Nutrition
Metabolic Myths and Truths that you must know about
Shannon Clark explains precisely how fat loss occurs and what myths surround the rate at which one burns calories daily..
It is no secret that your metabolic rate is highly tied to the type of success you see with your weight loss plan. After all, experiencing rapid fat loss will require you to create a calorie deficit in the body, where you burn off more calories than you take in through your daily food intake.
Your metabolic rate, which means how many calories you burn at rest to survive, represents the most significant part of your daily calorie expenditure. By elevating this as high as possible, you can burn calories much faster and see more substantial weight loss. But sadly, there are a few central metabolic myths that circulate. Let us take a quick look at what you need to know.
Overweight people have a naturally slow metabolism
Have you ever heard someone who is overweight say they have a slow metabolism? The problem is that it is not so much that they naturally have a slow metabolism, but more that the way they eat and the lack of exercise they do have promoted their metabolism to run slowly.
With the right changes to their workout and diet plan, everyone can boost their metabolic rate again to run more efficiently.
Consuming cold beverages will help you lose weight
Another statement about metabolism is that drinking cold water will cause the body to expend more energy. While it is true that you will burn a few more calories to bring that water to body temperature, do not get your hopes up too high that if you down eight glasses of ice water per day, you will shed fat faster than ever.
While you get that slight calorie burn, it is nothing to write home about. However, you will get better hydration levels, which have an even more significant impact on your metabolism. Therefore, keep up your water intake, but understand the primary reasons for doing so.
There are negative-calorie foods
One commonly held belief is that there are harmful calorie foods that you can eat that will cause you to burn off more calories than you take in. While there is no question that there are very low-calorie foods, the fact is that you will never burn more calories digesting a portion of food than what you take in.
You may burn off so many that the total 'net' calorie intake is virtually negligible (think celery and cucumbers), but you will not burn off more calories through digestion. Eating these ultra-low-calorie foods is a wise idea, however, as it can speed up the rate of fat loss due to hunger control.
Protein boosts the metabolic rate
Finally, the last issue regarding the metabolism you need to get squared away is the notion that protein-rich foods spike the metabolic rate. This idea is entirely accurate! If you want to burn more calories daily, take in more protein. While you will not net a negative calorie balance from these foods as we just outlined above, the body does burn off more calories digesting these foods than it does digest fat or carbs, so for that reason, a higher protein diet can undoubtedly aid the weight loss process.
So, there are some crucial facts that you must know about the metabolic rate. If you can get these facts straight in your mind, you can tell facts from fiction when seeing success in your weight loss diet plan.
Finally
One of the biggest problems I see today is poorly functioning metabolisms due to years of very low-calorie dieting and the wrong types of nutrients coming in regularly. By changing the diets of many clients I have worked with, we have been able to increase their rate of fat loss and get them to see the results they desire. Managing your metabolism and maximising it to your potential will be critical to achieving lasting weight loss success.
Page Reference
If you quote information from this page in your work, then the reference for this page is:
- CLARK, S. (2010) Metabolic Myths and Truths that you must know about [WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/articles/article067.htm [Accessed
About the Author
Shannon Clark is a certified personal trainer with a degree in Exercise Science. For the past nine years, she has been writing about health and fitness on numerous websites and helping others achieve their fat loss goals both online and in person.