Mega-Mom Metabolism: Be a Better, Fitter Parent

About the Chemicals Keeping You Tired, Weak, and Flabby

Cortisol—This harmful chemical in your body is a reaction to stress. Prolonged cardio workouts or starvation diets can trigger the production of this chemical. Your body reacts to cortisol by hanging onto emergency reserves of fat. It also causes stress throughout your body.

AMPK—Activated protein kinase, or AMPK, is a hormone that controls what your body does with glucose. Glucose comes from the sugars in the food we eat. AMPK has a positive effect on fat burning. It causes our bodies to use fat as fuel rather than sugar. That means that the more AMPK you have, the more fat you will burn. To increase AMPK, reduce the amount of sugar and carbohydrates in your diet.

Leptin—Leptin is another fat-burning hormone. If your leptin is too low, you can feel tired and lethargic—something no mom can risk. To increase your leptin levels, eat whole foods, ditch refined and processed food, and do regular high-intensity exercise.

Insulin—Insulin is known as the main fat-storing hormone. It controls the amount of glucose in the blood. The lower the glucose, or sugar, in the blood, the faster your metabolism. That’s why obese people develop diabetes—they have too much sugar in their blood. By reducing your sugar and carb intake, you can improve your insulin level and make it easier for your body to lose weight.

It sounds wild, but it’s totally true: getting cold can make you lose weight.

When you’re in the cold, your body has to work harder to keep you warm, so any exercise on top of that requires extra energy. Where does that energy come from? It comes from the burning of calories and fat!

If you can spend more time in the cold, you can kick your metabolism into high gear. With a faster metabolism, you will lose fat and flab, revealing the beautiful body underneath all of that extra weight.

You want to eat plenty of food when you’re on a diet. Wait…what??

You read that right—a successful diet requires plenty of food.

You want to avoid throwing your body into panic mode. Panic mode can kill any diet. It’s the failsafe in your body that tries to protect it from starvation. It hangs onto extra fat reserves for dear life. These reserves are located on our stomachs, thighs, and butts, which is why they’re the hardest to get rid of.

If your body thinks you have enough food, it won’t hold onto those reserves so tightly.

That’s really important for an on-the-go mom. No one is at their best when they’re constantly hungry.

Instead of doing a starvation diet, I recommend a low-carb diet. I don’t think going too low carb is an option for most moms, so try to keep it within around 50-100g of carbs a day.

When you do eat carbs, they should come from vegetables and the occasional fruit. The majority of your diet should be made up of lean proteins and healthy fats.

I always think it’s a good idea to build in a cheat day into your diet plan or workout plan. A cheat day will give you the chance to fix your cravings, as well as giving your body time to reset to your new, improved metabolic balance.

Don’t work out every day and take a day when you get to eat the foods you want to. Although it sounds counter-intuitive, it makes a lot of sense, both mentally and physiologically.

If you can stand a diet, you’re much more likely to keep it up. So, take time to relax, unwind, and enjoy a little treat or two. Believe it or not, treating yourself will help you lose weight. Focus on your total well-being and take time for self-care.