Fire Up Your Metabolism

Fire Up Your Metabolism
by author David Lige, BHK

How many of us have declared that we are going to "lose weight and get in shape"? To make healthy changes in our lives, we take out a new membership at the local gym, only to fall back on old habits once the novelty wears off.

Starving yourself or going on a low calorie diet is not the answer either for lasting weight loss. Plus, if you do not provide your body with adequate fuel, you won’t have the energy to take advantage of that gym membership–and will also be making yourself vulnerable to disease.

Burn, Baby, Burn

Metabolism is simply the process of utilizing the food we ingest for energy, tissue repair and development. Think of your metabolism as you would a fire. When you go to start a fire, you do not simply throw a big log down and hold a match to it. It would take forever to burn. Instead, you start by using some paper and small pieces of kindling. Together with the paper, the kindling starts a small flame and more heat is generated. When the flame gets larger, you add larger pieces of wood until the fire is blazing hot.

Now, compare your metabolism to the fire. When you have not eaten for a long period, your metabolism will be burning at a low heat. What you want to do is start with a smaller portion, to generate heat, and gradually add to that heat. This is why nutritionists are suggesting that we eat more frequently throughout the day, but consume smaller portions. People often tell me they do not understand why they cannot lose weight. They say they do not actually eat that much, but continue to gain. Upon further review, we often discover the person eats very little throughout the day, but has a large meal at dinner. This is like trying to start a fire with a large log and a match. There may be a slow burn, but that log will take a long time to burn, if it ever burns at all!

If you continued to try and light fires like this, your fire pit would be full of large unburned logs. Remember, when your body does not burn off the food you ingest, the excess energy is stored as fat. Ideally, if you can eat every two to four hours, and only eat until you feel content, you can generate a greater metabolic response. In addition, you will increase your energy levels because you are providing regular and consistent fuel for your system.

Fuelling Your Metabolism

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David Lige has a degree in human kinetics from the University of British Columbia. He has worked as a kinesiologist for years and currently works as a fitness consultant and personal motivational coach. Email: davelige@smartt.com.

Source: alive #244, February 2003

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