METABOLISM & MUSCLE LOSS

Metabolism, Muscle Loss, and My Coaching Approach

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Metabolism and Weight Loss: The Nuances

We’ve all heard the old adage that metabolism drops with weight loss. There’s a lot of truth to that, but today I want to dig into the nuances—because it’s not just about eating less and burning fewer calories. There’s why it happens, how it happens, and what you can do about it.

If you lose weight too fast, your metabolism will downshift. I’ve seen this time and time again. I have a machine that measures metabolic rate, and I’ve watched as competitors who went through extreme dieting ended up with much lower metabolic rates than their training partners who didn’t restrict as aggressively.

I’m talking about a 1,000-calorie-a-day difference—huge. And this applies to those on weight loss medications too. The body does not like rapid, prolonged restriction.

But let’s start with the basics.

What Is Metabolism?

Metabolism is the total energy your body burns per day. Your basal metabolic rate (BMR)—or resting metabolic rate (RMR)—is the number of calories your body needs to function at rest. This is before exercise, before walking around, before any activity.

For the average woman, this is around 1,400 calories per day. If you have more muscle, your BMR is higher.

Muscle is metabolically active tissue—it’s like leaving your car engine running all the time. It constantly burns energy, even at rest. Fat, on the other hand, is mostly metabolically neutral. It doesn’t require much energy to exist. That’s why losing muscle directly lowers your metabolic rate.

This is also why men typically have higher metabolic rates than women—they have more muscle. And it’s why protecting your muscle is crucial during any fat loss phase.

Why Does Metabolism Drop with Restriction?

If you restrict calories too hard for too long, your body compensates. Around weeks four to six, I can actually measure a noticeable drop in metabolic rate. And if the restriction continues, it keeps dropping.

This is why I designed my Peak Week five-day shred program—to take advantage of short, aggressive fat loss phases without triggering long-term metabolic adaptation. Your body can handle a brief period of restriction. But if you stay there for months? Your body will fight back.

We’ve seen this in the fitness industry for years—people dieting down to 800 or 1,000 calories a day, doing hours of cardio, and suddenly... they stop losing weight. Why? Their metabolic rate has adapted.

The Role of NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis)

One of the biggest reasons for metabolic downshifting is a drop in NEAT—Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis.

NEAT is all the movement you do that isn’t intentional exercise.

• Tapping your foot
• Fidgeting with your fingers
• Shifting from one leg to another
• Adjusting in your chair

It’s unintentional calorie burn. And it adds up—big time.

Some people naturally do more NEAT than others. You’ll notice ectomorphs (those naturally lean, high-energy people) fidget a lot. They can eat more without gaining weight because their bodies burn hundreds of extra calories through movement they don’t even think about.

When someone is in chronic restriction—whether from dieting or weight loss meds—NEAT plummets. The body subconsciously conserves energy.

I see this all the time—people who were once high-energy start moving less. They stop tapping their foot, they don’t fidget as much, they sit more. The body is saving calories.

This is how the body protects itself during long-term calorie restriction. It reduces muscle (to save energy) and reduces movement (to burn fewer calories).

Protecting Your Metabolism During Weight Loss

In all my programs, I include two, two-hour windows per week where clients can eat whatever they want.

Why? Because strategic breaks in restriction signal to the body that food is available—it reduces metabolic adaptation and keeps leptin (your hunger hormone) in check.

If you’re going to restrict, you must do two things:

1. Keep your protein intake high. If you don’t, you’ll lose muscle fast.
2. Take strategic breaks. Give your body a surge of calories so it doesn’t panic and downshift metabolism.

And those extra calories should come from carbs. A refeed meal that’s just protein and salad won’t work. If you want to reset leptin and keep your metabolism firing, you need carbs.

Starting at a Deficit: Why That’s Okay

I hear this all the time when people start my Muscle Month program:

❌ “I’m so weak.” ❌ “I used to be leaner.” ❌ “I can’t believe how much muscle I’ve lost.”

Listen—everyone starts at a deficit. That’s why you’re starting. If you al