Your metabolism IS your health

“I wish I had your metabolism.”

“I just need to speed up my metabolism.”

“If I eat a bunch of small meals throughout the day, I’ll have a faster metabolism.”

Have you ever heard or even said something like this? When it comes to metabolism we equate everything to how fast we can burn fat off our waist.

Unfortunately, there’s a lot more to it than that.

Metabolism is more than just the fuel-burning process. Our metabolism is actually ALL our bodily processes. It is what all of our biological functions do in order for us to live.

Metabolism is the process of using the nutrients in our bodies to sustain life. In order to do that our bodies manage two overall processes that encompass a whole bunch of stuff.

• Catabolism — the breakdown of molecules to obtain energy
• Anabolism — the synthesis of all compounds needed by the cells to function

We are machines. We need fuel (fat/carbs). Our bodies break down what we eat to provide that fuel.

The other thing that we need is for our machinery to function properly. What we eat also provides the building blocks (protein) to ensure that each piece of our clockwork is working like it’s supposed to.

Think about it this way. We’re either tearing things apart to use them as fuel or we’re putting things together so the machine (our bodies) can be more effective at tearing things apart to be used as fuel…..

See the circular effect here?

When we talk about speeding up our metabolism, we aren’t really talking about fuel burn. We are talking about increasing the efficiency of how our body functions. This could mean more fat burn, it could also mean faster recovery from strenuous activity or less inflammation due to stress relief on a particular system in the body. The potential benefits of improving your metabolism go far beyond plain old fat loss.

What can you do to improve your metabolism?

• Eat whole foods and cut out the crap. The more extra work your body has to do to get nutrients out of the food you eat, the less efficient it can be at running itself.
• Significantly reduce carbs. This is simple, the more carbs you eat the more work your body has to do to get anything out of them. Carbs add stress and make your body work harder than it needs to.
• Exercise. Give your body a reason to be more efficient. If you sit around all day and don’t make your body demand performance, what do you think is gonna happen?
• Sleep. Give your body time to work and repair. Sleep and recovery are the times where progress is made in healing and strength.

Fitness is the physical representation of how well your body functions. The more fitness you have, the better your body functions, the more healthy you are.

How to tell if your metabolism is improving…

• Fat loss
• Fewer aches and pains
• Shorter recovery time
• Strength gains
• Reduced bowel issues
• Skin conditions may go away
• Better sleep
• Reduction in auto-immune symptoms
• Reduced symptoms of insulin resistance
• Healthier arteries
• Lower blood pressure
• Lower heart rate

Go ahead and speed up your metabolism. I dare you!