Friday, 04 May 2012
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It's Not Me... It's My Metabolism!
Metabolism gets blamed for everything. Last time I check it was our metabolisms fault that we went to war in Afghanistan. Our metabolisms have become the modern day scapegoat for anything not going our way, and especially why we can't lose "those last few pounds."
Who hasn't heard it?
Girl 1 to Girl 2: "Oh my God, I'm skinny ‘cos my metabolism is as fast as a jaguar."
Girl 2 to Girl 1: "Oh, mine is a turtle. That's why I'm kind of fat."
Girl 1 to Girl 2: "Oh babe, that's such a shame." (Secretly laughing on the inside and simultaneously experiencing "metabolism superiority.")
But both girls are wrong. Blaming our metabolism for not reaching desired weight goals is a lazy way to live, as well as scientifically incorrect. Our metabolism can be manipulated through diet and exercise, but at the end of the day they aren't the last word when it comes to weight loss. It sucks but it's true: the only reason I don't have my dream body is because I'm just a little bit indiscipline with the cookie jar.
Metabolism is the process the body uses to convert food to fuel, through a series of chemical and hormonal process. The speed of metabolism is unique to an individual, and inherited to an extent. Given that it's inheritable now is the perfect excuse to let your mom have it. I've always blamed my dad for my slightly large quad muscles. Now I can blame him for my tummy too.
But you have to stop blaming the parents at some point. Throwing junk in the engine is the cause of weight gain, not the engine itself. Those who think they have a "turtle" can still me slim: as long as they eat well. Our body is a finely tuned machine. Excess calories with minimal calories will weigh it down: in the form of 10 pounds of extra "cushion." Even jaguars that eat 10 cakes a day will get caught at some point by a healthy eating turtle.
People who are a bit overweight have a huge advantage if they are trying to lose weight through exercise. People with higher body weights burn more calories than a tiny gym bunny doing identical workouts. So while you might not look as good in the gym leggings today, you'll be looking banging soon, as long as you keep the running up.
So how do you get the engine running? Muscle burns calories faster than fat and adding weight training to daily workouts will increase muscle mass over time. Even after a strength workout the body has to work harder to maintain muscle mass because muscles are biologically hungrier than fat. So if you've been pumping iron in the gym and 6 hours later you're hungrier than a hippo take it as a fact that your muscles are munching away on your body, and you need more food.
What's in your diet is important too. As moms have been preaching for generations, breakfast really is the most important meal of the day when it comes to kicking metabolism into gear. And no one needs to be told that vegetables, lean meat like chicken and water are the things you should be eating.
So don't put all of life's failures on metabolism: he's only a minor natural body process. Eating healthily and exercising regularly are sure-fire ways to lose weight, and be happy.
What do you think? Do you blame your metabolism when it's just not his fault?
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About the Author
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- From: Iona
- Name: Iona
- About Me: One of my favorite health quotes is, If you don't look after your body, where are you going to live? I'm a college athlete, and most days it feels like I play field hockey for a living. I've always loved running, but I've got into weight lifting over the last 2 years. Muscles aren't just something for men! As Nike would say: Just do it!
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Comments (51)
You must be a doctor with this brilliant little write up. Metabolism does count, especially when it comes to hormonal issues such as thyroid problems among others. Yes, exercise and diet are primary - but people with hormone issues will not lose weight as fast as people without. No idea why this pissed me off so much, I guess I am tired of snotty little self proclaimed experts finding ways to make other people feel bad about themselves.
I don't think the author is trying to make people feel bad about themselves. they're saying even if your metabolism is slow, you can manipulate it, and they're offering a tip to do just that.
Considering 63% of American adults are obese (source: WebMD, google "percent of obese Americans"), it is very hard to believe that same 68% are all obese from glandular problems and hormone imbalances.
The fact is, as technology makes our lives more convenient, we exercise less in normal activity. For the majority in the modern world, we're no longer beating our clothes on rocks/rubbing them on wash boards to clean them, we do not harvest our own food out in a field, dishes aren't done by hand, we make food from a box instead of by scratch, we ingest more sugar (and HFCS) than decades ago, we drive down the block instead of biking or walking, we sit at desks all day moving mice and whipping our fingers across a keyboard... There are less opportunities in daily life for our bodies to metabolize the food we ingest in a proper balance to maintain our natural weight.
I applaud the author for trying to make more people aware of ways to work toward a healthy weight against a problem many have resigned themselves to being beyond their control entirely.
@BoulderChristina@xanga - true about the thyroid thing! either high or low
I didn't know my metabolism was male.
@Elfkid@xanga - My apologies about being so bitchy, no idea what came over me. Must be hormones.
And yes, Americans are overweight. Tell me one overweight person who doesn't know they should eat more natural foods or run an extra mile or two? It's no secret how we gain and lose weight, and everyone at this point knows it. I guess what upsets me is that overweight people are the most openly persecuted people in the states and everyone thinks it's open season on them. They are fat so they must be lazy, in denial, have motivational issues. I think awareness has been raised already. If people really want to help they should get off their lazy asses and volunteer for Girls on the Run or other active groups that teach our kids to be more active. I guess we are all too busy raising awareness on Xanga though.Signing off now, I can't seem to quit being bitchy.
It is true that some people have very high metabolisms. My best friend growing up was tiny, and she ate tons of junk and hardly exercised. If her metabolism had been normal, by rights she would have looked very unhealthy.
My current coworker is the same way. She's a size zero, and she drinks regular coke and eats Snickers bars every single day.
Both of these people put a lot of junk into their engine, and they still looked extremely thin. It's the way their metabolisms worked.
That doesn't mean someone with a slow metabolism can't amp it up. I've done it. But it is harder for some than others, and that is based on genetics. There's no getting around it. Personally, I don't believe we were all meant to be extremely thin. I think some people look better at and are meant to be a higher weight than others (healthy, not obese).
This is proof that whoever writes this crap is a moron.
@BoulderChristina@xanga - i agree with you completely. i'm really tired of all the fat policing and bullying.
I get a little irritated with the metabolism excuse. I have an under active thyroid and have for five years. I'm in a healthy weight range because I watch what I eat and I work out. I used to work with two sisters who had under active thyroids and they told me there was no way I had one, too. They were bigger girls. On break they'd eat a bunch of junk food. So yeah, it's nice to blame something, but there's always ways around it. I'm by no means a health nut. I consume more In-n-Out than I should, but I live by the burning off more calories than you take in. I haven't gained any weight since I was 14 and I'm 22 now. I also haven't lost any, but I'm happy with my weight and the way I work to keep it.
People do not always 'blame' someone, they sometimes just give an explanation. Weight loss is harder for some than for others.
I smell bullshit. My bf eats SHIT LOADS and he's lovely and lean and always has been. Whereas if I ate that amount I'd be as fat as a pie.
Lower metabolism is a huge disadvantage, but not impossible to deal with. It comes into play a lot when you're a little kid and you don't know better than to eat twice as much food as you need (that was my eating habit until halfway through middle school). But people get older and wiser, so they can overcome it.
But it DOES put a huge damper on one's motivation. So hard to get up and put those running shoes on when all you want to do is lay back and watch TV because that's how your body functions. (Not to mention TV time = snack time for many.)
@sunflowersforlove@xanga - Awesome that you have it in such good control. Great comment.
@chadwilly@xanga - No one said there weren't differences in metabolism. Just that we have more control over it than some of us think.
i understand that some women truly have a hormone problem that makes it hard to lose weight.
but it's not impossible.
along with the breakfast thing you're supposed to eat 5 small meals a day to keep your metabolism running. i eat breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner. you can do what you want but this has helped me tremendously. i've seen results with diet discipline and exercise.
it's not impossible to lose weight. you just have to want it bad enough and work hard.
I have a very slow metabolism. I have to run 5 miles a day so I can eat normally and not gain weight (I'm not even losing).
I have metabolism issues. Even eating 800 calories a day and walking 3 miles a day I couldn't lose weight. I am also diabetic (type 2) and the insulin resistance is also a contributing factor. I am now on medications that help to put my metabolism back in order and guess what - I upped my calories to 1500 a day and have lost 24 pounds so far. So, PLEASE, Healthkicker - vet these posts before posting them, and do your research. This post should have ended up on the cutting room floor.
And for those who say you just have to want it bad enough and work at it, kiss my arse. You, too, don't know WTF you are talking about.
Blaming metabolism isn't a problem because it's the easy way out-- it's a problem because no one should have to justify their weight at all. Back off of other people's bodies.
What those girls are really saying is "My body works in such a way that I gain weight easily and lose it very very slowly if at all, no matter what I do." There ARE people who can eat literally as much as they want of anything and not gain an ounce. There are also people who can eat nothing but carrots & celery (exaggerated; read as 'a proper diet') and keep gaining weight. 'Metabolism' happens to be a convenient word to describe a combination of genetic, hormonal, environmental, etc. factors.
To everyone preaching "diet discipline" or whatever, good for you. However, I would get severely depressed if I knew I could never have a cookie or potato chip EVER AGAIN. I enjoy food; fatty food, sweet food, and ridiculously-good-for-you food like steamed green beans and baked salmon (yum! Dinner tonight!). Or tomatoes. So get off your high horse; you've found your balance, but others are still looking for theirs. Or maybe they're at a different point in their life than you are, where they simply can't commit the IMMENSE attention and willpower required for changing eating and exercise habits.
Finally, there is something in our food and lifestyle culture that is broken, or we would not have epidemic-level fatness. But no one (including people who study this extensively!) has figured out what all those factors are yet. You really think you're smarter than that whole community?
Yeah we all know that fat people are all disgusting pigs eating too much junk food and slouching in their couches. Now thanks for the prejudice!
this has been a simple yet inspiring post. thanks! :D
I do agree that exercise and diet can play a big part in one's metabolism, though as a lot of other xangans here have pointed out, age, hormones and genetics can influence one's metabolism rate too.
Both my parents have had very fast metabolism all through their lives, to the point where they found it hard to remain within what was considered the healthy weight range for their height and age group. As a result of these two sets of genes, I also have a very fast metabolism and naturally low body fat levels. Which is good because I model on and off, but which is bad because I get cold and hungry very quickly. I am about 6 to 9kg below the doctor's recommended weight for me, but I have tried bulking up more at the gym - didn't really work because I ended up putting on muscle (which I subsequently lost when I fell sick). So in my case at least, I would say that my metabolism has made me as small as I naturally am. I don't particularly like or hate it, I just grew to accept it.
@BoulderChristina@xanga - LOL totally agree with you here. The person who wrote this is an idiot, sorry to say. Just because you're a lazy, undisciplined tub who can't stay away from the cookie jar, doesn't explain things for the rest of the world. Metabolism absolutely DOES count, but it just isn't always the WHOLE issue.
Everyone is different, some things might work for others, some might not.
Really ridiculous to sit here and generalize like that.
Not only is this one of the more ignorant pieces of shit I've seen floating around here, it's also littered with typos, misspellings, and terrible grammar. Way to go, Healthkicker.