"It's my metabolism!" Sound familiar? If you're carrying some extra pounds (and having a hard time losing them), it's tempting to put the blame on a sluggish metabolism. It is the star word in the weight loss circuits. But what is it?
What is metabolism?
Our bodies get the energy they need from food through metabolism. In simple terms, metabolism is the process in which your body breaks down the nutrients in food to produce energy. It is a constant process that begins when we're conceived and ends when we die.
What is metabolic rate?
The metabolic rate (per minute or per hour) is the rate at which your body can breakdown food to energy which can be used to perform day to day activities like digestion, cell repair, breathing etc.
How is it calculated?
Earlier it was completely based on Basal metabolic rate (BMR). BMR is a measure of the rate at which a person's body "burns" energy, in the form of calories, while at rest. But there were many flaws like while calculating BMR the surface area is also taken into consideration, as a result obese people with very large surface area end up scoring a high BMR! So till now the most accurate method of knowing the metabolic rate is to take a group of readings which include the BMR, the fat percentage, the body mass index, waist to hip ratio, and height weight.
How does it affect Me?
It influences how easily your body can gain or lose weight. Some people can consume a lot of calories and yet stay slim while others put on weight even looking at their friends eating. This is because some have a faster metabolism rate while others have a slower one. Thus if someone is born with a tendency to gain weight, he/she has to eat right and be active to stay in shape. Every time this rule is broken, the weight will come bouncing back!
A lot of it also depends on your body constitution. According to Ayurveda, people who gain weight are of 3 kinds:
- The kapha constitution: They are slow metabolizers and are super efficient in storing fat.
- The pitta-kapha constitution: They have a very unbalanced metabolism. They over-eat in anger and frustration.
- The vata-kapha constitution: they over-eat sweets or consume a lot of alcohol in order to calm anxiety.
If I have a slow metabolic rate, can I do something about it?
Metabolic rate is something we inherit at birth and according to the current studies, it can only be slightly changed. Here are some tips for people with low burning capacity to stay in shape:
-
Start the day with warm water with 10 drops of lime juice.
-
Avoid, at all costs, starvation as this signals the body to get into famine mode, as a result of which the body holds fat very effectively.
-
Avoid eating foods which do not need the body to work hard at breaking/metabolizing them like white bread, nan, sooji, sugar, alcohol, white pasta and potato chips. In fact these foods are the real culprits in making the metabolism very lazy. Foods with a lot of fiber are required to be broken down slowly, as a result a lot of energy is used up in the digestion process making it low calorie automatically.
-
Eat food at the time when it can be burned off very well (i.e. the peak time of metabolic cycle) - which is 9 am to 6 pm; everything eaten after that will be stored as fat.
-
Include herbs and spices in your diet which help the metabolism to be effective. Herbs like tulsi, neem, karela, jamun, cinnamon (dalchini), black pepper (kali mirch), laung etc are very good for this process.
-
Do not drink very chilled water with meals as it lowers the digestive enzymes efficiency.
-
Avoid exercising sporadically and excessively. It is better to combine brisk walks with stretching and flexibility exercises lifelong.
Myths about metabolism
-
Exercising heavily raises metabolism: The high intensity of exercises does not necessarily convert to a high metabolism; the duration is more important.
-
Eating metabolic supplements will increase the metabolism: Most of these supplements contain a stimulant (caffeine, ephedrine etc which are not good for weak hearts or hypertension), vitamins and minerals (including chromium which may better the insulin response). These may improve the metabolism provided the diet one is eating is conducive to weight loss. Guzzling fizzy drinks after all these fancy foods will bring everything to level 0.
-
Exercising sporadically will raise the metabolism permanently: Certainly not true. Exercise raises the metabolism as long as you are doing it.
-
I can eat what ever I want because I am working out: Not true, a heavy diet coupled with exercises may end up making you more like a sumo wrestler.
The bottom line is that you want to make strong, healthy, positive changes rather than punishing your body and your spirit with starvation. Your goal is the sleek healthy body of a naturally lean person who can enjoy what they eat. You want to avoid at all costs the frail sagging body of a chronic dieter who has to measure every morsel!
