One of the most common phrases we hear is, “shouldn’t I be losing faster” or “I should be seeing this or that.” The reality is that the concept of what “should” or “shouldn’t” happen is based on the misconception that all metabolic rates are equal. They are not. We’ve watched individuals weighing over 300 pounds struggle to lose weight while consuming fewer than 1600 calories a day. We’ve watched persons weighing less than 130 pounds eat well over 3000 calories a day without gaining an ounce. What matters isn’t some pre-conceived idea of how our body “should” respond. What matters is reviewing your individual analytics and building the best possible strategy based on however your body is responding today.
What Analytics Are The Most Important: It’s easy to get hyper-focused on day-to-day weight but what we are actually looking for are trends over time. As you transform into a more athletic version of yourself (and yes that’s the goal even if you don’t consider yourself an athlete), there are four things you should be watching for:
Energy and Performance. Your energy may not be quite as high while on a “Down-Adjust” (fat burning cycle) as it might be on an Up-Adjust (metabolic revving cycle), however, if energy is too low your metabolic rate will follow and you won’t have the energy for exercise. This is the first analytic to watch. If you think this pattern is developing, consider adding extra snacks to fuel your exercise.
Body Composition. Updated photos, how your clothes fit, body fat percentage, and the mirror can assess this. If you have access to a professional method of tracking your body fat, it’s a great tool. Many body types respond with a dramatic shift in body composition. This can happen independently from what’s seen on the scale – especially with consistent exercise.
Weight. The number on the scale is not always your first indicator of progress or problems. That being said, MetPro is looking at trends to determine when it’s time to adjust cycles. Within each cycle, MetPro will make smaller tweaks and adjustments to your meal plan based on how you’re responding.
Leverage. MetPro looks at your intake and calculates how many moves it has left between point A and B. This is determined by how much metabolic leverage you have. You don’t want to run out of moves before reaching your destination. Generally the higher your meal plan phase the more leverage you have. Pushing into the lower phases is needed at times but this should not be permanent. Long-term maintenance on a phase that’s too low can work against your metabolic goals.