Tidbit Tuesday – Metabolism
Hello,
Welcome to another Tidbit Tuesday where we aim to teach you something new about health, nutrition, lifestyle, training, and so much more, every week!
Today we are talking about METABOLISM and how it affects our body.
Have you ever been told you have a high or low metabolism? But, you're not really sure how that actually affects you?
When I was growing up it seemed like the kids with the "high metabolism" could eat whatever they wanted and they only kept growing taller, not wider.
And anyone with a "slow metabolism" would pack on the pounds much quicker.
But, is our "metabolism" really to blame?
Metabolism is the chemical processes that occur within a living organism in order to maintain life.
Your metabolism has 3 main purposes:
1) The conversion of food to energy to run cellular processes.
2) The conversion of food/fuel to building blocks for proteins, lipids (fat), nucleic acids, and some carbohydrates.
3) The elimination of metabolic wastes.
The reactions can either be "catabolic" - the breaking down of compounds to release energy; or "anabolic" - the building up of compounds, which consumes energy.
Knowing a little more about metabolism, this tells us that someone with a "higher metabolism" will burn MORE energy because their body is constantly turning over chemical reactions.
Our bodies are a cornucopia of chemical reactions happening all the time. Whether we are up and moving about or at rest.
Our BRAIN alone uses about 1/5 of our total energy, and our LIVER uses even more!!
The energy we expend at rest is called our "Basal Metabolic Rate" or BMR.
BMR affects the rate that a person burns calories and ultimately whether that individual maintains, gains, or loses weight.
The basal metabolic rate accounts for about 60% to 75% of the daily calorie expenditure by individuals.
Meaning 60% to 75% of our total daily burned calories are actually burned at rest!
BMR is influenced by several factors and typically declines by 1–2% per decade after age 20.
Maintaining muscle mass as we age has been proven to slow the decline of our BMR.
Essentially making it easier to stay lean and healthy as we age.
Stay physically & mentally active to maintain your YOUTH!
But what happens to our metabolism during stressors such as during exercise, getting stuck in traffic, or in a fight?
Something to note about the body’s reaction to stress, our physiological response to stress today is the same physiological response that our ancestors had hundreds of years ago.
How does this affect our metabolism?
Basically, when you experience stress your body doesn’t know the difference between getting cut off in traffic while sitting in a safe car or running for our life while being chased down by a lion.
Our physiology reacts the same!
You see, stress activates the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) which releases epinephrine and norepinephrine, both of which speed up your heart rate, respiration rate, and redirect blood flow to arouse the brain and prepare the muscles and heart for a “fight or flight” response.
All of the stress-linked changes in the SNS mobilize the body's energy stores in order to allow a rapid response that favors survival under acute threatening situations. However, modern life stressors are typically chronic, including financial worries, work problems, family responsibilities or health concerns.
In this context, the stress response is not beneficial but rather becomes harmful, predisposing individuals to visceral obesity and cardio-metabolic disease, a leading cause of death worldwide.
So, knowing what we know about energy use, metabolism, the importance of maintaining lean mass and the effects of stress on our health. It shows that our longevity is dependent on our daily routine, our perception of everyday stressors and how we manage our chronic stress in life.
Build a routine of daily practices that get you up and moving every day, eating a variety of minimally processed foods, and just building an appreciation for our daily challenges and struggles. They are what make us who we are after all.
Check out this link for 10 ways to naturally boost your metabolism!
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-ways-to-boost-metabolism#TOC_TITLE_HDR_11
Happy Metabolizing!
Coach Sean
