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How to Hit the Reset Button on Your Metabolism After 40

This post was written by Ann Louise Gittleman, PhD, CNS, author of Radical Metabolism.

When it comes to weight loss, are you a “slow loser”? Are you over age 40 — or does your metabolism just think you are?

If you feel like your metabolic rate is slowing making those extra pounds hard to shed, then my latest book, Radical Metabolism ($18.30, Amazon), is for you. My new program is designed specifically for people who have either entered their prime and experienced a metabolic slowdown or are younger — in their 20s or 30s — but have issues such as a sluggish thyroid that bring their metabolism to a screeching halt. 

I am well past 50, and in moving through that transition I was personally challenged by this type of metabolic slowdown. The plan in this book came directly out of what I found worked for me and others — and I’m here to happily report that your metabolism can be reignited, regardless of your age.

How to Kickstart Metabolism After 40

Thyroid problems are epidemic today. Many people, especially women, are all too familiar with the effects of a sluggish thyroid, even if they haven’t been officially diagnosed as “hypothyroid.” Toxicity is the most significant factor behind thyroid deficiency and metabolic slowdown — and no diet in the world will work if you have a toxic metabolism

Toxins surround us today. We can eat cleanly, use natural products, and filter our water and air — but we can only reduce our exposure, not eliminate it. Many common, everyday toxins target your thyroid gland. For that reason, a primary focus of Radical Metabolism is mitigating this metabolic damage and supporting your body’s ability to cleanse itself. When the body can detoxify properly, all your glands function better — including the thyroid.

Besides detoxification, another important requirement for rejuvenating a sluggish metabolism is feeding your metabolic furnace the right fuel. Did you know you have three metabolically active tissues that influence energy utilization, fat storage, and even food cravings? And each requires a different type of fuel with specific nutritional requirements for optimal function. One reason many diets fail is they don’t correct the shutdown of these critical fat-burning tissues.

One of the three metabolically active tissues is brown fat. White fat is what accumulates under your skin and around the periphery of your body, but brown fat is found deeper in the body — around your internal organs. 

Brown fat burns many more calories than white fat. Babies are born with a large amount of brown fat, which helps maintain their body temperature, and animals depend on brown fat to keep them warm during hibernation. We tend to lose brown fat as we age, and the more white fat we accumulate, the less metabolically active our brown fat becomes. What makes brown fat brown? The presence of concentrated fat-burning cellular units called mitochondria. 

The good news is that brown fat and its mitochondria can be reactivated if you know the right tricks, and a great one is GLA. GLA (gamma linolenic acid) is a brown fat activator that gives those mitochondria a boost and causes your body to burn, rather than store, more energy.

When you rejuvenate those tissues down to the level of the cell — in combination with reducing your toxic load — a toxic metabolism can be turned into a terrific one! Radical Metabolism includes a simple, easy-to-follow program that has many folks enjoying easier weight loss, increased energy, and improved moods — and a menagerie of bothersome symptoms simply disappear.

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Gittleman is a nutritional expert and a New York Times bestselling author who has published more than 35 books on weight loss, health, and wellness. She is an accomplished speaker and has been featured on numerous television programs, including Dr. Phil, The View, and Good Morning America. She has dedicated her career to educating the masses on nutritional health, metabolic repair, and beating the American obesity pandemic.

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