Metabolism, is it movable?

Mountain_woman

Okay folks, I'd like to hear some thoughts on metabolism. Is it actually possible to change your metabolism or are we just victims of genetics? And if it IS possible to positively effect one's metabolism, how and for how long really? I know exercise boosts your fat burning ability for a finite period of time, but is there REALLY any other way?

wan2b21

Yes and no.. Exercise is great for boosting your metabolism but if its only cardio its only really raised while you are exercising. If you want to be burning more calories during all the other times of the day you need to build more muscle. Muscle burns more fat even while at rest and thus raises your metabolism. Thermogenics also are said to raise it.

"Studies have estimated that for each pound of muscle that you add to your body, you burn an additional 35 to 50 calories per day. So, an extra 10 pounds of muscle will burn approximately 350 to 500 calories a day, or an extra pound of fat every 7 to 10 days, without making any other changes. In another study, researchers found that regular weight training boosts basal metabolic rate by about 15%. This is because muscle is 'metabolically active ' and burns more calories than other body tissue even when you're not moving."
-http://www.shapefit.com/exercise-questions-pound-muscle-burn-calories.html

mimivillaruel

been wondering about this, too. thanks for posting this.

and thanks wan2b21 for the info.

ResilientWoman

From wearing a BodyBugg, tracking food for over 19 months and being measured from head to toe monthly by my coach, it is my personal conclusion that metabolism is powerfully affected by hormones, intake and training style. Training without Kettlebells, for example, my hypothyroidism downshifts my metabolism to almost nothing. Eating a carb heavy diet also reduces my metabolic rate. Lifting Kettlebells, however, drives my metabolism through the roof and holds it higher longer than any other style of strength training or cardio that I've tried. There have been studies on the Tabata protocol, for example, that you can Google that confirm my personal mileage with training techniques. :glasses:

Newfiedan

From wearing a BodyBugg, tracking food for over 19 months and being measured from head to toe monthly by my coach, it is my personal conclusion that metabolism is powerfully affected by hormones, intake and training style. Training without Kettlebells, for example, my hypothyroidism downshifts my metabolism to almost nothing. Eating a carb heavy diet also reduces my metabolic rate. Lifting Kettlebells, however, drives my metabolism through the roof and holds it higher longer than any other style of strength training or cardio that I've tried. There have been studies on the Tabata protocol, for example, that you can Google that confirm my personal mileage with training techniques. :glasses:

You hit the nail on the head great post.

MzBug

It is possible, but not exactly easy. I have a history (years!) of meal skipping, or not eatting for a day at a time. My life was very stressful and when I get stressed out I don't eat. I would get busy doing something and just forget to eat, or just not have the time at work to stop and eat. I was working 10-16 hours a day, by the time I got home all I wanted to do was sleep. My body quit telling me it was hungry. With the help of my doctor, a nutritionist and a dietician I got on a regular eatting cycle. I had to set a timer to remind me to eat. I had to gradually increase my caloric intake to the recommended 1200 per day. I did gain a few pounds initially, but then it started to come off once my body realized that it was going to be fed regularly. It took about 4 months for my body to tell me that it was hungry and I needed to eat. I will set the timer occasionally now when I know I have a super busy day or I slip back into old habits and skip meals.... then I have to start all over again.

willis31

Yes it is possible to increase your metabolism. One way of doing this is to increase the FREQUENCY in which you eat. This does NOT mean you have to eat more food than you normally do. It is suggested that you should eat around 6-7 small meals a day, spaced about 2-3 hours apart from each other. And "meal" doesn't necessarily mean a full blown meal. An example of this would be: Breakfast, small snack, lunch, small snack, dinner, small snack, etc. Snack can be a salad, some almonds or nuts, fruit or a protein shake.

This is just a scenario I'm throwing out there but the principles apply to everyone: Say you are on a 2000 calorie diet and currently you only eat 3 times a day. If you spread those 2000 calories out over 6 meals instead of 3, you are going to increase your metabolism. Eating more frequent keeps your body in an anabolic state which causes you to keep burning calories rather than storing them.