Metabolism Myth: a good metabolism = skinny

Many women are attracted to "pro metabolic eating" because it's marketed as a way to lose weight. Truthfully, for decades, we've been taught to associate a good metabolism with being a fast one that help us be skinny. But what if that isn't the entire truth?

Let's unpack this.

A good metabolism is far more than a number on the scale. A healthy metabolism equates to happy hormones, a good libido, a warm body, strong digestion and assimilation of nutrients, healthy/strong hair and nails, good healing response, wound repair, healthy menstrual cycle, good stress response, sustained energy, sleeping 7-9 hours a night, AND the ability to maintain a healthy weight.

Being 10 lbs underweight is unhealthier than being 10 lbs overweight. We see a common theme in female competitive athletes with overtraining or getting below an ideal body weight causing their menstrual cycles to stop temporarily. The female physiology does not do well with being overly muscular or overly lean. We are meant to have 20-28% body weight (depending on age and unlike men who can go as low as 8-10% without too much consequence). We are meant to have fat deposited around hips, belly, and breasts. And while this is cliche to say, it's true.....Hollywood standards of a woman's body are so distorted and far off from what women should look AND function like that we can't possibly consider this an "ideal".

Many women will have their weight fluctuate the 1-2 years of eating pro-metabolically. It is quite common for women to go up and down on the scale while healing their metabolism. And if ALL you focus on is the scale, you'll start to believe that eating pr-metabolically is not working. In the last 3 years, my weight has gone up and down as my body has worked to find a good set point. I'm currently in a stage where it's up more than I would like but I am also acutely aware of everything that is affecting my weight (beyond food). My stress levels have been higher than normal in the last 4 months and I haven't been as active as I was in 2022/2023 with our travels. However, I am also sleeping a lot (healing), eating far more nutrient-dense than ever before, my skin is amazing, my cycles have really shifted towards the positive, and I'm taking on more feminine physical characteristics (fuller lips and breasts) than a few years back.

We need to look at the WHOLE picture and recognize that the number on the scale does NOT define us as a woman nor does it define the health of our metabolism.