Metabolism. There isn’t perhaps a more frequently used word in the weight loss (and weight gain) vocabulary than this. Indeed, it’s not uncommon to overhear people talking about their struggles – or triumphs – over the holiday bulge or love handles in terms of whether their metabolism is working, or not. Doctors, too, often refer to metabolism when they try and explain why starvation and water-loss diets aren’t scientifically of medically responsible; since they do not influence or take into account metabolism (there’s that word again!). So, for all of the usage that this rather daunting and biologically charged word enjoys in our world, you’d comfortably assume that people understand it, right? Or, at least, they have some fundamental information when it comes to how to speed up their metabolism, right?
Wrong!
Regrettably, many people simply don’t understand the concept of
metabolism and metabolic change. This is hardly their fault. There is so much information floating around out there, much of it over the ‘net or through a “friend of a friend who has a personal trainer”, that there’s bound to be some confusion and conflicting messages.
Furthermore, many people (quite understandably) mistake their
own weight gain and loss episodes as a matter of metabolic change.
Sometimes this is true, and sometimes it isn’t. For example, there are scientific ways to increase the rate of metabolic change, and thus enable the body to burn more calories. Eating certain foods more frequently is one way to do this. Yet another way to visibly lose weight – at least on a perceived, temporary level – is to sit in a
steam room for a few hours. Whereas the former method (eating the right foods) is a real, proven weight loss method through increased metabolic change, the latter method (the steam room) is just temporary because the lost weight is merely water, and will return as swiftly as it “melted away”.
The point to remember here is that some people mistake their own
weight loss attempts as being related to metabolic change; and, as
you can see with the steam room example, that isn’t always the
case.
Another big reason that people don’t have clear, consistent
information on this topic is because, unfortunately, there are a lot
of food and supplement companies on the market who don’t want
you to know fact from fiction. They want you to believe that constantly buying “low fat” foods is going to somehow speed up your metabolism. While, yes, some low fat foods can play a role in an overall eating program that is designed to speed up metabolism, merely eating foods that come from packaging that screams “LOW FAT!” won’t do anything.
In fact, believe it or not, but many people actually gain weight
when they eat too many “low fat” products. Many of these
products are laden with calories from carbohydrates or proteins
(which are still calories and still must be burned off or they turn
into body fat).
As you can see, and probably feel from years of trying to unravel
this whole metabolic mystery, this is a confusing, stressful, and
indeed, potentially depressing situation. Each year, tens of millions of people attempt to retake control over their health and the shape of their body; and each year, tens of millions of people feel that they’ve “failed” because, try as they might, they just can’t speed up their metabolism.
It is important to note that becoming aware of your metabolism and starting to educate yourself about your own metabolism is simply an add-on to your exercise, nutrition and healthy, active lifestyle. However taking the time and effort will result in smarter and more aware choices when it comes to food.
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Jun 2, 2009 
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health, Supplements, Weight Loss
