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Metabolism 101: Firing It Up!

By Kevin Hensel

Lots of people are complaining about how slow their metabolism is and will tell you why they need to start taking the latest diet supplement, yet they don't even understand how the human metabolism works. I need to go into some of the fundamentals of metabolism before I can even begin to tell you how to speed yours up. So what is metabolism? Scientifically there are many ways for me to explain it. Many experts make the definition very tough to understand, but I won't complicate things for you. I'm going to give you my extremely simple and easy to understand definition. Metabolism is the rate at which your body burns calories to sustain life.

It should also be brought to your attention that your body burns calories 24 hours a day regardless of whether or not you workout. Did you know that? This means that your metabolism is always working, whether it is working at a slow rate or fast rate. Your body needs energy all the time remember, even while you're asleep and that is why skipping meals is the absolute worst thing you can do if your goal is to lose weight. Now, before we go any further let's talk about what affects metabolism.

If you are like most people you probably think that activity levels, age and your thyroid have the biggest impact on your metabolism? This is why most people have a poor understanding of metabolism. It is true that activity levels, thyroid function, and age do affect metabolism but not nearly as much as muscle tissue! The more muscle you have the more calories you burn regardless of how active you are, how old you are, etc. It's live tissue and it's there working for you and burning calories 24 hours a day; each and every day! For each additional pound of muscle you add to your body you will burn an additional 50 calories per day, simply at rest. With the proper training program you can add 10 additional pounds of lean muscle to your frame in about a year's time. At this point you will burn an additional 500 calories per day just at rest. That means you will be burning 1 lb of fat every single week just while your body is at rest! You could be reading the newspaper, reading this article, watching television or sitting down talking to a friend and you will still be burning calories at a fast rate! And don't worry about gaining weight by adding some lean muscle to your body because the extra muscle will help burn up so much fat that you will drop those extra pounds of fat and still lose weight!

Here's a list of some of the factors affecting metabolism in order of greatest impact to least:

I frequently hear people say "as soon as you hit 30 your metabolism slows down"! You've probably heard people say it too and maybe you've even said it. I know I hear it all the time and I got tired of hearing it so I did a little research and found that the metabolism does NOT slow down significantly due to aging but DOES due to a lack of muscle. The fact of the matter is that you don't lose muscle quickly due to aging either but due to a decrease or lack of physical activity.

What I've found through my research is that there are three major causes for a slower metabolism:

  1. You lose muscle due to the lack of physical activity. (A sedentary lifestyle)
  2. Your body cannibalizes muscle when it needs energy but you won't supply enough energy to the body because you are "dieting" and skipping meals. (Body starts using muscle as fuel)
  3. Your activity levels tend to decrease as you age.

Ok, so we have discussed the problem but what is the solution? We need to address those 3 issues!! I've found through years of experience helping numerous people, that increasing your metabolism and getting rid of excess body fat can often times be easier than you think! Yet you'll hear of all these experts telling you how hard it is and why you need to buy their new diet program, supplement, or fitness contraption. Most of them are just trying to get you to buy something that you don't need. It doesn't have to be confusing, and you really don't need any of that stuff! The main tool that you need is an understanding of how your body works and the willingness to make some small changes.

There are 3 steps you need to follow to speed up your metabolism:

Step 1 - Stop the storage of new fat

If you're just going to add new fat later that day it doesn't make any sense to start an exercise program. This is a common error that people who start an exercise program often commit. They start to exercise but then they go back eating the same harmful foods that made them overweight before. That is a recipe for disaster.

Did you know that we don't get fat simply due to a lack of exercise? We get fat because we supply the body with more calories than it needs at a given time. The solution is more about your eating and caloric intake than it is about exercise. I'm not telling that you have to eat a low-fat, super clean and healthy diet consisting of salad and tofu only. We all know how boring that is. You can still eat the foods you like IF you can give the body just the AMOUNT it needs.

The key is to give the body the energy it needs, but just that amount and not a bunch of extra useless calories. The reality is that anything can be stored as fat. Salad can be stored as fat, apples, broccoli, skim milk, etc. It's a numbers game. If you consume more calories than you burn you will gain weight. If you burn more calories than you consume you will lose weight. You can forget about trying to burn off any fat unless you can first stop storing new fat! In review, you do that by matching your eating to your activity level. This means small, balanced meals or snacks every 2-3 hours and the amount of calories in each feeding should depend on how active you are at that time of day. The more active you are the more calories you will need at that point in the day.

You want your snacks to be as well balanced as your meals. This means proportioning your calories. Shoot for 160-200 calorie snack intervals. Some great examples include:

Your eating is all about timing. I advise eating a breakfast of at least 400 calories, followed by a mid-morning snack, lunch, an afternoon snack, and dinner. The goal is to shoot for 5-6 well balanced snacks/meals per day. If this seems impossible for you to do, start out by just adding one additional snack/meal per week until you are able to reach the goal of 5-6. When your activity levels increase you will notice yourself needing to eat more frequently anyway. If you have a habit of "working through" your snack or meal times, I recommend that you set a timer on your watch or computer to remind you that it's time to eat. It is vital that you do not skip meals. When you eat erratically it signals the body to burn slower and conserve fat. In fact, when you skip meals, your body thinks it is starving itself and will try to conserve calories. In addition, your body will turn to use muscle for fuel if there is nothing left to burn. We don't want this because remember we said that muscle helps to speed up our metabolism!

Eating throughout the day jump starts your metabolism and tells your stomach to keep on working! Eat a carbohydrate rich snack 1.5 to 2 hours before your workout for peak performance. Also be sure to eat a snack or meal within 1 hour after your workout for the best benefits. This post-workout meal should be high in protein and complex carbohydrates. A protein shake along with an apple or a low-fat turkey sandwich on rye bread are both great choices.

I also want to inform you that there are some delicious whole grain cereals now available. Watch out for the cereals that say "contains Whole Grain" in large letters. Most of those are only 10% whole grain! "Whole" should be one of the first words in the ingredient list. Also look at the fiber content. Goodfriends, Kashi (Might Bites and Honey Puffed), and the Great Grains lines are all great choices. In addition, drink plenty of water. Shoot for 8-8 oz. glasses per day. This will help offset hunger. Please note that if you feel thirsty your body is already dehydrated and needs more water so make sure you drink an ample amount.

I also recommend that you consume a good amount of lean protein which will produce a satiating effect. In English, this means that it makes you feel full and when you feel full you are able to avoid those nagging hunger cravings that all too often lead to "pigging out". Some foods to avoid include foods high in sugar, saturated fats, and foods low in fiber. Recommended foods include: whole grains, vegetables, fruits, beans and legumes, fresh herbs and spices. These food choices provide the proteins, carbohydrates and fats that give you energy and even blood sugar levels. Healthy fats (olive oil, avocado, fish oils, seeds, nuts, soybeans) promote longer-lasting, stable energy levels. Lean proteins (fish, soy foods, white meat poultry, lean meats and low-fat dairy) offer essential proteins for better digestion and muscle building

Step 2 - Attack the existing fat

In order to accomplish this you need to establish stable blood sugar/energy levels, and progressive cardiovascular/aerobic exercise and strength training.

Earlier we talked about how important stable blood sugar and energy levels are and how to match your eating to your activity level. Let's talk about the exercise part of the equation now. In order for the exercise to even be worthwhile you must be sure it's progressive. Just because you go on the elliptical for 40 minutes three times a week, doesn't mean your body has to burn off that unwanted body fat! You have to force the body to make changes and improvements and the ONLY way to do that is to consistently provide a stimulus or stress that is greater than what the body is used to. If you keep on doing the same things every workout your body will continue to look the same way. In order for the body to change you will need to continually change your workouts and challenge your body beyond what it is used to.

Here are some general guidelines on how you can make your exercise progressive and productive:

Strength training

Cardiovascular training

For more specific techniques call me at or visit the other weight loss articles on our website.

I should also say that it is extremely important that you have a well thought out and detailed plan to follow. You can't just say "ok, now I know what to do" and then try a little of this here and little of that there. Many people try that and it just does not work. If you are serious about achieving your weight loss and fitness goals I highly recommend you get the help of a professional. Whether that means one on one, personal fitness training, or just a do-it-yourself fitness plan, your chances of success are much greater. When I need something fixed on my car I go to the mechanic. When I need some fresh workouts I go to a personal trainer. I could try to fix my car on my own but it would be a big hassle to figure it out so I will let the experts take care of it. You will find that working with a trainer will help educate, motivate, and assist you in reaching your goals faster than you would on your own.

In conclusion, please remember, it doesn't have to be confusing. I hope this information has shown you how easy it can be if you know what you are doing. If you have any questions or would like to learn more about how you can guarantee your fitness success, please give me a call at . While you're at my website be sure to sign up for my free email newsletter, FitTips Newsletter, it's full of great articles, tips, healthy recipes, contests, and more!

About the Author:

Kevin Hensel is a certified personal trainer and performance enhancement specialist located in Cherry Hill, NJ. For the past 11 years he has helped hundreds of clients achieve their weight loss goals at his personal training studio called Fit-4-Life, Inc.