Metabolism- What does it do and how do I make it rock out?

A lot of people nowadays frequently talk about their metabolism. You probably reference it in the same context as when you talk about your alcoholic cousin Steve, who comes to the family reunion drunk and urinates all over your bathroom floor. People equate overweight = bad metabolism.  But here's the scoop:

Essentially, metabolism is a way to describe your body utilizing energy (calories) and how efficiently it goes about doing it. You can get a very generic platform of your metabolism by determining your BMR (basal metabolic rate). What your BMR means is how much your body burns a day just laying in bed all day watching a Lifetime movie marathon. Though you aren't physically active, your body needs energy (calories!) to do all of the complex things a body does (digesting food, filtering toxins, brain POWER!). This is determined by a few factors. 1. Age (the older you are, the slower your metabolism gets). 2. Gender, because men burn more calories than women, which really isn't fair. 3. Lean body mass. Muscle is like the kid in the family who goes to college, gets honors, volunteers in Cambodia to help starving children, and pretty much rocks. Fat is like the kid who plays video games 18 hours a day, drinking mountain dew and eating cheetos. Muscle is always doing stuff whether that be building and tearing or moving. This takes energy (calories). Fat just sits there, with its contributions being higher blood pressure, cholesterol, risks of heart disease, as well as a list of about 50 other things. 4. Weight also plays a factor. The heavier you are, the higher your BMR is. Yes, you read it right. The more weight you have on you, the higher the metabolic rate to sustain that weight. Think about it-- have you ever known anyone that was able to pull off losing 20 pounds in a month? When someone overweight makes small changes, the weight difference is immediate. This is when plateaus come into play but that's for a later day.

Let me give you some examples.
5'10 female 24 yo 300 pounds burns 3015 calories per day.
5'10 female 24 yo 160 pounds burns 2100 calories per day.
That can be 2-3 meals difference!!

Hereditary does play a part but not as big as what people would like it to be. According to the American Medical Journal, hereditary is the rightful scapegoat in just 5-7 percent of Americans. Thyroid issues and other medical issues can cause metabolic issues as well and is something worth checking out if you have insurance.

Probably one of the major differences in weight loss success stories comes in the form of eating schedule and quantity. Many, many, many people have such a distorted view on the subject. A lot of people skip meals and give themselves mental high fives for it. But there is a physiological reason why this is not good. Our body is smart, like Toyota Prius assisted parking smart. When we skip meals, our metabolisms slows down. Why? Because your body doesn't know when it's getting that next meal, so it stores the food and metabolism slows down as it doesn't need to keep the engine going when you're not "going" anywhere. Have you noticed how your body craves horrible for you food when you haven't eaten all day? Two possible explanations. Your body craves carbohydrates, as this is our bodies "go to guy" for fuel. So you think you are a rockstar because you had three pieces of lettuce all day, but you are about to down 2 servings of Nachos with an extra side of greasy badness. There is also a mental scenario, and that is reward behavior in psychology. When we do something good, we want that reward. So when you are starving, punishing yourself all day long, you think it's not so bad. But now you just ingested a ton of fat and carbs and you are going to be going to bed in a couple hours as you lay dormant.

So what do we do? Small, frequent meals is key. BREAKFAST is a must!!! When you eat frequent meals, you are telling your metabolism to keep that engine running because it knows energy is coming and it can count on it so it's going to keep things going, nice and smooth. This helps maintain your energy throughout the day, keeps you satisfied and less likely to embark on a White Castle journey of epic cheeseburgers.

Want to know your BMR? Check it out here: http://www.webmd.com/diet/healthtool-metabolism-calculator

Next topic will be: I am cutting my calories and I'm still not losing weight-- A food perspective

References:
http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/guide/make-most-your-metabolism?page=2
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jenheath3.htm

The introduction

Welcome to my blog! My name is Lisa and I am 24, living with my husband in in the midwest. We enjoy all sorts of outdoor leisurely activities and love going on an adventure or two with our dog, Walker. I am on my weight loss, fitness, loving myself, finding beauty in myself, nutritious journey. I love research and science. It fascinates me how the human body works and how complex it is. I have learned a LOT from college, nutritionists, as well as my own research and I hope to help educate in an engaging way.

I hope this blog will be multi purpose. I want to show people that cooking healthy doesn't have to be bland, boring, and making you want to head straight to Dairy Queen after dinner and indulge on a 600 calories Blizzard. It can be incredibly satisfying. I'm going to be real here-- I use butter, salt, and red meats (Oh no!) You do not have to stay away from these things like the plague as they all provide some sort of health benefit. It is finding out how to use it and use it in moderation. I will create recipes, use my husband as the taste tester, and provide instructions and pictures for your liking. Also-- if you have a recipe or found one online you'd like to try, let me know and I'll test it!

I also want to use this blog for providing insightful health information. I will always provide references for anything matter of factly so you can rest assured that some crazy lady in the midwest isn't just making this up.

I'm also not perfect. I am on a weight loss journey to lose 35 pounds, and along the way I hope to get closer to God, improve strength in myself, and fight depression by healthy choices. This is me!