Metabolism is a term derived from Greek origins that essentially means change. There are many complex events that occur with a body’s metabolism. So, metabolism can be summarized as being the body’s method of breaking down food and other substances and then converting that into resources the body can use.
Comprehensive guide to metabolism v/s catabolism v/s anabolism
The metabolic process is the body’s way of taking in whatever we consume and attempting to use every mineral and resource that is found within to keep the body running and fueled.
Metabolism is the necessary process to staying alive and maintaining a healthy, functioning organism.
There are three main factors that contribute to a body’s metabolism:
- Nutrition,
- Hydration,
- Physical activity.
To maintain a healthy metabolism, the three of these must be watched and nurtured carefully.
All weight loss and weight gain are directly related to metabolism. Being able to do either in a healthy manner involves,
- Managing a healthy diet (nutrition),
- Consuming plenty of water (hydration),
- Maintaining a healthy and productive level of exercise (physical activity).
If any one of these factors isn’t managed, the metabolism will see a decrease which can result in many negative effects.
There is a common misconception with the nutrition aspect of metabolism. That is lowering calorie and fat intake drastically will result in immediate weight loss. This simply is not true. That’s lowering either of these results in a reduction of the metabolism rate.
Anabolism & Catabolism
The two main forms of metabolism are catabolic metabolism and anabolic metabolism.
- Catabolic metabolism. It is the process which attempts to break down chemicals and nutrients in foods and drugs. So that these can be more easily absorbed and then used by the body as necessary.
- Anabolic metabolism is the exact opposite of this and instead uses enzymes to structure larger molecules from smaller ones. Which means converting fat tissues into energy.
The fact is metabolism is a necessary factor of living a healthy. Maintaining a solid metabolism is extremely important. The metabolism is crucial to physical activities, assisting growth and repair, and maintaining life itself in organisms.
Why boosting metabolism is a proven weight loss method?
Weight loss occurs when the body can burn off more calories in a day than it consumes. This is affected by two factors:
- how much a person consumes in a day,
- and how active the metabolism is at breaking down and burning off calories.
For this reason, it is obvious how important it is to boost the metabolism and keep it running at a healthy, efficient level. By better knowing metabolism you can help your own body to burn off as many calories as possible and result in the highest maximum weight loss attainable in a healthy manner.
To better understand how this occurs, you must first understand how the metabolism works.
Metabolism Works 24/7/365!
The metabolism breaks down food and nutrients to be used by the body. When not eating, whether you are exercising, sleeping, or even being lazy, the metabolism is still working. It is still burning off whatever is available, whether it be recently consumed food or stored fat, to keep the body running.
Studies have proven that there is only one way to lose weight in a healthy way.
That involves
- Pay close attention to your diet & what you eat (try to consume fewer calories and eat foods that boost the metabolism)
- Drink more water (water keeps the body healthy and clean and helps to keep the metabolism working at a smooth rate),
- Exercise daily to both burn off calories that way and to keep the heart pumping. This will result in both a boosted metabolism and healthier blood levels.
These combined 3 factors clearly show why boosting the metabolism is such a proven weight loss method.
Time and time again it has been shown that boosting metabolism, combined with a healthy diet, will result in weight loss. The metabolism will constantly be working behind the scenes and will constantly be burning off excess fat to keep the body working smoothly. Therefore, boosting your metabolism will result in both a better looking as well as a healthier body.
Metabolism boosting foods
Nutrition is one of the key factors in maintaining a healthy metabolism rate, along with hydration and physical activity. Simply put, no matter how much exercising you do, if you aren’t eating right then you will not see results. At the same time, eating right doesn’t just mean watching your calories.
It is important to cut back on the daily number of calories consumed. However, it is equally as important to watch where those calories are coming from. Then spread those out over 5-6 meals per day, to keep the metabolism constantly working.
Certain foods are known for keeping the metabolism working at a high level.
Your diet should be rich in complex carbohydrates, healthy fat, lean protein and fiber. These are found oatmeal, whole grain cereal, lean meat, raw vegetables, and milk. Calories from complex sources known for keeping insulin levels low after eating.
Insulin sends messages to the body that it should store fat, so keeping insulin levels low will allow the metabolism to burn more excess fat. Stockpiling fat by the body results in a slowdown of the metabolism, which basically translates to fewer calories will be burnt and less fat will be lost. [insulin research]
Capsaicin
It is a chemical found in many peppers such as cayenne peppers, habanero, and jalapenos, is known for its ability to boost the metabolism. If you don’t mind adding a little spice to meal, throw in some peppers to give your metabolism a boost! Green tea and caffeine are also metabolism boosters.
Caffeine
Not an overly suggested method of metabolism boosting. It increases the heart rate and the faster a heart beats, the more calories will be burnt. Green tea, on the other hand, contains a chemical known as EGCC which causes the brain and nervous system to work more quickly, also translating into more burned calories.
Protein rich foods
Foods high in protein, such as pulses, lean beef, fish, turkey, and chicken, are all great for keeping the metabolism active. Protein, in its nature, takes more effort to digest than carbohydrates or fat. Therefore, this additional energy spending results in more calories being burnt to digest and use protein.
Although it may be a strange concept to some, essentially, the more protein you eat, the harder the body must work to digest it!
Fatty Acids
Fish, additionally, along with some other foods, contain what are known as Omega-3 fatty acids. These fatty acids affect the levels of a hormone known as leptin in the body. Leptin directly influences the metabolism and can help to determine whether the metabolism decides to burn fat or store. [leptin research]
These are the most suggested foods and nutrients to involve in your daily diet to help boost your metabolism. Before seeking out any supplements or herbal medications, it is always good to try to boost your metabolism naturally by simply eating foods such as this which will help to give your metabolism that little extra kick you’ve been hoping for.
Simple exercises to boost metabolism
Exercise plays a major role in boosting the metabolism and being able to burn of calories and undesired fat. There are quite a few suggestions for what exercises to focus on, how often to exercise, and when to exercise. In many cases, just doing anything is helpful but doing the right exercises will help to maximize a boosted metabolism.
Lift more weight!
Weight lifting is the most powerful weight loss & metabolism boosting exercise
The first important thing to note is that it is vital to lift weights and to lift weights often. If possible, lifts weights at home or at the gym for 30-45 minutes a day, 5-6 days a week. By alternating between the upper and lower body, you can build lean muscle which will greatly boost your metabolism.
Exercise itself increase your heart rate and burn calories. However, it’s the muscle that is formed will help to burn calories even when you’re not exercising. Body uses a lot more calories to maintain muscles than it needs to maintain fat.
What about Cardio?
Generally speaking, it is good to do at least 30-45 minutes of cardiovascular activity every day. The body extracts energy from its fat stores usually after about 30 minutes of continuous physical activity. So, if you can spare more than this amount of time each day you will notice a much greater increase in fat burned.
Runners training outdoors working out in nature against blue sky with sunset light.
It is important to note that the intensity of the cardiovascular activity isn’t nearly as important as the length of time put in. The body is designed to be active and long sessions of cardiovascular workouts will help to keep the metabolism working at a very high rate.
When to work out?
Working out in the morning, prior to eating breakfast is the best time to burn off fat. Optionally, you can have a small snack like a fruit or vegetable.
Why early morning?
Body is well rested in the morning and ready to go. Since you haven’t eaten breakfast yet, the body will naturally dip into its fat stores much quicker. Moreover, any exercise undertaken at this time of day will result in much more fat loss than usual.
Additionally, the cool air of the morning is also known to increase metabolism. Both the cold and the heat are known to increase the metabolism by as much as 20%. Although it may be harder to work in either, body will be burning that much more fat when you work out in either conditions.
Exercising at any time of the day is very good. However, we have learned that morning is the premier time to burn off that unwanted fat.
It is important to keep the body fueled for this exercise. Eat a healthy, metabolism boosting diet with frequent workouts to maximize the intensity and length of the workouts. This will keep the metabolism working at a high rate to burn off as many calories as possible.
Metabolism booster diet supplements
When dieting and eating the right metabolism boosting foods isn’t doing the job fully, there are plenty of healthy metabolism boosting supplements that can be sought out. It is important to pay close attention when looking for supplements. Many common “diet pills” and “miracle pills” will simply never work.
Much of what is advertised is completely falsified and it is important not to buy into these quick fixes. Rather, it can be both very helpful and healthy to find certain supplements which will help to boost the metabolism and increase the volume of calories burned each day naturally.
Most supplements will do three main things:
- boost the metabolism level,
- increase stamina and endurance,
- and help to slow down appetite.
Essentially, these are the main aspects of losing weight.
A slowed appetite will allow a person to better choose what they want to eat without suffering intense cravings for the unhealthier foods. Increased stamina and endurance will allow for longer workouts and shorter recovery times to burn more calories.
The nutrients and chemicals contained in supplements are found in many of the foods we eat. A highly nutritious diet helps to boost the metabolism naturally and maximize your own efforts to lose weight. That is the key concept here, maximizing the efforts.
No pill will ever offer the fix to weight loss, but certain supplements. When you combine supplements with your own diet and exercise routine, will help to maximize the effort you are putting in to burning calories and losing weight.
This results in healthy weight loss that will help you to both look good, maintain a solid metabolism rate. Moreover, you still have a healthy body that isn’t being cluttered up by bad toxins and chemicals found in many of the “quick fix” pills on the market.
Metabolic Syndrome
When your metabolic-engine is not working properly you will suffer from lifestyle diseases listed below
- Obesity, overweight & enlarged waistline
- High cholesterol, precisely higher LDL & Triglyceride which leads to heart attack
- High blood pressure (hypertension) & diabetes
- Chronic diseases like fatty liver, strokes & kidney failure
- Reduction in natural libido & sexual performance
- Skin ailments like acne, stretch-marks, skin-tags etc
- Polytheistic ovary syndrome (PCO) in women, irregular menstration & hormonal imbalce
- Depression and abnormal mental conditions like ADD & ADHD.
That sums up pretty much why ‘normal metabolism’ is so crucial and why you must be concerned about it!
Conclusion
Whatever supplement you decide to go with, read up on its background, what it does, and how it works. It is important to be knowledgeable of what you are taking and understanding how it is going to help you. By doing this, you will help to avoid the bad supplements and be aware of how the supplement you are going to take will help you in the long run. You can read reviews of new diet pills here
Also read “comprehensive guide to lose weight without exercise“
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