Let's talk about "metabolism".

BusyRaeNOTBusty

What is it really?

Is it the speed of digestion?

Your TDEE (the amount of calories your burn during the day including all activities)?

Your BMR (the amount of calories you'd burn if you were in a coma)?

How does one have a "high" or "low" metabolism?


I propose that it's a pretty meaning less word and that we should stop using it. What to increase your TDEE? Be more active. What to increase your BMR? That's hard to do, just increase your TDEE and don't worry about it.

mfpcopine

My layperson's understanding is that "metabolism" is used to describe a number of complex chemical processes in the body that influence how it processes and uses fuel.. No doubt Wikipedia has a decent basic description. It's not meaningless if you actually have an accurate way of measuring your metabolic processes. That usually requires being tested in a lab or gym. For most people, that would be impractical or prohibitively expensive.

Chief_Rocka

What is it really?

Is it the speed of digestion?

Your TDEE (the amount of calories your burn during the day including all activities)?

Your BMR (the amount of calories you'd burn if you were in a coma)?

How does one have a "high" or "low" metabolism?


I propose that it's a pretty meaning less word and that we should stop using it. What to increase your TDEE? Be more active. What to increase your BMR? That's hard to do, just increase your TDEE and don't worry about it.

Generally speaking, metabolism refers to a the series of chemical processes needed to sustain life. Your BMR is the amount of calories needed for basic bodily functions, which is nearly the same thing as RMR, the amount of calories you burn at rest.

TDEE = Total Daily Energy Expenditure...I'm really not sure how anyone gets confused about this term, it's about as self-explanatory as it gets.

On to the more interesting stuff, BMR is mostly about how much you weigh, a bigger body takes more fuel to function. Yes, muscle is a bit more metabolically expensive than fat, but the difference isn't as large as people make it out to be.

When you see people that "eat a lot and don't gain weight," it's not really about having a "high metabolism," it's about their NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis). They burn a lot of calories because they don't sit still for long, and even when they are sitting still, they're not really "still."

The last point I'll make is that your RMR will decrease in response to diet and exercise, which will at least partially rob you of your previous caloric deficit. If you're losing any significant amount of weight, you'll need to either reduce calories or increase activity to reestablish a caloric deficit. You can minimize this by maintaining a moderate deficit and taking breaks from your diet. One of the reasons that starting out at 1200 calories is a bad idea is that once your RMR catches up, reestablishing a deficit comes with significant risks, so the only reasonable thing to do is to increase calories for an extended period of time to bring the RMR back up before resuming the deficit. This can be a long process that most people aren't ready to handle, so your best bet is to not go there in the first place, unless or until you absolutely have to.

lewcompton

I propose that it's a pretty meaning less word and that we should stop using it. What to increase your TDEE? Be more active. What to increase your BMR? That's hard to do, just increase your TDEE and don't worry about it.
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Could not agree more... its about making sure that you consume less than what you burn... Things suggested to increase metabolism may or may not work... eating less calories and moving more is able to be measured and changed on a day to day basis.

BusyRaeNOTBusty

I guess my point is that when people say "I want to increase my 'metabolism'" what they should be saying is "I want to increase my TDEE".

cuarrech

TDEE, including BMR. I'm convinced base metabolism can shift. I used to have a temp of 96, now it's a bit higher, been 98 a couple times. The only change has been eating more, and doing so consistently. When my temp was lower, which I correlated with eating less, I had less energy, and I did not feel energetic enough to exercise consistently, and gained weight with temporarily increased calories (aka, "I screwed up today, may as well just eat whatever"). I did gain weight initially when I increased healthier calories consistently, but now it's falling off again. I also no longer have the reactive desire to binge from restriction, and I'm feeling more energetic and willing to exercise. But the temperature is the thing that gives me the proof my metabolism has shifted. It simply takes less calories to produce 96 than it does to produce 98, and it takes more calories to keep veins and capillaries in fingers and toes open and losing heat than it does to shut them off (producing what used to be typical for me - icy digits).
Personal story, not science, but compelling enough for me.

FitBeto

Close enough

Chief_Rocka

I guess my point is that when people say "I want to increase my 'metabolism'" what they should be saying is "I want to increase my TDEE".

What I hear when people say this is "I want to burn more calories without having to actually do anything." Hence the appeal of green coffee extract, etc.

mmapags

I guess my point is that when people say "I want to increase my 'metabolism'" what they should be saying is "I want to increase my TDEE".

What I hear when people say this is "I want to burn more calories without having to actually do anything." Hence the appeal of green coffee extract, etc.

Bingo! Two awesome posts Fire_Rock!