The secret to increasing your metabolism is helping your hormones to help you! It’s perfectly possible to naturally boost your own metabolism with the right foods, supplements and lifestyle hacks. There’s no need to turn to pills or potions – in fact, long term, these will only do damage to your ability to lose weight and keep it off. Your need to be in hormonal balance and not have a hormone deficit to allow your metabolism to be speedy – it needs fuel, but the right kind of fuel!
Doing the kinds of things we have come to assume will help us to lose weight – like eating very little and exercising a whole lot – actually works against the female fat-burning system. It’s why when you and your partner go on a diet together, doing the same things, your partner always seems to drop the pounds like crazy and you’re left with depressingly little to show for your efforts! You need to stabilize your blood sugar and calm your adrenals to rev your metabolism, and the path to this for women is hormonal harmony.
The FLO Living protocol has a built-in appetite control system that prevents you from ever feeling hungry enough to binge or crave unhealthy foods. It provides the nutrients your body needs to have a speedy metabolism. Of course, weight loss here at FLO Living is never our end goal, it’s only one part of how hormonal imbalance can support your health and well-being. Eating and living in a way that increases your metabolism, has the amazing side effects of making you feel great and managing any cycle-related issues you may have – from PCOS to PMS.
4 ways to increase your metabolism naturally
These are my favorite core ways to increase your metabolism that are easy and simple to incorporate into your life today and every day. This combination of food focus, supplements, and lifestyle fixes will increase your metabolism naturally and for the long term.
- The best metabolism-boosting supplement: Iodine
Your thyroid is what gives your metabolism its fire. Love and care for your thyroid and it will work wonders for you. Take Gaia Thyroid Support daily. It is a seaweed-based iodine source that supports whole thyroid function (don’t use this if you have an iodine allergy or have Hashimoto’s). Many of us are actually iodine deficient, mainly because we are using additive-free salt and the most common hormonal imbalances (as well as leaky gut issues, SIBO, and pregnancy) can all impair thyroid function. The ovaries contain a lot of iodine in themselves and they need it to function healthily and bring about ovulation. Anovulation can cause many hormonal symptoms, including weight gain. Seaweed is an excellent source of iodine. Underactive thyroid conditions are very common for women and often go undiagnosed, despite really difficult symptoms.
- The best metabolism-boosting food: Greens
Estrogen dominance can cause your body to store more fat. This is when your estrogen levels are high and your progesterone levels comparatively low – you have, essentially, a hormonal imbalance, and one of the most common kinds. Eating more cruciferous vegetables like kale, collard greens, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and brussel sprouts will raise your level of DIM (Di-Indolyl-Methane), which is the perfect estrogen dominance regulator. Try to have a small serving with every meal – I like to saute greens in coconut oil and have as a side to my breakfast, lunch and dinner.
- The best metabolism-boosting fat: Coconut Oil
Good fats are your friend. Fat sources that contain MCT’s – medium chain triglycerides – are necessary fuel for your metabolism. They heal the underlying hormonal issues that slow your metabolism down and make it sluggish. I call coconut oil my secret weight loss weapon. Just 1 tablespoon a day keeps me slim. It is thyroid supportive, essential for the transportation and processing of your hormones, and heals gut inflammation and leaky gut issues. A 2002 study published in the Journal of Nutrition revealed that coconut oil can increase energy, help with weight control and keep you feeling fuller and more satisfied for longer.
- The best metabolism-boosting lifestyle hack: Flush Cortisol
De-stress! Stress suppresses your metabolism function. Feeling stressed, and getting little sleep as a result, increases the hunger hormone ghrelin and decreased levels of satiety hormone leptin. Getting up and moving, even if just for a quick dance break between work projects, will lower your cortisol levels (the stress hormone) and help to prevent adrenal burnout. Prioritize a good night’s sleep with a sleep routine of the kind you’d establish for your own child – read a book, turn off all screens, take a calming bath with epsom salts and truly rest. You have to take small actions throughout the day, every day, to flush out excess cortisol – moving, sleeping, and orgasms are the best methods for this. If it gives you pleasure, it’s good for your stress levels.
Always remember, that once you have the right information about how your body really works, you can start making health choices that finally start to work for you! You can do this – the science of your body is on your side!
to your FLO,
Alisa
Good things come in threes:
I want to hear from you!
First, do you have no sex drive?
Second, do you have other hormonal symptoms?
Third, everyone you know is hormonal – spread a little good ovary karma and share this article on social 😉
Is Your Period Healthy?
How do you know if your hormones are healthy? The answer is in your 5th vital sign – your period.
The color of your flow, frequency of your period, and symptoms you have each month can tell you a lot about your health. There are 5 different V-SIGN TYPES, and knowing which one you have will help you get healthy now and prevent disease in the future.
Hello
I had a question about my periods! On my second day of periods I get lots of golf size ball lumps in the period! I cannot go out the house and I loose a lot of blood too because of it! I wanted to know if there is a specific food or method that will help me get rid of the lumps?
Is there any connection between iodine and acne? I know I’ve heard that before. And since I’m acne prone, I’m worried to try it!
Hi Alisa,
Thanks for the great post!
Would you recommend coconut oil over coconut milk? Or, since they’re both coconut products with good levels of healthy fat, is there not a big difference between the two? I drink coconut milk every day and generally prefer that to coconut oil, but I’ll consider using more of the latter if it really is superior to the milk.
Acne has also been one of my big problems, and it’s the reason I started the Flo Living protocol. I would also be interested to know whether I shouldn’t take iodine for that reason.
Thanks,
Sidney
Hello Alisa, I would like to know about the coconut milk, too..
I just bought your book last week and try to get started now!
thank you so much
Hi
I keep reading your posts, it’s absolutely surprising how hormones play such vital role in a woman’s life, and the best part is you suggest solutions to solve the problems. At one point I thought I was going crazy with the mood fluctuation…but turns out I am not. Also my sex drive is extremely low, it feels like a task. I have found any solutions yet, for now I know this can happen to anyone. Please help me be happy.