Answers to Your Biggest Questions about Thinlicious

Do I really have to eat this way forever? Why is it so much easier for my husband to lose weight? Can I drink alcohol and still see results? What are the absolute worst things to eat that I should avoid at all costs? Are you ready to lose weight and heal your body for life (without dieting, drugs, or making yourself miserable)? Our free on-demand video training will walk you through how to make this THE year you set health goals…and keep them. Access our free video training What if I’m a vegetarian? Oh, the questions! Honestly, if I had a dollar for every question I’ve gotten since creating Thinlicious two and a half years ago, I could probably retire on a private island somewhere—they never stop coming! But I get it, because I had a lot of the same questions too. And so today, for something totally different, I thought I’d devote an entire episode to answering some of the biggest questions that I get asked over and over about losing weight and getting healthy, and about our program, just in case you’ve been wondering too. Hey there, and welcome back to the Thinlicious blog. Once again, my name is Ruth Soukup, and I am the founder of Thinlicious and the creator of the Thin Adapted System, as well as the New York Times bestselling author of seven books. I am also a forty-something year old woman who struggled with losing weight and getting healthy for a VERY long time before I finally figured out what actually works—and that it’s NOT all the crap we’ve been told our whole lives about counting calories or eating less & exercising more. And that’s why I created Thinlicious and started my podcast—because I want other women over 40 like me to know there is a better way to get healthy and reach your weight loss goals. Because to me, honestly, it’s not even really about weight loss. It’s about FREEDOM. The freedom to look and feel your absolute best. The freedom to not be controlled by food addictions ever again. The freedom to pursue all of your biggest goals and dreams because your health and your weight is no longer holding you back. And I am so excited to dive into today’s post, because no matter how many podcast episodes I record, or how many reels I post on Instagram, there are still always more questions. And the questions don’t annoy me—I actually LOVE them, and love answering them. Because I know for so many women, whether you’re just getting started health journey or whether you’ve been doing this for a while, it can still feel confusing or overwhelming, and you just want to have someone you can trust give it to you straight. And that’s really why I wanted to do this blog post today—to be able to answer some of those questions that I know are probably on your mind, and to help you get a better understanding of what our program is all about, and how it can help you to lose weight and get healthy in a way that is actually sustainable for the long term. But before we dive in, I do want to take just a second to remind you that if you are new to this blog, and to the Thinlicious program in general, and you want to learn more about how our program works, and how we can help you to lose weight and get healthy, then I have a really awesome resource that I know you’re going to absolutely love. It’s called Flip the Switch, and it’s a super in-depth free guide that will walk you through the basics of our program, and give you a really good overview of the science behind what we do, and why it works. It’s totally free, and you can download it HERE. So again, if you’re new here, and you want to learn more about our program, then be sure to go grab that guide right here. Okay, with that out of the way, let’s go ahead and dive into some of the most common questions I get about losing weight, getting healthy, and our TAS program. Why does it suddenly feel like my metabolism is broken? The first big question I want to answer is “why does it suddenly feel like my metabolism is broken when I never used to struggle with my weight?,” because this is one that comes up a lot. And I understand why. It’s pretty frustrating when you’ve never really struggled with any sort of weight issues before, or you’ve always been able to eat whatever without a problem, and then suddenly you hit 40 or 45 or 50 or whatever age and the pounds just start creeping up, and what’s worse is that suddenly all those things you used to rely on—cutting back for a few days, or doing a juice cleanse or going on the Cabbage Soup diet for a week—just don’t really seem to have an impact anymore. The scale won’t budge. Or it keeps going up. So here’s the simple answer: It suddenly feels like your metabolism is broken because your hormones have caught up with you. The truth is that the Standard American Diet you’ve been eating for years, loaded with carbohydrates and processed foods and seed oils, has likely been affecting your insulin levels and probably also your gut health for a long time. But because the rest of your hormones were still functioning properly, your body was able to adjust and handle it. But then, when you reach a certain age and perimenopause hits, your hormones start changing. Your estrogen levels drop. Your cortisol goes up. Your thyroid levels might drop. And because all those hormones work together in a delicate balance, your insulin isn’t able to react and adjust the way it always has. Your insulin levels stay elevated. And because insulin is what tells your body to store fat or let it go, all of the sudden your body goes into fat storage mode. And that’s why it feels like your metabolism is broken—because it basically is. Why do you say that calories don’t matter when everyone else says you have to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight? The next question is a big one because it basically puts people in a kerfuffle every single time I talk about it: “Why do you say that calories don’t matter when everyone else says you have to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight.” And honestly, this is a hill I will die on because I think it is the biggest lie we’ve been sold about losing weight and getting healthy. Because it’s total bullshit. And the reason calories don’t really matter, and why trying to get into a “calorie deficit” is so stupid is because YOUR BODY IS ALREADY IN A CALORIE DEFICIT. Just keeping you alive puts you in a calorie deficit. Every day your body has to burn thousands and thousands and thousands of calories in energy just to keep your brain functioning and your heart pumping and your organs working and blood flowing through your veins. It’s an insane amount of energy that you are using, just to stay alive every day. And that’s true even if you are completely sedentary and just laying in bed all day. It’s more energy than most people could ever consume in a day. That’s why your body has a process for creating its OWN energy, which happens in your mitochondria. So calories aren’t really the problem. And “calories in, calories out” is a big farce that sounds good, but is actually meaningless. And you’re probably thinking, but if that’s true, then why are so many people fat? And it goes back to HORMONES. When you’re eating foods that are keeping your insulin levels elevated all the time, your body goes into crisis mode. Because again, when your insulin is high, your body can’t burn fat. So we’re fat because of the TYPE of food we’re eating, not the number of calories. But I think it’s also important to understand that the type of food you’re eating also contributes to the number of calories you are able to consume. When you eat highly processed, high sugar, high carbohydrate foods, they actually…