Friday, November 5, 2010

Lies They Told You


In the past few years we have been bombarded with ads and products that claim to boost your metabolism.  They blame having a slow metabolism for weight gain and tell you that it makes it hard for you to lose weight.  They counter that information by telling you to buy their miracle potion that will help you speed up your metabolism. So a few years ago I did a bit of research on metabolism so that I could better understand my body.
Your metabolism is the rate at which your body breaks down the nutrients in food to produce energy. So the higher you metabolism the faster you break down food into nutrients. If you have a high metabolism you will PROBABLY lose weight faster but that is not guaranteed. Your body composition determines what your metabolic rate (resting metabolic rate-RMR).  So the more fat free mass your body has, the higher your metabolic rate.   A person who is overweight will have a higher metabolic rate than an underweight person. That is because they carry more body mass than an underweight person. If you have ever been in a weight loss program or watched a weight loss shows. You will see that people with lager body mass tend to lose more weight on a weekly basis than those below them.
The main issues that affect your metabolism would be hormones, insulin and stress.  However, the best way to feed your metabolism is to exercise so that you build more lean muscle mass. You need combine cardio and weight training, to increase lean muscle mass.
Don’t get caught up in the myths:
Eating close to bedtime does not slow down your metabolism!
Drinking water does not speed up your metabolism! You need water for other reasons.
There is not a food or an herb that can boost your metabolism!
Reducing calories drastically does not boost your metabolism (it decreases it)
If you want to boost your metabolism exercise and eat right to build lean muscle because there is no quick fix.
Neither I nor any content on this site dispenses any medical advice, either directly or indirectly. You should consult your doctor for medical advice!

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