Metabolism question...Need answers
llWishfulShrinkingll
Posts: 49 Member
So I tried asking a number of people this question and they keep trying to tell me how to increase my metabolism which is not what I want to. I really don't know how to word the question in order for people to understand what I am saying. Maybe it's common sense question and I can't seem to comprehend. Anyway,
My Question:
They say in order to increase your metabolism you should eat more, smaller meals throughout the day.
If a person were to literally eat lettuce all day long would that still have the same effect, increasing the metabolism. Since there isn't much calories at all.
Like is it the actual CALORIES that speed up the metabolism or is it the consuming of food.
I hope that made sense lol
My Question:
They say in order to increase your metabolism you should eat more, smaller meals throughout the day.
If a person were to literally eat lettuce all day long would that still have the same effect, increasing the metabolism. Since there isn't much calories at all.
Like is it the actual CALORIES that speed up the metabolism or is it the consuming of food.
I hope that made sense lol
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Replies
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There isn't any actual science (as in peer reviewed articles in legitimate journals of enlightenment) the supports the brosci/myth that multiple meals throughout the day increases metabolism.
What it does do is increase feedings, and amount of time spent feeding. Which in turn increases the chances of overfeeding.0 -
The affect of eating many small meals is minimal. The calories are what counts so eating lettuce would not give you enough calories which would make your body burn more muscle tissue for energy which would actually decrease metabolism. I think this answers your question.0
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Not sure who told you that you could "increase your metabolism" via meal timing but as stated there is nothing to back that up.0
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It's the combination of both. You can eat 1 cup of lettuce every hour, all day and still not be eating more than your BMR. You should not eat below your BMR, not every day anyway. That will mess up your metabolism. To "cure" your metabolism, you should eat above your BMR and eat at least 3 meals a day.0
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Chasing "increased metabolism" will lead you to either chase your own tail (which might burn some extra calories), or chase down a rabbit hole of junk science, fad diets, useless supplements, etc.
It's mainly a fool's errand and is just a distraction from focusing on the important things-- diet and exercise.0 -
Thanks for the answers. I am not trying to eat lettuce all day I enjoy my food very much. That was really an example. I was reading and it had me thinking.0
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It's the combination of both. You can eat 1 cup of lettuce every hour, all day and still not be eating more than your BMR. You should not eat below your BMR, not every day anyway. That will mess up your metabolism. To "cure" your metabolism, you should eat above your BMR and eat at least 3 meals a day.
Based on what scientific studies?
WHAT MAGIC IS THIS?!0 -
It's the combination of both. You can eat 1 cup of lettuce every hour, all day and still not be eating more than your BMR. You should not eat below your BMR, not every day anyway. That will mess up your metabolism. To "cure" your metabolism, you should eat above your BMR and eat at least 3 meals a day.
Based on what scientific studies?
WHAT MAGIC IS THIS?!
It's not magic. It's common sense. You should not eat below your BMR. I think most would agree with that.0 -
Thanks for the answers. I am not trying to eat lettuce all day I enjoy my food very much. That was really an example. I was reading and it had me thinking.
See, here's the thing. People who are not the weight they want to be are easy targets for marketers and misinformers. The quest for knowledge is holy, but damn, you need to know that before you embark on believing anything, it has to be BASED IN SCIENCE AND OR REALITY.
Build up a healthy dose of skepticism for anything related to health/weight/body, and it will serve you well. Gain a base understanding of how to decipher sciencese into layman's terms, and it will be even better for you. After all that, if you read something that sounds good, make sure it's from a source who isn't trying to sell you something. If they're trying to make a sale, 9 times out of 10, they're lying to you, or at least willfully obfuscating the truth.0 -
It's the combination of both. You can eat 1 cup of lettuce every hour, all day and still not be eating more than your BMR. You should not eat below your BMR, not every day anyway. That will mess up your metabolism. To "cure" your metabolism, you should eat above your BMR and eat at least 3 meals a day.
Nope.
I mean, I agree with not eating under your BMR but that is more for being able to meet your bodies needs.
But you can eat 1 meal or 10 meals and it won't have any differences in metabolic rate.0 -
Not entirely. If a female is 5'4" 250lbs and her BMR was 1925 with a TDEE of 2800, eating at 1800 (1000 calorie deficit) would be fine.It's the combination of both. You can eat 1 cup of lettuce every hour, all day and still not be eating more than your BMR. You should not eat below your BMR, not every day anyway. That will mess up your metabolism. To "cure" your metabolism, you should eat above your BMR and eat at least 3 meals a day.
Based on what scientific studies?
WHAT MAGIC IS THIS?!
It's not magic. It's common sense. You should not eat below your BMR. I think most would agree with that.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
And OP, you DO want to increase your metabolic rate.............................just not with eating (gaining weight). Increase it by physical activity.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
It's not magic. It's common sense. You should not eat below your BMR. I think most would agree with that.
You're perpetuating a common misunderstanding/myth. Eating under your BMR is not, in and of itself, significant. What most people don't seem to grasp is that your body can pull energy from your fat stores to make up the caloric deficit you're running - if you're under TDEE, it still burns your TDEE in calories per day but gets the remaining calories from your fat stores. If you're under your BMR, your body still gets the remaining calories from your fat stores. It's exactly the same. There's simply nothing significant about your BMR as a threshold.
Where you run into problems is if your deficit grows so large that your body cannot pull enough energy from your fat stores to make up the difference. However, unless your body fat is in the single digits, that number is no where near your BMR.0 -
It's the combination of both. You can eat 1 cup of lettuce every hour, all day and still not be eating more than your BMR. You should not eat below your BMR, not every day anyway. That will mess up your metabolism. To "cure" your metabolism, you should eat above your BMR and eat at least 3 meals a day.
Based on what scientific studies?
WHAT MAGIC IS THIS?!
It's not magic. It's common sense. You should not eat below your BMR. I think most would agree with that.
BACK IT UP WITH PROOF.
Seriously, you should be able to do that for every "fact" you promote.
You're also speaking in ambiguous generalities, and I think most would agree with that. All I want people to do is think a little before keyboard bukkake.0 -
And OP, you DO want to increase your metabolic rate.............................just not with eating (gaining weight). Increase it by physical activity.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
an hour and 15 min is about all i can handle! lol but I am working on it0 -
And OP, you DO want to increase your metabolic rate.............................just not with eating (gaining weight). Increase it by physical activity.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
an hour and 15 min is about all i can handle! lol but I am working on it
An hour and 15 min of exercise per day is plenty. You really shouldn't be worried about metabolism provided you are eating a reasonable amount of calories per day and exercising.0 -
I don't see why it is better to have a fast metabolism. From what I can tell, it seems that a faster metabolism means you can eat more, but that your cells age quicker.. I'm okay with eating less.0
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Gaining lean muscle increases metabolism. And yes while there's a study that correlates faster metabolic rates and lower age at death, the study didn't take into effect some of the other variables (risk behavior, environmental risk, and genetics) into account.I don't see why it is better to have a fast metabolism. From what I can tell, it seems that a faster metabolism means you can eat more, but that your cells age quicker.. I'm okay with eating less.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
I don't see why it is better to have a fast metabolism. From what I can tell, it seems that a faster metabolism means you can eat more, but that your cells age quicker.. I'm okay with eating less.
OK, I'm happy to hear that. Perhaps that's why everyone thinks I look young, or I just have an immature sense of humour.0 -
I think the idea behind multiple meals is that it can help keep sugar/insulin levels more level/constant. So, for those that are particularly prone to having their sugar level drop quickly, which triggers hunger and then overeating to satisfy that hunger, smaller more constant meals can help mitigate that.
But, it seems to really come down to personal preference -- some prefer many smaller meals and some prefer fewer larger meals. I haven't seen anything where the metabolism itself is increased or decreased from just that.0
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