Metabolism Optimization for Weight Loss and Hormone Balancing

I listened to two episodes of a new-to-me podcast called The Health Babes, featuring Dr. Becky Campbell & Dr. Krystal Hohn. The two episodes were How to Heal your Metabolism with Kate Deering, a personal trainer and holistic nutritional, exercise, and lifestyle coach, and How Minerals Impact your Hormones with Amanda Motalvo, a women’s health dietician.

Kate talks about the importance of understanding your resting metabolism by looking at your core body temperature (98.6 is ideal) and pulse rate (70-85 is ideal). Lower body temps than 98.6 may signify that you are overtaxing your body, while pulse rates lower than 70, often though to signify cardio health, can also suggest your body is slowing metabolism to protect itself.

• Kate suggests not exercising too hard for too long, particularly in perimenopause and beyond; mixing electrolytes into your water (potassium, sodium, magnesium); and consuming sufficient carbs throughout the day.

To heal your metabolism if it has slowed from overexercise and not eating enough, she suggests a number of things to pay attention to in your diet and lifestyle:

• Optimize your ratio of protein to carbs to 1 to 1 or at most 1 to 4 if you are an endurance athlete.

• Eat more animal protein than veggie protein because animal protein is a complete source of amino acids that are easily absorbed into the body versus plant proteins which are a bit more complex for our body to process.

• Track your temperature and pulse (again, close to 98.6 is ideal for temp and 70-85 for pulse)

• Monitor your digestion, periods, mood, and sleep to see how various changes affect the body.

Amanda talked quite a bit about the importance of optimizing mineral intake, such as calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium. She notes that many clients she treats have too high (not too low) calcium and can benefit from magnesium supplementation, which will help balance the calcium out.

• Besides magnesium supplementation (magnesium oxide is best for motility, while magnesium glycinate is best for sleep), many health professionals suggest Epsom salt (high in magnesium) baths before bed.

• She also talked about the benefits of adrenal cocktails (drinks to support your adrenals which secrete your stress hormones). For these, she suggests starting with a base of coconut water (for potassium), some kind of citrus juice (orange/lime for vitamin C), and sea salt (for sodium). Drinking this throughout the day, instead of plain water, will really help support hydration and balance hormones.

**Content provided for educational and informational purposes only. It is derived in part from information discussed in The Health Babes podcast. It is not to be considered medical advice.**