Metabolism and how it’s
affected by the food we eat
Too
often I hear overweight people blaming their ‘round’ and ‘soft’ appearance on
either their (1) ‘slow metabolism’ or (2) ‘Big bones’ without actually knowing
what they are talking about. And so I feel compelled to write this….. ‘My guide
to understanding your metabolism, by Ross Edgley”
Definition of Metabolism:
When people talk about their metabolism, they are usually referring to their
basal metabolic rate, which is the number of calories your body burns at rest to
maintain normal body functions (i.e. the calories you are burning when just
sitting in your chair, reading this article.) This is different in everybody
since your age, weight, height, job, stress levels and many more factors can
affect it. However what this article will explain is how the food going down
your pie hole can affect it for the better….
Eat a lot
of small meals throughout the day
This doesn’t mean chow down on seven, Christmas sized dinners a day…it means
keep the number of calories the same, just split them up into more meals. (e.g.
If you are meant to eat 2100 calories a day, rather than eating 700 calories for
breakfast, 700 for lunch and 700 for dinner, instead split them up into 7 meals
each containing 300 calories each, and eat throughout the day.)
Why?
~ Since when we eat food our metabolisms increase to help burn off that food
(its known as the Thermic effect of feeding.) So the more frequently we eat, the
greater the Thermic effect of feeding and therefore the higher the metabolism
overall.
~ Also the human body can only process a certain amount of food at one time. So
eat too much in one sitting and all the minerals and nutrients cannot be
absorbed efficiently. I.e. Imagine you have a bucket with a whole in the bottom.
If you take that bucket and start to fill it up, there is only a set amount of
water that can be released through that hole in the bottom. Keep filling it up
and the water will start to overflow at the top. But if you fill the bucket up
to the top, then leave it for a while for the water to slowly pass through the
whole, no water spills over the top and is wasted. The human body is the same,
once we begin to eat (fill the bucket up) we start to digest the food (the water
passes through the whole in the bucket.) If we eat too much in any meal (fill
the bucket up too much) the excess calories (excess water) is stored as fat
(overflows the bucket.)
Don’t
Over-Diet
Why?
~ It’s not rocket science, if eating increases your metabolism then not eating
of course decreases it. A mistake I see so many people making when they wish to
loose weight. By lowering their calorie/ food intake so much, their bodies think
they are being starved and so begin to lower the metabolism and hold on to fat
supplies.
And so to conclude, when trying to loose weight the key is to consume enough
calories to support a healthy metabolism but not so many that you ‘overflow your
bucket.’ So don’t starve yourself and don’t attend an ‘All you can eat buffet’
thinking it’s a challenge…. it’s not…. it’s a food offer.
New Articles from Ross:
Science of Fat Loss,
Cardio Intensity,
Less 'Commercial'
Fat Loss Supplements,
Green Tea
Hollywood Bodies:
How Ryan Reynolds added 20 pounds of muscle,
Spartan Workout
Routine from the Movie 300
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