I hear a lot of misconceptions about metabolism and the common belief that "mine must be broken" when a person's body size doesn't match the cultural ideal. The word metabolism is thrown around a lot, but what is metabolism anyway? How does your metabolism work and can you do anything to manipulate it? Here are three myths and three facts about your metabolism:
Myth: You can't change your metabolism.
Fact: There are factors in your control, and out of your control, that influence your metabolism. Metabolism is the process by which your body takes the food you consume and turns it into energy to keep your body alive and working. There are some factors that influence your metabolism that are not in your control: genetics, age and sex.
Your metabolism generally will start to slow around age 50 or 60, and because men typically have more lean muscle mass versus fat then men have higher metabolisms than women do.
Your biologically-determined body size also influences your metabolism. People who are naturally in larger bodies tend to have higher metabolisms than people who live in naturally thinner bodies. You might want to read that sentence again. Yes, I said larger-bodied people have higher metabolisms than thinner-bodied people. That's because the fuel demand is higher.
So what factors are in your control? Since we know that muscle mass is metabolically active tissue, building new muscle tissue requires more energy as does maintaining it. In other words, the more muscle mass you have, the more energy you will burn. Not only regularly exercising but finding ways to just move more throughout your day can help in optimizing your metabolism.
And finally, eating in a structured manner supports metabolism. Starting your day with food, and generally eating meals and snacks every three to five hours throughout your day can also optimize metabolism.
Myth: Eating certain foods will speed up my metabolism.
Fact: Nope. This one is easy! The idea that specific foods speed up metabolism has been debunked. Digestion requires energy, and whole or less-processed foods require more energy to digest, so that's about the best you can do in terms of increasing metabolism through food choices. Think apple versus applesauce.
And as mentioned above, eating in a structured way supports metabolism, so that's a good place to start.
Myth: Losing weight will speed up my metabolism.
Fact: Losing weight actually slows your metabolism. Your body has the amazing ability to adapt to your fuel supply (food) and activity level. If your fuel supply is compromised, aka, you're on a diet to lose weight, your body will assert control by slowing down certain metabolic processes when it can't convince you to give up the diet. Your body does this to conserve energy, holding onto the precious fuel that you are willing to give it.
It really is a survival mechanism by your body. Imagine it like a tightly coiled spring; the more you pull on it by dieting and exercising to lose weight, the more that spring tries to pull back the other way by slowing your metabolism and increasing your appetite. When your body is in a calorie deficit, hormone levels change and suddenly your appetite increases and food tastes better. It's like you're hyper-aware of the food around you and you're more sensitive to the flavor of food so that you enjoy it more and won't be as willing to give it up again.
Which brings me to another point: yo-yo dieting (going on and off diets and therefore, losing and regaining weight) can permanently decrease your metabolism. Ever heard of the Biggest Loser Study? The study followed 14 contestants from the popular weight loss competition for six years after they left the show. Their muscle mass decreased, their fasting blood sugars increased and their metabolic rate decreased...by 700 calories a day! Despite regaining the weight they had lost on the show, their metabolisms never returned to their pre-show state, which means they would've been metabolically healthier if they had never gone on the show in the first place. Pretty astounding, and sad, if you ask me. You can read the full study here.
Just like every other aspect of your body, your metabolism is yours. It belongs to you. The best steps you can take to care for your metabolism is to never diet again, engage in joyful movement, approach eating in a gentle and balanced manner and make peace with what you cannot control.
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