Part 18 - You and Your Metabolism
This month we're helping to put an end to the days of being a junk food junkie with some succulent St Christopher's supplements. For July's feature James takes you on a crash course tour of your metabolism, so that you can get into that bikini and wear your swim shorts, without the mortifying muffin tops.
Healthy Living - You and Your Metabolism
Story Highlights
- Beach Bodies
- The Science
- What Your Body Needs
- Crash Course Diets
- Top Trainer Tips
Beach Bodies
Now that summer is officially here everyone should be stripping off and revelling in the summer festivals and the BBQs. However you guys should be careful not to make the same mistake you did last year - overdoing it in the colder months only to sweat and worry as warm weather and the beach season approaches. This year make a definite plan to stay fit all year round with another cool tool from me. This month's weight loss and fitness tool is learning how to understand your metabolism.
The Science
Our metabolism is the biochemical process of combining nutrients with oxygen to release the energy our body needs to function. This is typically measured in calories. Our total metabolic rate represents the calories needed to maintain bodily functions, daily activity (occupational and lifestyle) and the energy cost of exercise.
The main reason people are overweight is because their basal metabolic rate (BMR) is lower than it should be. BMR is the rate at which your body burns calories to perform its normal functions such as breathing, working, thinking and watching Big Brother. This means that they burn fewer calories during a 24 hour period. Obviously over a period of time this can add up to stored fat.
FACT FILE: A surplus of 3,500 calories will typically lead to storage of 5kg of fat and a deficit of the same amount should result in a loss of the same amount.
What Your Body Needs
This input and output seems simple but sadly we can't just eat a minimum of food and lose all the weight we want. If that were the case the world's gyms and my personal training career, would be history. In reality your body needs a minimum of 1500 to 2000 calories a day to perform its normal functions. When it doesn't get its daily requirement it slows down the metabolic rate. Thousands of years of genetics tell the body that it's not getting enough calories to live normally and so the body will start slowing down all functions to save calories. This means that many bodily processes slow down - including the rate of digestion, circulation and breathing.
Crash Course Diets
By drastically reducing your caloric intake you are working against the natural rhythm of your body. This is the reason why people normally see all the weight and more return, when they stop a crash diet. The body starts storing calories for a future self-induced famine. This is the yo-yo effect of dieting.
When they stop a crash diet, the body starts storing calories for a future self-induced famine
With our body and that new bikini seemingly not willing to co-operate, what's the best approach to take? A good plan of attack would consist of a modest decrease of 300-400 calories below your daily energy requirement (for both basic functions and exercise), coupled with a few tricks of the personal training trade and a little exercise.
The tactics I often suggest to my clients include:
• Never skip breakfast. Always eat breakfast! (It's so important I'll say it twice). Skipping breakfast sends the message to your body that you are starving because you haven't had food in 18+ hours (dinner the night before to lunch the following day). As a protective mechanism, your metabolism slows down. Also, try to eat every 3-4 hours as eating erratically tells the body to burn slower and conserve fat. We also burn calories eating.
Top Trainer Tips
The tactics I often suggest to my clients include:
• Never skip breakfast. Always eat breakfast! (It's so important I'll say it twice). Skipping breakfast sends the message to your body that you are starving because you haven't had food in 18+ hours (dinner the night before to lunch the following day). As a protective mechanism, your metabolism slows down. Also, try to eat every 3-4 hours as eating erratically tells the body to burn slower and conserve fat. We also burn calories eating.
Never skip breakfast. Always eat breakfast! (It's so important I'll say it twice).
• Pick up something heavy or challenging. Muscle is active tissue which requires more energy. The more muscle you can build, the higher your metabolism will be - both at rest and during work. Plus you'll get a bonus boost after resistance training, which lasts up to 48 hours after your session.
Once you have adopted these suggestions your metabolism should be burning red hot. This will help you and your backpack, fit in nicely on any beach in the world.
If there are any topics on health, nutrition and fitness that you would like to see addressed or if you have any questions, please contact me at Healthy.Living@St-Christophers.co.uk.
James McDonald
NB. James is a St Christopher's Manager and a fully certified personal trainer working in Edinburgh. He can be reached for any questions on nutrition, health and fitness or for personal training consultations. Check out his website at www.FireInsideFitness.com.
Once you have adopted these suggestions your metabolism should be burning red hot. This will help you and your backpack, fit in nicely on any beach in the world.
If there are any topics on health, nutrition and fitness that you would like to see addressed or if you have any questions, please contact me at Healthy.Living@St-Christophers.co.uk.
James McDonald
NB. James is a St Christopher's Manager and a fully certified personal trainer working in Edinburgh. He can be reached for any questions on nutrition, health and fitness or for personal training consultations. Check out his website at www.FireInsideFitness.com.
