How to Fix Your Wrecked Metabolism (and Why TDEE Matters More Than You Think)
Have you ever felt like your metabolism is working against you? You eat less, exercise more, and yet… nothing changes. Maybe you’ve even gained weight despite your best efforts.
The truth? The old “eat less, move more” mantra has done more harm than good. If you’ve been stuck in a cycle of under-eating and over-exercising, your metabolism has likely adapted—and not in a good way.
But before we talk about how to fix it, you need to understand how your metabolism actually works.
What Is Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE)?
Your metabolism isn’t just about how many calories you burn during a workout. It’s a combination of several factors, collectively known as your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE).
TDEE is made up of four key components:
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Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR): This is the energy your body needs just to keep you alive—breathing, thinking, pumping blood, maintaining organ function, and regulating temperature. BMR makes up about 70% of your daily calorie burn.
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Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT): These are the calories you burn through daily movement—things like walking, fidgeting, cleaning, and even gesturing. NEAT contributes around 15% of your TDEE.
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Thermic Effect of Food (TEF): The energy required to digest, absorb, and process the food you eat. TEF makes up about 10% of your calorie burn, with protein requiring the most energy to digest.
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Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (EAT): The calories you burn through structured exercise. Despite what the fitness industry often suggests, EAT only accounts for about 5% of your total calorie burn.
Here’s the key takeaway: Your metabolism is mostly driven by things other than exercise. Focusing too much on cardio or trying to “burn off” food is a losing game.
How You Accidentally Slowed Down Your Metabolism
When you chronically eat too little and exercise too much, your body adapts in ways that slow your metabolism down:
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Muscle loss: Undereating and excessive cardio can lead to muscle breakdown. Since muscle is metabolically active, losing it lowers your BMR.
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Less spontaneous movement: When energy intake is low, your body naturally conserves energy. You move less, fidget less, and even adjust your posture to burn fewer calories.
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Cardio efficiency: Your body adapts to cardio over time, meaning you burn fewer calories doing the same activity. That 30-minute run that used to be challenging? Over time, it requires more effort to get the same calorie burn.
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Lowered calorie burn from digestion: Eating less means less energy spent on digestion, further reducing your overall calorie burn.
How to Repair Your Metabolism
The good news? You can reverse this damage and rebuild a healthier, more efficient metabolism. Here’s how:
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Prioritize Strength Training – Lifting weights with a progressive overload plan helps you build muscle, which increases your BMR and overall calorie burn.
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Eat Enough Food (Especially Protein) – More food means more energy for movement and better recovery. Plus, protein boosts the thermic effect of food, helping you burn more calories just by digesting.
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Increase NEAT – Small movements throughout the day add up. Walk more, stand when possible, and stay active outside of workouts.
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Use Workouts to Build, Not Burn – Shift your mindset away from burning calories and toward building muscle and strength. This approach will yield far better long-term results.
The Bottom Line
If you’ve been stuck in a cycle of eating less and moving more—only to see no progress—it’s time to change your approach. Understanding TDEE and optimizing your metabolism means eating enough, training smart, and working with your body instead of against it.
Are you ready to finally fix your metabolism and start seeing real results? It’s time to train smarter, eat better, and stop the cycle of metabolic sabotage.
Need guidance? Let’s talk. Your future self will thank you.
