About metabolism

Options
13»

Replies

  • mortuseon
    mortuseon Posts: 579 Member
    Options
    Negative calories? hmmm so far as I know there is no such thing. Except very cold water which your body needs to "heat up" in order to process.

    This is technically true, but the burn is so ridiculously low that the effects are negligible. Wish someone had told 15-year-old me that before I ended up shivering for an entire evening after downing several litres of ice water...
  • Mischievous_Rascal
    Mischievous_Rascal Posts: 1,791 Member
    Options
    Your metabolism can change, if you eat less fat. If you eat a whole foods, plant based diet, low in fat, and heavy in carbohydrates, you can eat more calories overall.

    Oh no...
  • jonnyman41
    jonnyman41 Posts: 1,031 Member
    Options
    my hubby is thin (not skinny) has muscles, though not huge ones and eats like an absolute pig!!! in fact he is nick named piggy as he can eat that much but.... he is still thin. Yes there is some genetics in there but he also can't sit still ever, has a manual job and plays league squash 4-5 nights a week, not to mention the dog walks every morning and sometimes in the evening too. Good metabolism yes, his sisters and dad are all pretty slim too without the effort he puts into every day (though with less food too I expect) but certainly he is also very active in life too.
    I think he is hard wired to be active without forcing himself and that he is supported by a good fuel burning process in his body. I eat less than him, way less but I a fat and lazy too
  • Cheechos
    Cheechos Posts: 293
    Options
    I think that's a misconception with people that see skinny people eating alot. Unless they follow them around all the time, the appearance is that they are eating whatever they want and eating alot, when they don't.

    This is really important to remember. People who can put away a lot of food and don't gain are usually either A) very active in ways we don't see or B) actually eating far less than we think they are. There are also some people who wear the fat they gain in their bodies a different way (aka "skinny fat" folks) so that it doesn't show very much.
  • in_the_stars
    in_the_stars Posts: 1,395 Member
    Options
    Or maybe it's genetics?

    http://www.nature.com/news/new-contender-for-fat-gene-found-1.14863
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
    Options
    Back in my days as a student, I used to be one of the people who my friends saw in shock eat half a pizza, drink 3 beers and then top everything with 5 scoops of ice cream, and stay on the limit between underweight and normal. What they did not see, was me walking everywhere, so 2-3 hours per day, spend 2-4 hours in the gym per day, and this evening "feast", being 90% of my calories for the day. There is no such thing as an "awesome metabolism".
  • in_the_stars
    in_the_stars Posts: 1,395 Member
    Options
    Back in my days as a student, I used to be one of the people who my friends saw in shock eat half a pizza, drink 3 beers and then top everything with 5 scoops of ice cream, and stay on the limit between underweight and normal. What they did not see, was me walking everywhere, so 2-3 hours per day, spend 2-4 hours in the gym per day, and this evening "feast", being 90% of my calories for the day. There is no such thing as an "awesome metabolism".

    Then why can't I gain weight?
  • mortuseon
    mortuseon Posts: 579 Member
    Options
    Or maybe it's genetics?

    http://www.nature.com/news/new-contender-for-fat-gene-found-1.14863

    The presence of a 'fat gene' is always a bit of a dodgy statement - better to put it as a 'mutation that exists in some people that may contribute to appetite/weight gain' than a 'fat gene' because the latter statement implies that genetics is the sole contributing factor and overstates its importance in the general population.
  • Firehawk734
    Firehawk734 Posts: 132 Member
    Options
    You can gain weight, the simple matter is that you aren't eating enough. If you are having trouble with the quantity that you need to eat to gain weight, then you have to go away from quantity and go to quality. This means dense foods with fat in them. First thing that comes to mind, and most people usually love, is peanut butter.

    Throw 2 scoops of your favorite ice cream into a blender with some milk and a big glob of peanut butter. Bam, 1000 calories.

    It's easy to drink a lot of calories, by the way, so I'd suggest doing this if you truly are struggling to get your calories in.

    By the way, you need to do this EVERY DAY. If you're doing it 3 days a week but then on the other 4 saying "ugh, I can't eat this much"...then your net net going to be at maintenance levels at best.

    I wish I had this problem lol.

    Bottom line (and this is just my opinion), get your protein in from good quality meat/eggs, or whatever you use, get your fiber in from veggies (spinach is great), and i like kashi go lean high fiber cereal, get some good quality carbs in there like sweet potatos (and load butter and brown sugar on if you want), and then give yourself a big bowl of ice cream with chocolate syrup...EVERY DAY. You'll gain weight if you eat enough. It's physics.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,943 Member
    Options
    While more muscle mass will increase your calorie burn it's probably not as much as you think. The "skinny" people you see who seem to eat a lot and stay skinny are very likely moving a heck of a lot. My wife is like that, but she bounces around like a rubber ball. lol For most people, learning self control is critical.
    I so agree. If I don't go to the gym and do heavy weights three days a week and run 4-6 miles the other three days of the week, there is no way I'd be able to eat what I eat and not gain weight. It took a loss of 42 pounds and learning self control with both food and exercise before getting to this place. The gifts are that I no longer see food as good or bad and I've learned self control.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,943 Member
    Options
    Your metabolism can change, if you eat less fat. If you eat a whole foods, plant based diet, low in fat, and heavy in carbohydrates, you can eat more calories overall.
    This is not true.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,943 Member
    Options
    Build muscle and stay active.

    Even then your metabolism is only going to increase slightly.
    I think this is true, and that the problem is that when many of us were fat that we thought it was because our metabolism was slow. However, when I compare what life was like for me 42 pounds ago and now, I realize that I was eating WAY MORE than I thought I was because I didn't weigh or log food and I don't exercise as much or as intensely. Now I strive for accuracy.
  • SymphonynSonata
    SymphonynSonata Posts: 533 Member
    Options
    Back in my days as a student, I used to be one of the people who my friends saw in shock eat half a pizza, drink 3 beers and then top everything with 5 scoops of ice cream, and stay on the limit between underweight and normal. What they did not see, was me walking everywhere, so 2-3 hours per day, spend 2-4 hours in the gym per day, and this evening "feast", being 90% of my calories for the day. There is no such thing as an "awesome metabolism".

    Then why can't I gain weight?

    If you eat more calories than you burn but aren't gaining weight, maybe you have a tape worm. I'd go to the doctors to get checked just to be safe. Good luck!
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,943 Member
    Options
    my hubby can eat upwards of 2000 calories in one meal, i know because i plated it for him. he's 6'2", and 170 pounds of muscle. size 32" pants, same as he was in high school, and he's 43! he just never stops moving. he walks about 5 miles a day at work, plus the heavy lifting (he works in a grocery store)

    i keep warning him he's going to have to cut WAY back on the eating when he retires. LOL

    This is my brother. But, being the smart that man that he is, said the reason he doesn't gain weight is because he burns it all off with his activity.
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,650 Member
    Options
    Your metabolism can change, if you eat less fat. If you eat a whole foods, plant based diet, low in fat, and heavy in carbohydrates, you can eat more calories overall.


    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! This is oh so wrong!
  • rogerhartford
    rogerhartford Posts: 21
    Options
    Get a hard manual labor job
    Eat a lot and stay 'skinny'
    ?????????
    Profit

    I think that was the underpants gnomes...
  • jmv7117
    jmv7117 Posts: 891 Member
    Options
    Your metabolism can change, if you eat less fat. If you eat a whole foods, plant based diet, low in fat, and heavy in carbohydrates, you can eat more calories overall.

    Nutrition 101 FAIL
  • nespinosa3
    nespinosa3 Posts: 116
    Options
    This is just my opinion...I don't think it's possible to get to that point. My husband eats whatever he wants, gains weight very very very slowly, and he's not active at all. He has pretty good genetics (his family is pretty slim), he was involved in dancing all through school (I've found people who used to be athletes have a pretty good metabolism even years after), and he also has some good behaviors with food that most of us don't have. If he doesn't *love* something, he doesn't eat it, even if its' free and right there on his face. He almost never craves dessert. He doesn't binge, he just eats when he's hungry and until he's full. Sometimes if he gets really full for lunch, he'll have a super light dinner. They are lucky, but most of us are not that lucky. Me, I don't think with all the workouts and muscle in the world, I'll ever get to be that way. I just hope I can get to a maintenance state at some point :(
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
    Options
    Your metabolism can change, if you eat less fat. If you eat a whole foods, plant based diet, low in fat, and heavy in carbohydrates, you can eat more calories overall.

    I think what you mean to say is that you can get more bulk/food for your calories since fruits and vegetables are generally low. That doesn't mean you can have MORE calories, though. :-)
    Nope. I said what i meant, and meant what i said.

    So if I go raw I can eat 2,000 calories and lose weight instead of 1,500 calories? In other words, I can eat 20 bananas a day and lose weight with no extra exertion and not gain a single ounce? Are you sure? Are you positive? I can eat some banana/date/strawberry smoothies on top of my other 1,400 calories and not gain because the choice allows me more calories? I don't remember reading this in any books or watching it in any documentaries and I was a high raw vegan for many, many years!

    yes, a plant based diet contains a set number of negative calorie foods; hence, it is superior to all other diets…

    Wow this is stupid.

    it was sarcasm ….way to pick up on in it though...
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,650 Member
    Options
    I do believe that genetics plays a big part in the way each of our bodies metabolize certain foods. In my family of origin, Diabetes runs pretty rampant. Most of the members of my extended family are overweight. If you go to our family reunions, then you will see why. The tables are loaded with carbs and sugar. Not much green to be seen.

    But then I look at my ex. He was 5'7" and 125 lbs when I met him. His diet consisted of beer, pasta, and sugar. He had a fairly sedentary job and never exercised. After we married and he started eating real dinner instead of drinking it, he gained 20 lbs the first year.
    I, on the other hand, gained 20 lbs my first year of college, or rather Partying 101. Alcohol and sugar make me gain weight!:drinker:

Categories