexibility?  It’s your body’s ability to switch between different fuel sources when exercising.  You see, whether you are exercising or watching a movie, your body needs energy 24 hours a day.  It can get this energy from carbohydrates (sugars) or fats.  With metabolic flexibility, your body knows when to use carbohydrates and when to tap into our stored fat stores for energy.

Metabolic Flexibility and Weight Loss

So, what has this got to do with weight loss?

1. Burn More Fat: When your body can easily switch to burning fat for fuel, it’s more likely to burn immovable stored fat.  This can help you lose weight more effectively.
2. Keep Your Blood Sugar In Check: Metabolic flexibility can help reduce large swings in blood sugar levels.  If your body is too reliant on carbohydrates for energy, it can lead to spikes and crashes in blood sugar levels.  This can trigger cravings for high-sugar food and make weight loss even harder.  Improving metabolic flexibility can help keep blood sugar levels more even, reducing cravings and promoting fat burning.
3. Get More Out Of Your Workouts: Ever feel like the results aren’t coming despite spending hours exercising?  This can be changed by improving metabolic flexibility.  By effectively switching between carbohydrates and fats for fuel during exercise, you can exercise for longer, increasing calories burnt and speeding up weight loss.

How Can It Be Improved

Now you understand the importance of metabolic flexibility, how can it be improved?

• Regular Exercise: Performing either cardiovascular, resistance training or high Intensity training (HIIT) or a combination.  Different types of exercises test your metabolic pathways, increasing adaption and flexibility when using fuels.  Be consistent with your exercise so you can compound your efforts and improve adaption quickly.  Adjust your training as required to maximise results.
• Zone 2 Cardiovascular Workouts: This refers to a moderate-intensity training zone when exercising at a steady pace around 60-70% of your maximum heart rate.  This can be either walking, jogging, swimming, or cycling at a comfortable pace.  Training at this intensity improves mitochondrial density in muscle cells.  Higher mitochondrial density improves the efficiency of fat oxidation during exercise, allowing for prolonged endurance and reduced reliance on glycogen stores.  This makes energy production more efficient and improves our body’s ability to burn fat as a fuel source.
• Watch What You Eat:  Limiting processed foods and added sugars as these can interrupt your body’s ability to burn fat efficiently.   Whole, nutrient-dense foods provide better support for metabolic health.
• Stay Hydrated:  Drinking adequate water is vital for metabolic health.  Dehydration can slow down your metabolism and hinder your weight loss.  Avoid sports drinks, these add extra sugar into your body slowing down your weight loss.
• Get Plenty of Sleep:  Inadequate or poor sleep disrupts your hormones making it more difficult to regulate blood sugar levels and burn fat.  To support metabolic flexibility, aim for 7-9 hours of sleep per night.
• Manage Stress:  Chronic stress can wreak havoc on your metabolism and make it harder to lose weight. Practice stress-reducing activities like yoga, meditation, or deep breathing exercises to keep your stress levels under control.

Metabolic flexibility can be improved by using the simple strategies discussed here.  Using these can supercharge your weight loss effort.   When making changes start small and simple, this can help build momentum and lead to big results.  For individual advice about how to improve your metabolic flexibility, please contact us as we would love to support you.

References:

Goodpaster BH, Sparks LM. Metabolic Flexibility in Health and Disease. Cell Metab. 2017;25(5):1027-1036.

Kelley DE, Mandarino LJ. Fuel selection in human skeletal muscle in insulin resistance: a reexamination. Diabetes. 2000;49(5):677-683.

Hawley JA, Hargreaves M, Joyner MJ, Zierath JR. Integrative biology of exercise. Cell. 2014;159(4):738-749.

Galgani JE, Moro C, Ravussin E. Metabolic flexibility and insulin resistance. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2008;295(5):E1009-E1017.

Ortega FB, Lavie CJ, Blair SN. Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease. Circ Res. 2016;118(11):1752-1770.