Metabolism Myths

Metabolism is a complex, chemical process by which your body converts all that you consume into the energy it needs to function every day. Calories are the way that we measure this energy. Metabolism is basically the rate at which the body burns calories. There’s plenty of information out there about speeding up metabolism and not all of it is true. Metabolism has always been a topic of debate among both men and women. Metabolism can be affected by many things such as what you eat, how much you workout, the kind of exercises you do and so on. It is believed that some people have fast metabolism while some have slow metabolism. People with a fast metabolism burn calories quickly and people with a slow metabolism are not able to get rid of as many calories because they need less fuel to keep their body running. Here are three common metabolism myths that you need to stop believing so you can finally achieve your weight loss goals. Myth 1: Eating before bed will lead to fat gain The first metabolic myth that many people fall for is that foods eaten before bed will automatically turn to body fat. The truth is that it’s the total calorie intake over the course of the day that determines whether a food will turn to body fat or not. It is not about what time you eat, but what you eat that matters. If the meal that you eat late at night consists of healthy food, then you don’t need to worry about anything. Eating protein before bedtime can help you sleep well and gain muscle mass. Myth 2: Green tea boosts your metabolism Green tea has often been called a natural metabolism-boosting drink. There are many food fads that claim to help you boost your metabolism and ultimately lose weight: green tea and chilli peppers are two great examples. Studies have shown, in fact, that drinking green tea can slightly increase the metabolic rate. But this increase isn’t substantial enough to offset the consumption of extra calories. Myth 3: You have no control over your metabolism Body composition is a critical factor in determining your metabolism. As your body composition changes, so does your metabolism. A few ways to change your metabolism include lifting weights helps build muscle, which is more metabolically active than fat, getting enough sleep, drinking water and decreasing stress through relaxation techniques. Myth 4: Metabolism is the same for men or women, no matter their ages Men have more lean muscle than women and also have larger organs than women, which means that while at rest, men are burning more calories than women are. The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn at rest.” On average, men have nearly 10 percent higher BMR than women. Men maintain muscle density longer than women, and so as a woman’s BMR declines (starting in her 40s) a man’s metabolism won’t slow until he’s at least a decade older. Myth 5: Metabolism is genetic and cannot be changed Yes metabolism is genetic. Some people metabolize food very quickly whereas others are quite slow. Whether the metabolism is slow or fat is determined by the basal metabolic rate or BMR, which is the number of calories a person burns at rest. Even at rest the body’s organs function, digestion occurs, cells grow and die and for all this to happen you need energy. People with a low BMR will tend to burn fewer calories at rest whereas one with a high BMR will burn more. When you increase muscles you will raise the body’s BMR. Weight training is one way to do so. Even aerobic activity will help the body burn calories. All this will help increase BMR.