Tips, Techniques, and Strategies for Boosting Your Metabolism

Tips, Techniques, and Strategies for Boosting Your Metabolism

If you’re reading this book, chances are that you’ve tried – at least once in your life – to boost your metabolism.

Perhaps (like most of us) you weren’t quite certain what a metabolism was, and perhaps (again, like most of us) you probably didn’t quite know all that you needed to know in order to accomplish your goals.

Maybe you started a rigorous exercise program of jogging and muscle toning.

Or maybe you started eating several small portions a day, rather than three large traditional meal-sized portions.

Or maybe you started taking all kinds of supplements that promised to boost your metabolism.

The thing is, is that all of these methods can indeed work.

Really: exercise, eating strategically, and ensuring that your body has catabolism-friendly supplements are but three of many generally good ideas.

So what’s the problem?

Stress and Metabolism

Stress and Metabolism

Remember: while relaxing is good advice for anyone, it’s important for you to note that stress negatively influences metabolism. So there is a link between how much stress you experience and your ability to break down cells and lose weight.

So if you don’t want to relax because you don’t have the time, then you should realize that your stressed-out life is probably playing a role in your weight gain/your inability to lose weight.

Metabolism – Anabolism and Catabolism

Metabolism – Anabolism and Catabolism

The first function is creating tissue and cells. Each moment, our bodies are creating more cells to replace dead or dysfunctional cells.

For example, if you cut your finger, your body (if it’s functioning properly) will begin – without even wasting a moment or asking your permission –the process of creating skin cells to clot the blood and start the healing process. This creation process is indeed a metabolic response, and is called anabolism.

On the other hand, there is the exact opposite activity taking place in other parts of the body. Instead of building cells and tissue through metabolism, the body is breaking down energy so that the body can do what it’s supposed to do.

For example, as you aerobically exercise, your body temperature rises as your heart beat increases and remains with a certain range.

As this happens, your body requires more oxygen; and as such, your breathing increases as you intake more H2O. All of this, as you can imagine, requires additional energy.

After all, if your body couldn’t adjust to this enhanced requirement for oxygen (both taking it in and getting rid of it in the form of carbon dioxide), you would collapse!

Presuming, of course, that you aren’t overdoing it, your body will instead begin converting food (e.g. calories) into energy. And this process, as you know, is a metabolic process, and is called catabolism.

So as you can see, the metabolism is a constant process that takes care of two seemingly opposite function: anabolism that uses energy to create cells, and catabolism that breaks down cells to create energy.

Indeed, it’s in this way that the metabolism earns its reputation as a harmonizer. It brings together these apparently conflicting functions, and does so in an optimal way that enables the body to create cells as needed, and break them down, again as needed.

Menstruation and Metabolism

Menstruation and Metabolism

There’s Something GOOD About This Time of the Month!?

Now here’s a strange one that is for the ladies, only.
Studies have demonstrated that the 2-week period prior to the onset of PMS is one in which fat burning capacity is at a premium.
This is ironic indeed; because that’s usually the period in which women don’t want to workout; because their body and its emotional computer are preparing for PMS.

However, studies in Australia have shown that women were able to burn off as much as 30% more fat in the 2 weeks preceding PMS.

The reason for this, researchers argue, is because this is when the female body’s production of estrogen and progesterone are at their highest.

Since these hormones tell the body to use fat as a source of energy, exercising during this time can really pay off. The body will be inclined to target fat cells for catabolism.

Becoming a Metabolism Jet

Becoming a Metabolism Jet

But over time, say a month or so, your body will simply become more efficient. It will have become stronger, and will be able to supply your energy needs much more efficiently; you may not even break a sweat!

What’s happened here is that your health has improved; your body has to work less hard to provide you with your energy needs.

Ironically, this can actually obscure your metabolism-boosting efforts; because, as you know, you want to tell your body to start the catabolism process. But if your body is efficiently working, it won’t really dig into its reserves (e.g. fat cells) in order to provide you with the energy that you need.

So the trick is to keep variety in your workouts. Many people choose to cross-train for this very reason. It not only targets different muscle groups, but it keeps your body from finding a groove whereby it tried to help you by slowing down metabolism.

Remember: your body doesn’t read books like this; it doesn’t need to, and it doesn’t care.

It has no clue that a speedier metabolism is “good” or “bad”. Now, as far as you and I are concerned, we know that a speedy metabolism is a good thing in our weight loss efforts.

But your body doesn’t make this evaluation. And so it won’t turn on its metabolism jets because you want it to.