Everyone ought to have a basic familiarity with metabolism.
You don’t have to be a rocket scientist, but there are several important details about metabolism and weight loss you’ll want to comprehend. In order to take advantage of your body’s true fat burning capabilities, you have to first know how the body uses energy. Metabolism is a sophisticated process, but I will use a simple supply and demand analogy and state that your metabolism is your body’s demand for energy. A person with a high metabolism has a greater need for energy than a person with a low metabolic rate. As the body uses energy, it needs to create more energy for basic bodily functions, activity, and to react to fight or flight. This means of creating more energy in itself requires energy. Thus, someone who uses more energy must generate more energy and will use more energy in the process of creating more energy. Confused yet?
Let me dumb it down.
The body is quite efficient. It knows exactly how much energy it must be producing based on your age, physique, and activity level. So it understands it’s going to have to provide more energy for an active person than it will for an inactive person and this is what it does. The supply and demand energy scenario for somebody with a high metabolism is like a fire hose. The supply and demand energy scenario for a person with a low metabolism is like a leaking faucet. There are many factors that control your body’s energy requirements which include age, calorie consumption, activity level, body size and muscle to fat ratio. There also are a few harmful myths regarding these factors that you must immediately get out of your mind. If you do buy into them, then you may be approaching weight loss in a disadvantageous way or in a suboptimal way, at best.
Myth 1: Metabolism and Calories
If you consume more, your body will expend more energy processing the food. This makes sense, right? It requires energy to break down food and this is the reasoning behind the concept of consuming six meals per day to keep your body “constantly burning fat”. Hold up, don’t get too excited. Calorie intake is yet another misunderstood piece of the metabolism puzzle. Yes, your body will expend a little extra energy processing your meals. However, that doesn’t provide you with free reign to consume anything you want because if you eat beyond your body’s energy requirements, you’ll still put on weight. Think about it like this. Say you consume a 500 calorie meal and your body burns 20 calories absorbing the meal. There are still 480 calories leftover. Now, if you’re active and using up these 480 calories or more either to replenish depleted energy levels from earlier exercise or for future exercise then you’re in the clear. If you’re not, then they simply get stored as fat. Don’t forget, at the end of the day it’s still a supply and demand equation.
Myth 2: Metabolism and Aging
Many people I know think that age is the largest factor driving your metabolism. This just isn’t true. What’s worse, some people believe age is the only factor driving your metabolic rate. People who see me overeat and stay lean have actually told me “Wait until you reach 30, you won’t be able to do that any longer because your metabolism will slow down.” It’s as if they believe that on the day of my 30th birthday, my body will flip a switch and suddenly shut down my metabolic process. This is complete rubbish and my argument against this is that if age is the only issue, then everyone who is 30 would look the same. Everyone who is 40 would look the same. Everyone who is 50 would look the same. Clearly, this isn’t the situation. There are some people in their 50s who are in significantly better shape than some people in their 20s. So don’t let anyone convince you age is the only factor driving your metabolism.
What is the most important factor driving your metabolism?
If it’s not age, then what exactly is it? The real answer to your metabolic rate is your activity level. Remember, your body will only produce as much energy as it thinks your system needs. So if you’re active, it is going to supply more energy and doing that will require more energy. The best practice to boost your metabolism is to be more active. This is challenging because depending on how fit you are, it will require some time for your body to react. If you are heavy and in poor condition, going out and working out a couple of times won’t increase your metabolism overnight. In the beginning, your body will still take its time restoring your energy levels because it’s used to a low energy demand. This is why it’s very hard for an unhealthy person to undergo very rigorous exercise the very first time. His or her body won’t provide enough energy to keep up.
Your metabolism is stubborn.
When an inactive person goes to workout, his body believes he is bluffing so until he consistently proves that his need for more energy is legitimate, he will get no respect. A fit individual, on the other hand, gets instant respect from his body. When he begins to workout, his body reacts immediately since it has seen again and again that he means business. More importantly, his body is supplying more energy during rest periods to replace depleted stores and in anticipation of higher energy demand in the future. This is strictly why a fit individual with a high metabolism expends more calories 24-7, even during rest. Elite athletes have reached the extreme upper end of this spectrum. This is the reason why they may eat 6,000 calories a day in some instances and stay lean and ripped. Meanwhile, the inactive cubicle worker is gradually packing on weight on half that daily allowance.
So which one would you rather be?
As you can tell, your metabolism can be your best ally or your worst enemy when it comes to managing your weight. Now that you understand the facts about metabolism and weight loss, you are able to apply them to your lifestyle. Try to be more energetic and eat in accordance with your energy demands. When you are extremely active, consuming more will in fact benefit you since you also will be fueling your body with the energy it needs, but there is a fine line. If you consume too much you will still gain fat. Learn to calibrate this. If you are way out of shape, be smart about this and slowly work your way up. Challenge your body and your muscles without overdoing it. As you get fitter, you will notice your demand for energy rising and that you’re burning more fat, even when you’re lounging around. If you are already trim and fit, carry on doing what got you there because your body adapts swiftly and can easily go the other way if you start to let up.