Metabolic tomb is a disorder that causes a pronounced slowdown in metabolism. When it occurs, the body decreases energy consumption and reduces its ability to burn calories.
The result is that you are no longer able to lose weight and eliminate body fat, in addition to the fact that your ability to recover after exercise is also affected. In this way, no matter how much you train and stick to the diet, you will not get any return from it.
In addition to the obvious setback that the metabolic tomb represents when it comes to taking care of your weight, it also represents a more complex health problem.
Entering it is relatively easy if you are not careful with very restrictive diets and high intensity exercise. While getting out of this situation can become quite a long and tedious process.
Why do we enter the metabolic tomb?
As I have already pointed out, the two main causes are restrictive diets or very intense late exercise.Usually it is a combination of both. At an organic level, the process is complex, but the explanation is relatively simple. When we put our body into an excessive caloric deficit, it initially reacts by burning stored fat for energy.
Consequently, during the first weeks we lose weight rapidly. However, as time goes by, the body begins to adapt to this new situation thanks to a mechanism called ‘adaptive thermogenesis’. Basal metabolism decreases commensurate with calorie intake until the deficit is made up.
When this happens, no matter how much we maintain diet and exercise restrictions, our body stops losing weight and fat because it has adapted to the new regimen.At this point, some people try to cut calories or increase their exercise pace, to no avail; while others decide to leave out of frustration.The latter, in addition, run the risk of suffering a strong rebound effect when they resume their usual diet.
How do you know if you are in a metabolic tomb?
The factors that affect metabolic function are never simple, since we are talking about complex organic processes in which they intervene in different ways. Therefore, the signs of the metabolic tomb are not always unequivocal or the same in all people.
Aggressive slowing of metabolism usually presents the following common symptoms:
- Fatigue: the first and most obvious symptom is tiredness. The metabolic tomb generates a feeling of almost constant mental and physical fatigue, in addition to making it much harder for us to recover from efforts.
- Alterations in mood: a state of prolonged metabolic tomb ends up having an impact on mood, causing a feeling of sadness, apathy or lack of motivation and interest.
- Lack or excess of appetite: by changing the diet so drastically, logically there are disorders in eating and appetite, which can be reduced or increased excessively. Binge eating is also very common.
- Reduced libido: the metabolic tomb causes testosterone levels to decrease, which has a negative impact on sexual desire.
- Concentration problems: the cognitive system is also affected, suffering problems of concentration and focus.
- High levels of cortisol: when the levels of physical and mental stress rise, the production of cortisol increases, with the consequences that it entails in terms of weight gain, fluid retention.
- Sleep disorders: the metabolic tomb significantly alters sleep, either causing severe insomnia that prevents rest, or a loop of tiredness, laziness and constant drowsiness that affects day to day.
- Anemia: Anemia is the first, but not the only, of the most serious deficits and dysfunctions that a prolonged state of restrictive diet and metabolic tomb can lead to.
Can you get out of the metabolic tomb?
More or less it should have been clear that the metabolic tomb is the fruit of bad practices. If the caloric deficit is taken to the extreme without paying attention to the signals that the body gives, it will be forced to enter “saving mode” to adapt to the deficiencies.
Therefore, the way to get out of that state is to give it the daily calorie intake needed until returning to its usual basal state. The formula is simple, but its application may not be so. And it is that, depending on each person, the process of returning to normality can be more or less slow in time.
5 points that can help you get out of that stage:
- Controlling stress.
- Have good sleep hygiene.
- Prioritize a diet based on real food. First, foods full of nutrients, with quality proteins, antioxidants and an anti-inflammatory approach.
- Do strength training to increase muscle mass.
- Take care of your emotional state, surrounding yourself with people who fill you with energy and flee from toxic relationships.
Prevention Before Cure: How Can You Avoid Entering the Metabolic Tomb?
Bearing in mind that the metabolic tomb is an emergency response of the body to ‘abuse’, it seems logical to point out that the best thing we can do is be careful to avoid falling into it. Prevention will be the best ally against the metabolic tomb. something you can achieve easily by following the tips below:
- Avoid very restrictive diets at all costs: excessive restrictions are never good for anything. Overly aggressive diets always end up leading to the dreaded rebound effect, so run away from them without looking back.
- Tracking meals: It’s very difficult to know exactly what and how much you eat each day if you don’t track it. A food diary in which you write down everything you eat can help you have a control that avoids excesses.
- Plan training: routine exercise, especially cardio, causes metabolic adaptations and the body to “stop working.” Therefore, it is important to plan your workouts well to perform varied routines that include strength exercises.
- Try to lower stress and associate with people with healthy and positive thoughts.
If you think you may have entered a metabolic tomb, it is best to go to a specialist who will study and evaluate your case. Don’t let it affect your spirits and your life: don’t take it lightly.
