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Loading...6 Ways to Maximize Your Metabolism
- Megan, selected from Experience Life
- November 28, 2009
- 11:12 am
- 53 comments
By Victoria Freeman, Ph. Experience Life
Unless you’re one of those rare folks blessed by the fast-metabolism gods, you’d probably like to burn a few more calories than you do both while at work and at rest. The question is: How?
Metabolism is a mysterious animal, one affected by genetic factors as well as a complex interaction of lifestyle, nutrition and exercise habits. It’s worth understanding, though, because with a well-honed metabolism you can bolster your fat-burning and fitness-training regimens in remarkable ways. And a sluggish metabolism can blunt your most valiant weight-loss efforts.
Interested in optimizing your body’s fat-burning, energy-producing machinery? Start by learning just a little about how your metabolism works. Then take note of the key builders and busters that can work for or against your metabolism in powerful ways.
What Is Metabolism?
In fitness circles, “metabolism” is often used interchangeably with “metabolic rate” to refer to the number of calories you burn in maintaining body functions and fueling your activities. But there’s more to metabolism than just calorie burning. Metabolism also encompasses chemical and physical reactions occurring in every one of your body’s tissues from using proteins for muscle-building (called anabolism) to breaking down food into the proteins, fats and carbs that your body uses to fuel itself (called catabolism). You need both processes to develop strength and stamina and to build resistance to aging and disease.
What benefits one aspect of metabolism generally benefits the others, says Paul Chek, holistic health practitioner and founder of the Corrective Holistic Exercise Kinesiology (C.H.E.K) Institute in Vista, Calif. (www.chekinstitute.com). “Metabolism is like a spider web,” he explains. “You can’t pull on one part of the web without affecting the others.”
Nutrition, exercise and other lifestyle factors, like sleep and stress, can all go a long way toward building or busting your metabolism. But keep in mind that many diseases, including thyroid disorders and diabetes, can interfere with metabolic processes. Talk to your doctor about ruling out such medical conditions if you suspect you might be affected by one, and do not significantly alter your exercise or nutrition program without consulting a health professional.
Metabolism Builders and Busters
In each of the three following categories fitness, nutrition and lifestyle we’ve highlighted the top two habits that can either shore up your metabolism or break it down. Metabolism “builders” boost caloric burn, promote anabolic growth or encourage the use of fat as a fuel source. “Busters,” conversely, slow the rate at which your body burns calories and fat or they create excessive catabolic tissue breakdown, thus hindering fitness progress and, in some cases, contributing to injury or disease.
Next: Six ways to build your metabolism and six ways to bust it!
Read more: Diet & Nutrition, Eating for Health, Fitness, General Health, Health, Mental Wellness, Diet & Nutrition, Healthy Lifestyle, metabolism
Megan, selected from Experience Life
Experience Life magazine is an award-winning health and fitness publication that aims to empower people to live their best, most authentic lives, and challenges the conventions of hype, gimmicks and superficiality in favor of a discerning, whole-person perspective. Visit experiencelife.com to learn more and to sign up for the Experience Life newsletter, or to subscribe to the print or digital version.
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may
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Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.
people are talking
Reinforces my intake of Flaxseed every day!
Thanks for sharing, a friend of mine recently made the fourth one for me!
It concerns me how many viewers think this is cute and how many aren't aware of what different meows…
A very kind direction :-)
53 comments
+ add your ownThis really is one of the best intros on the subject I have ever read. I have been doing a lot of research and have read through hundreds of posts. I will definitely have to keep coming back for more great info. muscle building
I have to make myself drink more water.
Interesting, thanks.
thank you for sharing
Thank you for the article. Good to know.
Thank you for the article. Good to know.
Most I knew. Thanks for sharing!
I've found a Peanut Butter sandwich on double fiber bread to be my best post-workout snack. Holds me well, and the protein helps out!
The best way to get a better, more powerful metabolism is to practice everyday minimum 1 hour by using the whole body, simple fitness exercises r not enough. Try to imply all the G-ratios (efficieny factors) like training of speed, strain, energy, staying power. This is the best combination accompanied by good nutrition ful meals and so on and so on...but the tips above r also very good ^^
Thanks
In Builder 1 you talk about doing aerobic exercises in five zones. What are the zones, how do I find them and how much time should I spend in each one?
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