Fuel Up and Fire Up

For the average person, a detailed metabolic rate analysis and the related discussions about increasing metabolism are much ado about nothing. I’m sorry to report that metabolism, which is your body’s system for using energy, isn’t highly controllable.

It’s important if you have metabolic malfunctions due to hypo- or hyper thyroidism, that you get them leveled out with your doctor. Your endocrine system may be compromised for reasons such as disease or other health conditions. They have ways to bring you back to the normal range. Usually, through medication.

Other than that, we have genetics to thank for our basic metabolic potential. Some people’s engines do run faster than others, it’s true. And you can, through nutrition, eating style and exercise, manipulate your metabolic rate a little bit. But you might be surprised at how little. A few percentage points really, that’s about all you can increase it.

Now, you can slow your metabolism pretty effectively, because that is a survival mechanism for our species. You can last a surprisingly long time being malnourished--starving even--because your body adjusts to help you slow down on fuel burning. Food is fuel, so if you’re not getting enough, your metabolism decreases to protect you from…well…starving to death.

This is the reason why very low calorie diets or super-restricted eating habits don’t do people any good in the long run. If you’re going to start eating normally again, you’ve got some ‘splainin’ to do to your body, which has gone to some trouble and recalibrated itself for less intake, and therefore less energy burning. It doesn’t get all excited about adjusting back up again, especially over several rounds of this during a lifetime.

Working for efficiency, your body begins to recognize this pattern, and then expects you might need it to slow down again, so it adapts. It doesn’t get your rate up quite as high, maybe. When you do gain weight back, it keeps a little extra padding, to (again) protect you for the next era in which you won’t be having enough to eat. Yo-Yo dieters will recognize this as the “Egad, now I weigh even more than I did before I started the diet!” effect.

So, like I said, for the average person, most time spent on metabolic issues (other than medical ones) is more trouble than it’s worth. Why complicate things? Keep your metabolism in check with a simple approach using an engine analogy.

Pick One Thing: Your Metabolism

Fuel up. Food is fuel, in the form of calories. Calories are units of energy. They come in a few different formulas and levels of quality, though. If you use high quality fuel most of the time, you’ll be able to keep your engine running at peak performance. Oh, and do start your day ready. Eat a wholesome, light breakfast within an hour of waking. Every day.

Start her up. You’ve got the gas, go for a ride. An active lifestyle (that’s more than many Americans lead, just to warn you) is enough to burn the right amount of quality fuel in most bodies. In other words, if you eat right, and you move a lot, your body will be happy and find a healthy weight to set itself at.

Fire up. Back to active lifestyle: If you drive most places, sit or stand at your job most of the time, and don’t exercise for about an hour almost every day…you don’t lead an active lifestyle. That’s a sedentary lifestyle. So fire up and get moving to help your metabolism find its way to right where it should be. You should sweat and/or feel your heart pumping for at least a half hour, 3 – 4 times per week. Or that engine will gunk up. Get a little muscle, too. It helps.

Keep your tank half full. Just like your vehicle, it’s bad to run out of gas or to even be low on gas in certain conditions. Although, overfilling your tank doesn’t do any good, now does it? But while gas from the pump would spill out on the ground, overfilling your body presents another problem…see, you have extra storage inside you, in the form of adipose tissue (fatty, and ready for more). Eating something healthy every 3 – 4 hours will usually do the trick.

Don’t forget the lube job. Hydrate with fluids to keep your body running smooth. No need to be overbearing with water consumption if it doesn’t suit you. Milk, tea, juice, and even fruits and vegetables, all count toward your fluid intake. Mix it up if you like, but keep a third eye on the calories. Remember, food is energy in the form of calories. You are going to use a certain amount up. The rest of the calories will be stored….because that’s the beauty of the system!

On Choosing Fuel
Do you need to count calories? Maybe just for understanding, but probably not for long. However it does benefit everyone to do a service check every once in a while. For example, your body might be perfectly balanced and at the right body weight, but a closer look could reveal many of your calories are coming with a lot of cholesterol…or salt….or sugar attached. Not the best fuel choices for everyday eating for the long term.

You can take a peek inside your energy system, by using this nice program for free over at LIVESTRONG.com. It’s called The Daily Plate. Track your foods in an online food journal, make up meals with thousands of ingredients to choose from, and enter your activities to determine if you’ve got the right fuel-to-burn ratio.

Others, who want a more immeidate view of what they are burning, can simply choose to wear a good quality heart rate monitor watch that has a calories burned feature.

Anything more than that is like driving down the wrong alley. You thought metabolism was a short cut, but really, staying on the main road (Eatwell Stayactive Ave.) will get you there safe and sound in no time.