METABOLISM 101
Metabolism is, and will likely always be, a buzz word in the health and fitness world – and yet it is also one that is not always fully understood or appreciated.
For example, when I see discussions around a person’s metabolism, it is primarily used in reference to weight loss. It is very common to see advertisements promoting diets or foods to “boost your metabolism” or even specific workout plans you should do to turn your metabolism into a “fat burning furnace”.
By seeing and hearing these things over and over, it is understandable why we start to fall into the trap of thinking our metabolism is simply our ability (or lack thereof) to lose weight. And while your metabolism IS involved in weight loss, it is much more than just that.
So, let's take a moment to clear up a few misconceptions I frequently hear about the metabolism.
MISCONCEPTION #1: "Your metabolism is something that just burns fat."
TRUTH: Your metabolism is an umbrella term for a number of chemical reactions that take place in your body in order to essentially sustain life. From the moment you are born to the time you die, your metabolic functions are involved in converting energy from food to energy for various biological, mechanical, chemical functions as well as clearing metabolic waste as a result of these reactions.
So, in more simple terms, your metabolism is why your neurons have energy to communicate, why your heart, lungs, and other organs can function regularly on their own, why you are able to build and maintain muscle tissue, and yes why you are also able to lose weight. And before you say well yeah, but I still would like a faster metabolism, remember there is a reason hyperthyroidism (a disorder where our glands overproduce hormones that “speed” up our metabolic function) is not a good thing and something that in reality you do not want.
MISCONCEPTION #2: “It is a bad thing when your metabolism changes.”
TRUTH: The ability for your metabolism to change (e.g., slow down, speed up, utilize different fuel sources,etc.) is important to everyday function as well as survival. For example, under resting conditions, we are primarily metabolizing fat for energy. Fat is a great energy source and so it benefits us to utilize fat in order to preserve carbohydrates for times when we have more immediate energy demands. However, if you decide to go out for breakfast and eat a stack of pancakes the size of a small child, your metabolism, even though we are still at rest, will shift from utilizing fat as fuel to carbohydrates in order to regulate blood sugar and avoid hyperglycemia. If this did not happen, everytime we ate an abundance of carbohydrates at rest (which is usually how we eat our meals) our blood sugar would continue to remain high and ultimately issues such as diabetes. So a metabolism that changes is a good thing!
MISCONCEPTION #3: "Eating certain foods or doing certain workouts can speed up your metabolism."
TRUTH: Eating certain foods or doing certain workouts can speed up your metabolism… to a VERY SMALL DEGREE. Our daily energy expenditure is a combination of resting metabolic rate (the amount of energy we need to basically just stay alive), non-exercise activity thermogenesis (the energy we need to daily activity), exercise activity thermogenesis (the energy needed to meet the demands of any exercise we did that day), and the thermic effect of food (the amount of energy required to essentially metabolize the food we eat). And so by this, we can technically eat more foods, such as protein, that requires more energy to metabolize or extremely hot foods in order to increase our metabolic activity, however, the overall impact still is limited.
For example, the thermic effect of food only contributes around 10% to our total daily energy expenditure. So, if you require 2,500 calories to maintain weight, roughly 250 calories are needed to metabolize the food that you eat. So even if you could increase your TEF by half (which is unlikely) that is only an additional 125 calories and not really the fat burning furnace you were promised by that youtube commercial you saw. So yes, ordering the Blazin Wings at Buffalo Wild Wings might increase your metabolism in that moment, the overall impact is still likely minimal.
MISCONCEPTION #4: "Our metabolism slows down as we age making fat loss harder and harder until it is eventually impossible to lose weight at all."
TRUTH: Our metabolism itself does not actually slow until our mid 60s and even then it is likely a result of a multitude of factors. A recent research study in 2022 highlighted that as people age, their metabolism actually stays relatively consistent over time. However, when we see decreases in physical activity (which contribute to the non-exercise and exercise activity detailed above) and muscle mass (which contributes to resting metabolic rate) is when researchers noted decreases in metabolism. So there are multiple factors at play when your metabolism actually slows down.
Now this is not an exhaustive list of misconceptions that come around when speaking about metabolism and I am sure in a few years there will be new ones in order to sell some supplements or promote a workout plan. However, I hope now you can see you a few things:
Your metabolism is not broken like some people might try to tell you
Your metabolism is doing what it is supposed to do and so there is no need for any extreme diet or workout fads to change it
If you are struggling with weight loss, metabolic activity is definitely involved but it might be more related to factors such the activity you are (or maybe aren’t) doing, the types of food you are eating regularly, etc.
As always, before jumping on some extreme fad, commit to 30 days of eating primarily whole foods, exercising 3 times a week, walking 8-10k steps a day, and getting adequate rest. You might be surprised how good your metabolism actually is.
UNTIL NEXT TIME - COACH BRAD