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5 Ways I Ruined My Metabolism

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5 Ways I Ruined my Metabolism | Weed 'Em and Reap
Learn from my mistakes, and be kind to your metabolism.

Before I get into how I ruined mine, let’s go over what I mean when I say the word ‘metabolism.’

Most people just think of burning calories when they think of metabolism. But actually, your metabolism is much more involved than that.

Your metabolism is how your body converts nutrients into energy at the cellular level. Your metabolism involves your liver, brain, thyroid, digestion system, and other parts of the body. You see, every single function in your body depends on energy conversion to do their job.

Symptoms of a Poor Metabolism:

Symptoms of a Healthy Metabolism

  • Normal body temperature
  • Level moods
  • Ability to handle stress well
  • Healthy hair, skin and nails
  • Excellent digestion and bowel movements
  • Consistent energy
  • Stable blood sugar
  • Balanced hormones; healthy sex drive

Food rules can go to hell.

Following food and health “rules” totally ruined my metabolism. Fo’ realz. There is SO MUCH health advice out there that even if you wanted to, you couldn’t follow everything you heard. Also, much of that advice conflicts with one another. So, what’s a person to do?

Well, before I give you my tips for how I found balance in the crazy-health-bonanza world, let’s go over the five ways I actually ruined my metabolism.

5 Ways I Ruined my Metabolism

1. NOT EATING ENOUGH CALORIES

You’re probably wondering if you read that sentence correctly. You did.

Most people think that as a general rule, we here in America eat too many calories. The truth is, a lot of people will go between eating a high number of calories with a low nutrient-density and eating a low number of calories while trying to “diet” and repent of their evil ways. Even if they’re foods with a high nutrient density, this high-to-low seesaw is incredibly harmful. You aren’t eating enough nutrients and calories that matter, and in the end, your metabolism will go kaput. 

Before I reached my weight loss final destination, I hit up a few diet pit stops along the way. Let me tell you, they really didn’t do anything but put more miles on my odometer. Had I known that my body needed to eat real food (including plenty of fats, carbs and protein), I probably would have lost weight faster, enjoyed life a bit more, and avoided jacking up my metabolism. 

Now I enjoy eating as much food as I want until I feel full. I just focus on eating real food. That’s the key.

2. NOT SLEEPING ENOUGH

Ah, sleep. I’ve always thought it’s weird how we have to hibernate for a 1/3 of our day, every single day. It seem so sci-fi, you know? Maybe that’s why I’ve always taken sleep for granted. There are times I think I don’t need it.

Well, I found out pretty quickly that the human body needs sleep. There’s no way around it. Did you know that sleep deprivation is actually a form of war torture? Whoa. Sleep just got real. 

The human body uses sleep to recover and rebuild itself. It uses sleep to reduce cortisol stress levels and basically help you cope with life. If you want energy during the day, you need to give your body what it needs at night. I try to shoot for 8-9 hours, and I really try to get in bed by 10 pm. And when I say 10 pm, I really mean 11 pm. Hey, I’m a work in progress.

One thing I should mention is that the whole “I’m a night owl” argument isn’t really true. I used to claim I was a night owl, hoping in some way this would prove I wasn’t able to change and could continue staying up late. It’s true in the fact that those who feel more energy (a.k.a. a cortisol spike) in the evenings tend to suffer from a low metabolism, but it’s not really a tendency you’re “born with.” Being a night owl is a self-taught habit, not a natural state.

Lately we have been getting the best sleep of our lives on our new organic Intellibed mattress.  It really makes sure our bodies are perfectly supported and restored every night.  If you have trouble with insomnia, you definitely need to check out this book!. Because sleep is too important, ya’ll.

3. DRINKING TOO MUCH WATER.

You just spit your water out all over the computer, didn’t you? I hate to dash all the hopes and dreams of every nutritionist and trainer who ever lived, but yes.There is such a thing as drinking too much water. And yes, most people who are health conscious do it. 

The phrase “Once you’re thirsty, you’re already dehydrated” caught on faster than “All that and a bag of chips.” And yet it’s completely wrong.

When I heard that water had the ability to clear my skin, help me lose weight, increase my digestion, ease my PMS, make my husband pick up his socks, and clear every toxin from my body I’d ever acquired, I was all over water. Time to drink all the water!!

I went way past the 8 glasses of water a day. I was in the 1-gallon-a-day club, and I’d drink the first 1/2 gallon before breakfast. I was peeing more than Seabiscuit, which was annoying. But I had read that once I was thirsty, I was already dehydrated, so I made sure my body was never thirsty.

Even when I started to have cold hands and feet, headaches, light-headedness, brittle nails, poor digestion, allergies, and mood swings, I kept right on chugging that water. I kept doing it until I found someone who knocked some common sense into me.

Overhydration (and overdilution of extracellular fluid) is MUCH more common in the water-loving, dehydration-panicked, salt-phobic realm of the modern internet- scouring health nerd, and the symptoms of overhydration/dilution trump that of being mildly dehydrated by a long shot – typically existing on a near constant basis and creating suffering daily at one or more points during the day. 

Forcing yourself to meet some quota of fluids, drinking because you think you should, having a hot beverage because you are cold – this is very powerfully depleting and can trigger some real health problems in someone in a compromised metabolic condition. – Matt Stone, Eat for Heat

Now, I trust in my metabolic changes and am aware when I need more water, or need more mineral rich drinks/foods to support my metabolic functions.

Water clearly plays an important role in our bodies and hydration is critical for good metabolic health. But we should always be aiming for balance, not just more is better. And with water, balance is key. Hydrate the wrong way, and you can actually promote metabolic imbalances and even stress your metabolism.         – Elizabeth Walling, The Nourished Metabolism

If you don’t agree with me on this one, try reading these articles as a follow up. Feel free to leave a comment!

4. JUICING

Did you know that I once did a 30 day juice fast? Yes. For 30 days I drank nothing but freshly squeezed green juices. It was something I did in an attempt to cleanse my body of toxins. While it probably did that, it also wreaked havoc on my health. 

Once I was reminded that the body needs a correct sodium balance in and around each cell in to perform at its best level, I realized that juicing throws this off balance. Juice from plants is very low in sodium and draws fluid out of the cells. While this may seem like a “thumbs up” to those afraid of sodium, denying the body of a proper cellular fluid balance damages the body’s ability to function normally. 

The extracellular fluid inside our bodies is not 100% water, but a mixture of many minerals. There’s calcium, sodium and potassium in there, as well as a small amount of glucose. We are taught that over-hydration is impossible, but it’s simply not true. Juicing is similar to over-hydrating. Over-hydration can lead to electrolyte imbalance, headaches, muscle spasms, insomnia, fatigue, low body temperature, suppressed metabolism, and weight gain.

The body is great at regulation. When our bodies need more food, we feel hunger. When our bodies need more water, we feel thirsty.

Salt acts as a thermogenic substance in the body, which means it increases your energy expenditure and heat production. In short, salt actually raises your metabolic rate. Salt works to lower stress hormones and also raises oxytocin levels, which can lift your moods and give you a feeling of well-being. This is why eating enough salt is an important key to achieving a nourished metabolism: by lowering stress hormones and raising the metabolic rate, salt can resolve a myriad of metabolic issues like cold hands and feet, low moods, poor stress tolerance, insomnia, and many more. – Elizabeth Walling, The Nourished Metabolism

 

5. MESSING AROUND WITH FAD DIETS

If you’re anything like me, you’ve dabbled in your fair share of fad diets. My 30 day juice fast and my obsession with drinking copious amounts of water are two examples. Diets are just a method of forcing your body to compensate by denying it something. The human body is AMAZING at compensation. The problem is, compensation is a lot like telling a white lie. Eventually it leads to another white lie… and another white lie… and another, until the whole situation goes kaput. 

If your body perceives what you’re going through as stress, then in the long run, it will cause you more harm than good. Today I eat a real food diet, and avoid fads and crazy food rules like the plague. This is the surest way to preserve my metabolism long term, and keep the mitochondrial energy production steady.

I’ve recently joined this Thyroid Program and have been experiencing great results!

What are my tips for a healthy metabolism?

Read my follow-up article, 5 Ways I Improved My Metabolism!

 

5 Ways I Ruined my Metabolism || Weed 'Em and Reap

ABOUT DANELLE

DaNelle started to take an interest in a healthier lifestyle after suffering from two debilitating chronic diseases. On a mission to create a farm of her own, DaNelle forced, or rather 'lovingly persuaded' her husband to purchase a ranch home on an acre of land and transform it into their very own urban farm. DaNelle blogs at Weed 'em & Reap where she writes about the sustainable backyard farming, traditional food, & natural remedies.

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Comments

  1. I also don’t buy into the idea of guzzling water all day. I mean, where and when in all of history besides now, did you ever hear of or see people carrying water at all times? Never! That alone tells me it is a modern fad.

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  2. I think not utilizing your body is the real metabolism killer. Genetics play a big role as well. I’m 26 6′ 165-170 and i could literally eat a horse and gain or maybe loose weight, its almost a chore eating. I drink 1-2 gallons of water a day and eat protien rich fatty whole foods as well as some veggies (nd limit carbs and cut processed foods, its common sense people), also i go throught maybe a gallon of olive oil every two months. Basically if you excerpt yourself explosively(sprinting, leaping, weight training ect), stand more sit way less and EAT ENOUGH FOOD your metabolism could start to change. Its a fixing process, start becoming a beast that you were ment to be. We went from hunters to couch potato slobs who live for money and push everything to the side including physical health. Its stupity mostly. People look for answers to much, its common sense just think about it and do it.

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  3. …..I like this information for a natural need for nutrition by letting your body alert you to your needs…….in my sixties now I have had a blessed metabolism all my life…..age seems to have abated my metabolism somewhat the last couple of years….and I’m listening more seriously to the full natural foods desires, with more serious deliberate choices today…..salt has always been a favorite seasoning, but switching more to sea salt now. Have yearnings for whole milk more often, which I enjoyed while growing up on a farm in childhood. I grew up with a wide variety of natural foods and appreciate everyone of them today. Ate chocolates, but now regularly substitute dark chocolate 60/72% when I desire it. Pasta has always been my favorite food and 50/70% of my personal diet is pasta, lesser amounts of breads now, except phyllo and puff pastry. Love the Brussels sprouts and asparagus, also the weird items such as lots of mushrooms and even occasional anchovies!, sardines and herring. I think this article is uplifting and enlightening.

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  4. My problem begun with lost of appetite and dry skin, dandruff, thin hair, bloated stomach and my metabolism is almost off, are they symptoms of over-hydration or water-intoxication?

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  5. Hey I’m 5’8 112. I eat a high protein and fiber diet. And I I usually consumed 64-90oz daily, suffering abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea alternating , with muscle spasms am I overhydrated

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    • You are probably allergic to gluten, cut it out and you should be good. Try for 1 month, then introduce it back, when you do and feel like crap then you will know. Haven’t found 1 single person that has cut out gluten that didn’t feel 1000% better and felt like complete crap when reintroduced.

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  7. So I feel for some reason this must be said: Everything in Moderation!

    Drinking water, yes you can drink too much especially if you have not learned to balance with your salt and mineral intake.

    Juicing yes you can over do it if you don’t balance what fruits and vegetables and how many of each you are consuming.

    Many ‘fad’ diets have a base in healthy diets, but people don’t take the time to do the research and tailor the diet to their body and life style.

    Here’s an idea don’t take health advice from a blog, ad, or other random source. Do the research.

    Reply

    • “Everything in moderation” is tyranny. It’s an excuse to cheat, to avoid being disciplined. Yet to see anyone following the EiM approach that isn’t fat…

      Reply

  8. Sometimes I can barely get 16oz of fluids in me for a day, the thing is I don’t feel thirsty! I don’t want to put anything else in me! I’m 20 years old and have IBS and from that I have lost a lot of weight (113lbs to 86 lbs.) within a year even though i was eating a good three meals a day. But now I believe that has led to a mild ED. I am still active, going to the gym about everyday and finding a new love of physical activity, YOGA. With this ED I think I may have an obsession with getting abs but I’ve been working on them for over 3 years and nothing! When i try to eat more with lean meats and veggies the little bit of progress I see just disappears which makes be cut back on what I’m eating! And I look up how to get my abs to show they also say you need to have a low body fat % mine supposedly is really low. When my IBS got really bad I only ate two meals a day with a snack (still do), if I eat more I feel so heavy and i always feel full and heavy! I noticed my lower stomach (below belly button and hipbones) stick out really far and is hard to the touch. Is that from my IBS or my eating? I also haven’t had a period for over a year. Help!

    Reply

    • You should see a Dr. Rule out a tumor. I had a co-worker claim she was gluten intolerant, turns out she had a seven pound tumor in her intestines that caused the gluten intolerant symptoms.

      then see a counselor about your eating disorder. Being obessed with six pack ab is not healthy

      Reply

  9. Hi DaNelle,
    So glad I stumbled on your writings. After being very active/athletic with virtually no body issues, after 18 months/twice a week of Bikrams Yoga at 105 degs and 50% humidity for 90 minutes, I sweat like never in my life, buckets pouring out of me, I end up with Interstitial Cystitis. A non-infectious deterioration of bladder/urethra inner linings causing the usual UTI symptoms of anything, consisting of extreme frequency, urgency and pain. Never had any UT problems in my life before.
    Fast forward 3 years later, now, it lead me on the sleuthing trail: dehydration; PH problems (urine is 4.0 or below most of time); therefore electrolyte manufacture and/or control problems; then none of the high-powered things I’m doing to balance electrolyte minerals in order to bring up the urine PH seems to be working. IC is also well known to be fiddled with by very specific food choices because it appears to influence symptoms but I believe what it actually is is an impaired Metabolism which is what led me to your blog. I found just completely chewing each bite of whatever food I’m eating then swishing it around thoroughly in my mouth before swallowing (or if it’s liquid, just swishing) has oddly enough been the most efficacious for my IC to date. So I think Metabolism is a key for me. What you said about Over-hydration and Juicing hit with my experiences very much. (Also calories, sleep and diets as well.)
    I’m continuing on the trail and am getting optimistic that I’m close to the body healing this thing. Going to read yours and Matt Stones works next.
    I totally am with you regarding the body is an super amazing Compensator! Incredible really. And yes heavy toxic metals are prime in lots of physical and psychological diseases.
    Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

    Reply

  10. I wish there were more health bloggers such as yourself who recognised that overhydration is a thing! Since cutting back on non-calorie liquids and eating more carbs I’ve been sleeping better,no longer suffer panic attacks or hypoglycemia,my mood has improved etc.So glad to have found Matt Stone,who really changed my views on the hydration thing (seriously,how great is that guy?).I’m a long way from having a healthy metabolism ( I have anorexia,which is a low everything diet by default) but even implementing little things such as cutting back on water and getting my sleeping patterns on track makes a huge difference.

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  12. Then what about Joe Cross who did the movie “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead”, who did a juice fast for 60 days? He lost a LOT of weight doing this, did he mess up his metabolism too?

    Reply

    • My friend, drinking distilled water with all minerals removed will also remove minerals from your body. Drinking filtered water is what you want, with the Fluorides and Chlorine removed but the good minerals intact. There are several articles on other health sites about the dangers of drinking distilled water, please check them out for your own sake.

      You are totally correct about avoiding fluoride, and I would add chlorine to that list. Fluoride must be removed, but chlorine will evaporate within 24 hours from water in an open container. I used to just set a gallon on the counter every morning for the next day. (Now we have a very clean deep well.)

      Reply

  15. You juiced for 30 days?!? How did I not know or at least remember this? Yeah, that’s a long time. I did 6 days and felt that could be too extreme. But it did help me in a number of ways, including curing my reflux. I see it as a practice to be used for a short period of time, sparingly and definitely under a doctor’s direction.

    I saw this article about an Australian woman who only eats fruit and it freaked me out. She eats, like, a whole pineapple for lunch or 5 pounds of bananas. She is rail-thin and pregnant to boot. She says she feels great but I can’t imagine how.

    The water thing is tricky because it depends on each person and their environmental influences, too. I have made it a rule of thumb to basically get a drink of water every time I take a pee. Being pregnant also makes me more susceptible to dehydration. People who exercise more than others probably need more water. I think it’s wise to just drink when you’re thirsty! No need to push tons of water on yourself.

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  16. The symptoms of a less than stellar metabolism were mine…all mine! What set me off was a fad diet–fasting–is fasting even dieting? Oxymoron much? Once a week fast, which led to me not being hungry on my ‘eat’ days. Fast forward 9 months of this mind game and, Ta-da!!, I’m symptom-full! Can’t tell when I’m hungry, no hunger pains…ever, but I’m definitely eating because weakness, migraines, being cold in S. Cal and dizziness don’t fit into my schedule. Pants fit a bit more snuggly for now, but my brain and heart rate are mellow once again. =)

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  17. I would also like to point out that the symptoms of a low metabolism are almost identical to the symptoms of heavy metal poisoning/toxicity. Having fought a low metabolism for two years, nothing I did made a huge difference, and I continued to feel awful. Then someone mentioned copper toxicity to me, and I immediately found a practitioner who could authorize the necessary hair tissue mineral analysis. Two weeks later, I was diagnosed not only with copper toxicity, but also with heavy metal poisoning. All of the mineral ratios in my body were off, and that with the metals explained every one of my symptoms–all of which are on the list you provided. So, yes, low metabolism is a big problem, but I just wanted to warn everyone that the underlying cause of low metabolism and a host of other symptoms can be something very common, but very overlooked, such as heavy metals.

    Reply

      • I don’t have any amalgam fillings, and I’m still toxic. We are having my husband’s fillings removed and replaced in April by a holistic dentist. It’s important to be aware that heavy metal poisoning normally takes years, even decades, before symptoms present. By the time you have symptoms, you are VERY toxic. The body is so efficient at keeping blood clean, that it stores heavy metals away in deep tissues: the bone, brains, liver, and other organs. It is important that metals be detoxed SLOWLY. For this reason, I have chosen the Nutritional Balancing approach for myself. Let me know if you have any more questions. This type of thing can be very overwhelming! Good post on metabolism, though! I’ve been a Matt Stone follower in the past, and this post would make him proud. 😉

  18. Love this! Just one little question. I’m 19, 5’41/2″ and 135-140 pounds. I’d like to be about 120 pounds. I gained some weight from emotional eating issues (which I am healing from, with the Lord’s help). I eat real food 100% of the time, but it seems like if I fill up at a meal, I’m not really hungry at the next meal. I guess my question is how long are you hungry before your meals? An hour? Or do you feel full until right before your meal? Any insight you have would be appreciated, as I see you have had success. Thanks!

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  19. I can vouch first hand that these same things caused me to not only gain weight but now to struggle losing it. I lived all of my life without a weight issue. I was vibrant and healthy. We pretty much ate a whole foods diet and I got some form of exercise every day. I didn’t count calories and didn’t diet. I got to my mid 40’s and was starting to feel like I was going into menopause. I had had a hysterectomy in my 20’s and they had left a small part of one of my overies. We were under a bit of stress as we had taken on raising our 2 grandchildren so I was feeling more tired. I went to see the doctor and was told that of course I am tired with raising children again and that I was getting older so I needed to eat less and exercise more. This was even after I told him what my diet and exercise routine consisted of. He said, “I am sure you are eating a lot more than you realize.” and sent me on my way home with strict instructions to eat less and to start counting calories and to add at least 15 minutes to my excercise each day. So I did this and I began to gain weight. Like, a lot of weight. So as I gained I ate less, drank more water, juiced, counted every single calorie and worked out more and more. My sleep got worse and I was cold all of the time, and in between the hot flashes were going like crazy. I tried diets and they only caused me to gain more weight. This went on until I collaspted in exhaustion and felt very sick. Went to a new doctor and found out I was hypothyroid. Then found out hashimoto’s. Then found out that my adrenals were producing no cortisol at any time of the day or night. Then found out that my sex hormones were producing nothing either. I was a big fat mess.The doctor told me stop dieting and counting calories and no exercise except for gentle stretching, yoga and leisurely walks. She also told me to rest, rest rest and to stay away from stress. Yeah right. Anyways, I ‘ve read some of Matt’s Stones information and it is absolutely mind blowing as it really speaks to my issues. My waking body temp is 96.1. I am taking armor for my thyroid. Hydrocortizone for my adrenals along with some other supplements to help them heal. I am also taking bioidentical hormones for my nonproducing sex hormones. She told me that it can take 2 years for my adrenals and body to heal.

    I am just so blown away how I could be so fit and healthy for all those years and how going to eating a low calorie, low carb diet along with hours of exercise a day would cause me to gain this 55 lbs which I am stil struggling to lose. The doctor says I will not lose it until my body heals so I am trying to be patient. Reading this just confirms why I need to keep on this track of eating a whole food diet and not dieting. Why I am no longer drinking a gallon of water a day and nor am I juicing. I still struggle to eat enough as I don’t have much hunger. My hands and feet are cold pretty much all of the time unless I eat warming foods. I don’t want to gain more weight so I think I may be subconsciously not wanting to eat because of that.

    I look forward to reading how you helped heal your metabolism! Thank you!

    Reply

    • I’ve also had a season with thyroid and been through menopause. I think it’s good to know that there is also weight gain associated with menopause, so be kind to yourself. Keep eating and living well, and give yourself time. Lovely time of life ahead

      Reply

    • Then it’s likely your adrenal glands are very stressed out. Stress hormones produced by overactive or underactive adrenals make you very thirsty, dry mouth, etc. If you have a very active lifestyle, work outside in the heat a lot, sweat a lot, use saunas, etc., you’re likely to have higher water needs than someone who sits on their couch and watches Grey’s Anatomy all day. BUT, you should never let someone tell you how much your body needs to drink. I made the mistake (and subsequently ruined my metabolism) of thinking that I needed quarts and quarts of water a day. If your urine is clear and frequent, you’re drinking too much. And I don’t care how thirsty you think you are. Try cutting back on your fluid intake for a few days and see if your thirst lessens.

      Reply

  22. I would like to know what your resources are for the basis of drinking to much water? Personal experience or is there documented studies and cases that can be sited ?

    Reply

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