The Energy crisis: Why Metabolic Issues Make Consistency So Hard
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Subtitle: The Consistency myth
Series: Busting myths
"Why can’t they just lose weight? Why can’t they just stick to a diet plan or an exercise routine?" If we are being completely honest, society asks these judgmental questions every single day. If you aren't struggling with your weight, you’ve probably thought about them. And if you are struggling with obesity, you’ve almost certainly internalized them, wondering if you simply lack the willpower to care about your own wellbeing. But the truth is the majority of people facing metabolic issues are deeply frustrated. They have tried several diet plans and workout routines. Keto, carnivore, paleo, and intermittent fasting, yet adhering and staying consistent seems entirely beyond their reach. Not to talk of the number of health specialists they’ve seen. Of course, the fake wellness experts included. So why is consistency difficult for such people?
Under ideal conditions, consistency is repetition over time. But what happens when you can’t repeat? Is it just laziness or a lack of agency? The problem is traditional habit models separate the mind from the body. That's why inconsistency is seen as a character flaw. But current research has clearly shown how our metabolic state affects our brain, especially our prefrontal cortex and the limbic system. The prefrontal cortex, known as the logic center, controls executive functions like decision making, memory, adaptability, and impulsivity. Whereas the limbic system–emotional and energy center controls emotional regulation, energy levels and stress response. For people with Obesity, Diabetes Mellitus, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), Ovarian cyst, among many others, the metabolic state is already compromised. And insulin resistance is the main culprit. Why?
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Insulin resistance causes a lot more damage than we realize. The brain relies a lot on glucose for focus, decision-making, emotional control and other essential functions. In a state of insulin resistance, the cells in the brain and muscles struggle to efficiently take up glucose. This can make the limbic system, specifically emotional regulation malfunction. When this happens, the prefrontal cortex where logical reasoning takes place is overridden. In real life, this is seen as brain fog, emotional eating, poor impulse control and rapid emotional fatigue. All these make it almost impossible to maintain consistency. So what?
It is now obvious that our metabolic state is integral in maintaining consistency through our cognitive and emotional performance. Yet, we often assume that the amount of work we put in must be equivalent to our results. For example, by creating a 500kcal deficit daily on my diet plan, I should lose 1pound per week. While this is true to some extent, it doesn’t always work that way. Because we ignore a major factor —The Variability of our Metabolic state. Let’s go back to Physics 101, the law of inertia.
F= MA. F is Force, M is mass and A is acceleration. The smaller the mass, the smaller the force required for acceleration.
In this case,
F is the diet plan, exercise routine, habit module etc.
M is the metabolic state. (The higher M, the poorer the metabolic state)
A is the outcome which when repeated over time, stabilizes consistency.(eg. A change is weight)
Someone with a high M would need a lot more force to initiate acceleration and subsequently stay consistent. But how much force can you put your body through to move pass the influence of poor metabolic state? So two people exerting the same force would not see the same results at the same rate. For people with insulin resistance, metabolic state isn’t stable as we established earlier. This creates different execution conditions at different times. Energy levels vary. Motivation fades, emotional regulation slips, making repetition extremely difficult. You would agree that consistency is no longer merely a character trait of discipline, but system-based. Here’s the conceptual shift.
Consistency actually means stability of execution under changing conditions. Granted, repetition is necessary for habit to stabilize. However, this works well when metabolic state is addressed. You can’t repeat through appetite fluctuations and chronic stress. In fact, this behavior exacerbates inflammation which in turn promotes poor metabolic state, creating a vicious cycle. Because we know that high body fat already puts the body in the state of chronic inflammation, even in the brain. It makes insulin resistance worse, serotonin production reduces, stress response is heightened, immune system drops, executive dysfunction becomes prominent and emotional regulation goes downhill.
You can see that, someone who already has these conditions may struggle to initiate and sustain any form of behavior change. Pushing yourself too hard would eventually lead to frustration, when the results don't match the effort. That’s why you give up or constantly restart. Fortunately or not, the same lifestyle change that you’re struggling with, is the one that would set you up in a better metabolic state. But your success depends on how you leverage your metabolic state to achieve the results you desire.
Final Insight
The bottom line is, struggling to stay consistent on your health journey is normal and expected. But the good news is it can be done. Instead of increasing input (F), adjust your metabolic state (M). Do this.
Start small and easy.
Design your plan for low energy days.
Don’t jump on trending diet or workout plans. Because your body may not be ready to sustain it.
Pick one habit at a time.
Start your exercise routine by walking daily.
Start your diet plan by having one bowl of vegetables with dinner. Or you can replace one junk food with a healthier alternative.
Challenge yourself but most importantly, observe your body and adjust.
“I can’t wait for the next release”
If you’ve ever felt like you’re the problem, this will help you see what’s actually happening. I ‘d love to send you the full breakdown of the Framework: Understanding the Knowledge to Action Gap