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Your Metabolism Isn’t Broken…

You Can Stop Using It as an Excuse.

Let’s clear up something that comes up all the time in conversations about fat loss:

If fat loss feels harder than expected, it usually does NOT mean your metabolism is broken.

It just means your body has adapted.

And that’s not a flaw. That’s literally what your body is designed to do.

Humans have been adapting to their environments for hundreds (thousands) of years. When food availability changes, activity changes, or stress increases, your body adjusts in ways that help you survive. In today’s world, that adaptation can feel frustrating. Especially when your goal is fat loss.  But it doesn’t mean something is wrong with you.

What’s Actually Happening Inside Your Body

Your body burns calories through several main pathways:

  • Resting metabolism – the energy required to keep you alive (breathing, organs functioning, body temperature, etc.)
  • Exercise – intentional movement like lifting, cardio, classes, or sports
  • NEAT (Non‑Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) – all the movement you don’t consciously plan

NEAT includes things like:

  • walking around the house
  • standing instead of sitting
  • chores and errands
  • fidgeting
  • daily tasks and general movement

For many people, NEAT makes up a huge portion of total daily calorie burn. Sometimes even more than structured workouts.

(No, this is not your excuse to skip your workouts. Strength training and intentional exercise still matter for health, performance, and body composition.)

Why Fat Loss Can Stall (Even When You’re “Doing Everything Right”)

When calories stay too low for too long, or dieting phases drag on without breaks, your body responds by becoming more efficient.

That adaptation can look like:

  • moving less without realizing it
  • conserving energy
  • reducing spontaneous movement
  • feeling more fatigued
  • sitting more, standing less

This is not metabolic damage.

It’s your body doing its job: protecting you.

When NEAT drops, total daily energy expenditure drops too. That’s when fat loss can slow or stall, even if you’re tracking, training, and being “consistent.”

The Truth About Metabolism

Your metabolism isn’t fragile.

It’s responsive.

Most metabolic changes during dieting are explained by:

  • reduced body weight (smaller bodies burn fewer calories)
  • reduced daily movement (especially NEAT)

Not permanent damage.

Research consistently shows that when food intake increases and daily movement returns to normal, metabolic rate largely rebounds.

In other words: your body isn’t broken, it’s adjusting to the inputs it’s given.

Why Cutting More Isn’t the Answer

When fat loss slows, the instinct is often to:

  • slash calories again
  • add more cardio
  • push harder
  • rely on willpower

But that approach often backfires.

More restriction can further suppress NEAT, increase fatigue, and make consistency harder, not easier.

Fat loss works best when your body has enough energy to keep moving.

What We Should Focus On Instead

✔️ Eating enough to support training, recovery, and daily movement

✔️ Protecting NEAT instead of accidentally suppressing it

✔️ Avoiding extreme restriction that leads to burnout

✔️ Consistency over intensity

Rather than pushing harder, a more effective approach prioritizes:

This is how progress becomes sustainable, not just possible for a few weeks until you’re “over it.”

Why This Matters for Your Progress

Real progress does not require:

❌ constant exhaustion

❌ cutting calories lower and lower

❌ starting over every few weeks

It does require:

✅ fueling your body

✅ supporting daily movement

✅ realistic expectations

Your body is doing exactly what it was designed to do.

Our job isn’t to fight it,  it’s to work with it.

This is Where Nutrition Coaching Comes In

Instead of guessing, cutting, and restarting, nutrition coaching helps you:

  • understand how your body actually responds
  • fuel appropriately for training and lifestyle
  • maintain movement and energy
  • build habits that work in real life

The goal isn’t perfection.

It’s consistency, energy, and long‑term results.

If you’re ready for support that prioritizes those things, nutrition coaching is here to help.

As always, reach out if you have questions 🤍 I’ve got you.

Alicia

Sources

  • Levine JA et al. Role of Non‑Exercise Activity Thermogenesis in Resistance to Fat Gain. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
  • Pontzer H. Constrained Total Energy Expenditure and the Evolutionary Biology of Energy Balance. Current Biology.
  • Rosenbaum M, Leibel RL. Adaptive Thermogenesis in Humans. International Journal of Obesity.
  • Trexler ET et al. Metabolic Adaptation to Weight Loss. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition.

Hall KD et al. Energy Balance and Its Components. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.