Metabolism: Popular Myths and easy ways to get it at optimum levels

We don't have to be victims of our 'slow' metabolisms. Here are  easy ways you can easily reach the maximum potential of your metabolism. Learn more!

Metabolism is a murky subject that has taken on a meaning of its own. Read on to discover what your metabolism really is, myths about your metabolism and nine techniques to rev it up, and reach your fat burning potential!

WHAT IS METABOLISM?

The word metabolism refers to how much energy your body uses, or how many calories you burn in a day. A starting point to measure your metabolism is calculating BMR (basal metabolic rate), which measures how many calories you burn at rest, or if you lied in bed all day.

Even though you're not moving around, your body uses energy (burns calories) by keeping your heart beating, sustaining your muscles, breathing, and regulating your temperature, among other functions.

Then add to your BMR how many calories you burn doing your daily activities, and add what you burn in the gym, and voila! You have your metabolism.

METABOLISM MYTHS

The word metabolism is one of the most misunderstood words related to training (second only to motivation, but that's another story). People tell me all the time that their slow metabolism is to blame for their less-than-stellar results. Sadly, this myth is being perpetuated by the weight loss industry.

The other day I saw a commercial for a weight loss pill that claimed to raise your metabolism "without the need to change your diet or exercise." The voice over said something to the effect of, "You can't lose weight because you have a slow metabolism. Thin people are lucky because they were born with fast metabolisms." I was too stunned to speak.

Not only is the term metabolism misused, but it's being manipulated by the weight loss industry to sell products. I have to say here that I'm not bashing fat burners, in fact I take one myself. But they're intended to assist people who exercise regularly and rigorously, use fat for energy during exercise instead of sugar stores or worse, muscle tissue.

When people take pills to amp up their metabolism without hitting it hard in the gym, they're effectively abusing such pills and are putting their health at serious risk. Now back to the commercial. First of all overweight people actually have faster metabolisms than thin people because they are literally carrying around extra weight.

For example, a 130 pound, 30 year-old woman who is 5'5" tall has a BMR of 1384. The same woman at 230 pounds has a BMR of 1817. And the 230 pound woman burns more calories doing while exercising as well. So actually, thin people aren't "lucky" to be born with fast metabolisms. Their metabolisms are slower than overweight people.

Second, genes do play a role in metabolism, but I wouldn't go as far as to use the word "lucky" in describing those with faster metabolisms. Differences in metabolic rates are smaller than we think. Furthermore, people who have faster metabolisms are probably already doing things I've listed below either consciously or unconsciously. Again, luck really doesn't have anything to do with it.

The main point: we don't have to be victims of our "slow" metabolisms. There are several things you can do to easily reach the maximum potential of your metabolism. Read on to find out how!

WAYS TO INCREASE YOUR METABOLISM

1. DO HIIT (HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING)

Regular cardio raises your metabolism while you're doing it, but once your finished, your metabolism returns to its regular rate. On the other hand, HIIT raises your metabolism for hours afterward.

HIIT is performed by alternating highly intense bursts of exercise for 30 seconds to a minute ("highly intense" - not less than 85% of your maximum heart rate) with slow recovery for one to two minutes.

Without getting too technical, HIIT spikes your metabolism after your finished (while you're at rest) because your body is so strained, it needs extra time to recover

Think of it this way: gunning your car for 30 seconds, then braking down to 10 MPH, then gunning and braking again uses much more gas than driving at a steady pace. The same is true for your body, except in this case, the more fuel (body fat) you use, the better!

An example of HIIT on a treadmill is running on 9.0 for 30 seconds, then walking on 3.0 for one minute. Repeat this 10 times and you're looking at 28 minutes total (even including a 5 minute warm up and 5 minute cool down). Try to work your way up to 1 minute high intensity/1 minute low intensity.

2. 

LIFT WEIGHTS

Like HIIT, lifting weights raises your metabolism long after you're finished—experts estimate that your metabolism stays elevated for up to 39 hours! Again, this is because lifting strains your body so much, that it needs extra time to recover.

3. 

BUILD MUSCLE

Does it make you crazy when someone speaks of "converting" fat to muscle? Me too, because as you know, muscle and fat are different tissues.

Maybe the most important distinction between the two is that muscle is more metabolically active than fat. Exactly how much more active is subject to some debate.

Some experts estimate that each extra pound of muscle you gain burns 30-50 extra calories a day, while others estimate that a pound of muscle burns 6 calories at rest, compared to 2 calories burned by a pound of fat.

Even the more conservative estimate means that it's beneficial to your metabolism to be muscular.

4.

 EAT PROTEIN

Sure you know that protein fills you up, but did you know that protein has a greater thermogenic effect than the other macronutrients? The thermogenic effect of food (TEF) is a measure of energy that your body needs to digest food.

Protein is harder for your body to digest and thus takes more energy than does fat or carbs. The TEF of protein is 25%, meaning 25% of the calories of each gram of protein is burned off through digestion, whereas the TEF of carbohydrates is 5%, and is only 2% for fats.

Take advantage of this metabolism booster by including lean protein in every meal... all five to six of them.

5.

 EAT 5-6 SMALL MEALS A DAY

The act of eating actually raises your metabolism—don't go super-sizing it just yet! As I just mentioned, digesting food takes energy, and a different amount of energy is required for each macronutrient. So eating several meals, as opposed to three squares, raises your metabolism five to six times a day, as opposed to only three.

This technique works on another level. When your body doesn't get food, your metabolism slows down. This is because our bodies are ingeniously programmed to protect against starvation—when your body senses that another meal may not be coming (even though food in our modern world is in abundance) it holds onto your body fat to use as energy.

When you only eat three times a day, your metabolism slows greatly between each meal. On the other hand, by eating consistently every three to four hours, your metabolism will stay elevated, knowing that another meal is coming soon.

An added benefit of eating every three hours is that you don't get hungry. By never getting hungry, you reduce the chances of overeating, or grabbing something quick and unhealthy just because it's there.

6. Drink more water 

7. Drink green tea 

You can replace simple tea with green tea. As it is scientifically proven that green tea elevate your basal metabolic rate.

© Rohan Bhardwaj