BY DR. ROOPA CHARI, M.D.
This word “metabolism” is used so often these days. My post has some scientific jargon but I want you to see how there is a lot more involved with metabolism than meets the eye!
You know that if yours is too slow you might gain weight. But what exactly does this all mean?
Well technically “metabolism” is the word to describe all of the biochemical reactions in your body. It’s how you take in nutrients and oxygen and use them to make fuel to do everything you do!
Your body has an incredible ability to grow, regenerate, heal, detoxify and stay alive. Our very complex and amazing biochemistry is crucial for our health and well being.
Metabolism includes how the cells in your body allows for:
- Activities you can control (e.g. physical activity etc.).
- Activities you can’t control (e.g. heart beat, wound healing, processing of nutrients & toxins, etc.).
- Storage of excess energy to use at a later time.
So when you put all of these processes together into your metabolism you can see that these processes can work too quickly, too slowly, or just right.
Which brings us to the “metabolic rate”.
Metabolic rate
This is how fast your metabolism works and is measured in calories.
The calories you eat can go to one of three places:
- Work (i.e. exercise or other physical activities).
- Heat (i.e. from the biochemical reactions).
- Storage (i.e. extra leftover “unburned” calories stored as fat).
As you can imagine the more calories you burn from work or creating heat, the easier it is to lose weight and keep it off because there will be fewer “leftover” calories to store for later.
There are a couple of different ways to measure metabolic rate. One is the “resting metabolic rate” (RMR) which is how much energy your body uses when you’re not being physically active.
The other is the “total daily energy expenditure” (TDEE) which measures both the resting metabolic rate as well as the energy used for “work” (e.g. exercise) in a 24-hour period.
What affects your metabolism (or metabolic rate)?
Quite frankly, a lot!
The first thing you may think of is your thyroid. This gland at the front of your throat releases hormones to tell your body to “speed up” your metabolism. Of course, the more thyroid hormone there is, the faster everything in your body will work and the more calories you’ll burn.
But that’s not the only thing that affects your metabolic rate.
Your body size and structure counts too!
Larger people have higher metabolic rates; but your body composition is crucial!
As you can imagine, muscles that actively move and do work need more energy than fat does. So the more lean muscle mass you have, the more energy your body will burn and the higher your metabolic rate will be. Even when you’re not working out.
This is exactly why weight training is often recommended as a part of a weight loss program. Because you want muscles to be burning those calories for you.
However, when people lose weight their metabolic rate often slows down which you don’t want to happen. So it is very important to prevent that with more muscle mass.
Aerobic exercise also temporarily increases your metabolic rate. Your muscles are burning fuel to move so they’re doing “work”.
The type of food you eat also affects your metabolic rate!
Your body actually burns calories to absorb, digest, and metabolize your food. This is called the “thermic effect of food” (TEF).
You can use it to your advantage when you understand how your body metabolizes foods differently.
Fats, for example increase your TEF by 0-3%; carbs increase it by 5-10%, and protein increases it by 15-30%. By trading some of your fat or carbs for lean protein you can slightly increase your metabolic rate.
Another bonus of protein is that your muscles need it to grow. By working them out and feeding them what they need they will help you to lose weight and keep it off.
And don’t forget the mind-body connection. There is plenty of research that shows the influence that stress and sleep have on your metabolism (or your metabolic rate).
This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to metabolism and how so many different things can work to increase (or decrease) your metabolic rate.
* Try this new recipe for a lean (metabolism-boosting) protein!
Recipe (Lean Protein): Lemon Herb Roasted Chicken Breasts
Serves 4
2 lemons, sliced 1 tablespoon rosemary 1 tablespoon thyme 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 4 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless) dash salt & pepper 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive old
Preheat oven to 425 ℉. Layer ½ of the lemon slices on the bottom of a baking dish. Sprinkle with ½ of the herbs and ½ of the sliced garlic.
Place the chicken breasts on top and sprinkle salt & pepper. Place remaining lemon, herbs and garlic on top of the chicken. Drizzle with olive oil. Cover with a lid or foil.
Bake for 45 minutes until chicken is cooked. If you want the chicken to be a bit more “roasty” then remove the lid/foil and broil for another few minutes (watching carefully not to burn it).
Serve & enjoy!
Tip: You can add a leftover sliced chicken breast to your salad for lunch the next day!
References:
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-energy-balance https://authoritynutrition.com/10-ways-to-boost-metabolism/
About Dr. Roopa Chari, M.D.: "Dr. Roopa Chari is a medical doctor in Internal Medicine and her brother Deepak Chari is an Engineer and Certified Biofeedback Specialist at The Chari Center of Health, an advanced integrative medical center in Encinitas, CA. * Sign up for a FREE 15 minute holistic medical consult with Dr. Chari and/or a FREE 30 minute Stress & Anxiety Relief session with Advanced Voice Biofeedback with Deepak Chari here or call (760) 230-2711."