We are all looking for the magic bullet. The right combination of foods, the miracle supplement, the simple, quick and easy road to a slimmer physique. But your body is as unique as you are, and the chances of finding a formula for weight loss that works for everyone is ... slim. But, you can rev up your metabolism, make better food choices and make lifestyle changes that will help you slim down over time.
Metabolism 101
The Medical News defines metabolism as "the set of chemical reactions that occur in living organisms to maintain life". Another way to look at it is as the sum total of activity that goes on in your body throughout the day. In order for metabolism to occur, it needs fuel and other elements that are provided through diet. When more fuel is provided than is called for by metabolism, the body stores it away in fat cells for emergency use. No point in wasting perfectly good fuel!
Using Fat for Fuel
Once fat is stored, it must be metabolized, or recruited for fuel, when there is a demand. The demand arises when caloric intake is insufficient to meet metabolic needs or when glucose stores in the body become depleted during prolonged physical activity. However, metabolism is smart, and can slow down to accommodate caloric deficits and maintain balance. Like a miser, metabolism does not like to withdraw fuel from savings. Only when forced to speed up or when the body is severely deprived will stored fat cells be called upon.
Speeding Up Metabolism
Depriving your body of food will have the end result of making your metabolism even more efficient at hanging on to fat stores. Because the digestive system uses energy to break down foods, when you eat, you are actually revving up your metabolism. This is known as the thermic effect of food. Eating breakfast wakes up your metabolism after a long night's fast. Eating small meals throughout the day keeps the motor running. The foods with the best thermic effect on metabolism are those that break down slowly in the digestive system, such as whole natural produce. Processed foods and sugar break down quickly, causing an insulin spike that triggers a fat storage response.
Metabolism Boosting Strategies
According to the Mayo Clinic, your basal metabolism burns up to 75 percent of your daily calories, with the rest consumed by physical activity. Physical activities that burn fat for fuel and build muscle will increase your basal metabolism. Muscle is metabolically active, meaning that there is activity going on in muscle cells all day long. The more muscle you have, the more metabolic activity. Resistance training combined with prolonged rhythmic exercise such as running or walking, will tap into fat stores for fuel once glycogen, the storage form of sugar, becomes depleted in the liver. Eating a diet of complex carbohydrates such as fresh whole fruits and vegetables and lean unprocessed protein will rev up your metabolism and diminish fat stores.
The Real Magic Bullet
Combining daily exercise with a diet of whole, natural food is the most effective way to metabolize fat. It won't happen overnight, but the results will be easy to maintain, especially if you stick to your new nutrition and activity regimen. Drinking lots of water will aid digestion, help eliminate toxic by-products of metabolism and facilitate muscle anabolism. Drink at least half your body weight in ounces each day of plain, filtered water.
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