Metabolism, is it all that?

Today's entry is about poorly photoshopped stock photography that is just too on-the-nose.

Last week I chewed on the "cheat day" as a method of preventing metabolism from slowing down when trying to lose weight. As I was finishing up that entry, it occurred to me I was not 100% clear what "metabolism" actually is. I know it gets kicked into high gear when you take speed or meth, and fat people supposedly have slow metabolisms. So, oh mighty internet, what is a metabolism?

Metabolism is the set of life-sustaining chemical transformations within the cells of living organisms. These enzyme-catalyzed reactions allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to their environments. 

And you know what "grow" means in this context: get fat. Your metabolism is the system that transforms matter you take in from the environment and turns it into the building blocks of your body, your energy and your ability to get-it-awwwn. The specific aspect of metabolism that gets diet guru's panties in a bunch is the metabolic rate:

Basal metabolic rate (BMR), and the closely related resting metabolic rate (RMR), is the amount of energy expended daily by humans and other animals at rest.

The laws of physics state that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Unfortunately, the human body isn't so simple. It would be nice if every person in the world who exerted the same amount of effort would expend the same amount of energy.  Two people, same age, height, background and diet. One could get humongously fat and one could be trim, and that would be because of metabolic rate.

Textbook case of twins with different metabolisms.

Those factors can be used to estimate your metabolic rate, like with this handy rate calculator, but it's more of an art than a science. (Though the fact it spit out 2760 cal burned everyday for me seemed close to correct, judging from my 2300 cal averages and rate of weight loss.)

So I wanna get skinny. How do I increase my metabolic rate with out resorting to meth, a tobacco habit or dexys? 

 A victim of Dexy abuse.

Just about every wimmin's mag, health blog and diet guru has something to say about how to speed up your metabolism, but a few pages summed up all the accepted wisdom:

Determine what is influencing your metabolism. There are some factors that you can control and change, and some factors that you can't.

• Age - Metabolic rate decreases 5% each decade, after the age of 40, partly because of decreased muscle mass.
• Gender - Men generally burn calories more quickly than women because they have more muscle tissue.
• Heredity - You can inherit your metabolic rate from previous generations.
• Thyroid disorder - Hypothyroidism (under active thyroid gland) and hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid gland) can slow down or speed up metabolism, but only 3% and .3% of the population have hypo- and hyperthyroidism respectively.
• Weight - different tissues of your body contribute different amounts to resting metabolism. Muscle contributes more than fat per unit mass and, because it is denser than fat, muscle contributes much more per unit volume, but this may not be practically significant.

Adjust your diet according (to what a MR calculator says.) Your Metabolic Rate will tell you how many calories you need to maintain your body at rest. Your daily consumption to maintain your weight should be:

• MR x 1.15. E.g. RMR = 2000, so the maintenance intake is 2000 x 1.15 = 2300
• To lose weight safely, do not exceed your maintenance intake or have a caloric intake lower than your calculated RMR.
• Count calories by recording what you eat and looking up how many calories each food item contains (either on the food packaging or in tables provided in books or online). 

Eat small, frequent meals. Extending the time between meals makes your body go into "starvation mode," which decreases your metabolism as a means to conserve energy and prevent starvation. While some people are able to lose weight through intermittent fasting, most people generally eat less overall when they eat small, frequent meals. In addition to having four to six small meals per day[6] eating healthy snacks will also increase metabolism.[2]

Boost metabolism temporarily with aerobic exercise. Different activities burn different quantities of calories, but the important thing is to raise your heart rate and sustain the activity for approximately thirty minutes.

Boost metabolism in the long run with weight training. Muscle burns more calories than fat does (73 more calories per kilogram per day, to be exact) so the more muscle you build, the higher your resting metabolic rate (RMR) will be. Every muscle cell that you gain is like a little factory that constantly burns calories for you, even while you sleep, and revs up when you exercise.

This is the only way to increase RMR, which accounts for 60 to 70 percent of the calories you burn daily.

And I imagine once you follow this advice and start seeing results, one should recalculate the metabolic rate, as you might need more calories according to this mode of thinking. Over the past year, I've probably increased my metabolic rate a little bit, but have stayed close to the lower limits of my calorie budget.

My baloney's first name is M E T A B O L I C.

Then again, it may all be a bunch of baloney.  Yes, if you eat less & more often, you will lose weight - perhaps independently of anything to do with metabolism. Gaining muscle weight is a long slow process for anyone, and it's minor effect on metabolism is probably not worth the effort it takes to gain it. Some sources sight the thermogenic effect of spicy food as affecting metabolism, but dear readers will already know that to be questionable. Yes, activity increases the calories burned, but eating more food does that, too, due to the energy required to burn it. Worry less about metabolism and worry more about the quantity and quality of food you eat, because there is no secret cheat-code to getting and staying healthy.
-----

Geddit? Geddit?

Well, it's official. After a change of career a the beginning of the Great Recession and a few years of fitful employment due to needing to raise kids (as working in the restaurant biz does not lend itself to the finances needed to pay for childcare,) I am now working full time as a Presentation Designer at a leading firm. I've been there for a few weeks now,  but just locked it up officially at the end of this week. After my weigh-in next week, definitely an entry on what I've been observing, foodwise in my new office.
-----

Just started using the last loop of my "new" belt, which I purchased in the fall because the belt of 5+ years was too big. Let's hope it's not just stretched out, next week's numbers will tell the tale....

-----

WEEKLY AVERAGE: 2286

After eating sugar three days in a row last week, I'm glad I got through this week sugar-free, again. I knew it was due to circumstance and social obligation more than compulsive backsliding, but there is always a little voice in the back of your head shouting from a deep dark well, that you're screwing up and you might as well shove your face because it's all over. -sigh-

-----

MONDAY COUNT: 2285

Good eating day. Was still hungry in the late evening, but was too exhausted to shovel more food in my gullet.

AM SNACK: 6:45am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 10am, steel cut oatmeal with brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon & salt, 350 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, almond butter & grape jelly on whole wheat, health salad, 590 cal

PM SNACK: 4pm, momma salad, 100 cal

PM SNACK: 8:15pm, apple/carrot/beet/cucumber/celery/ginger/kale/cayenne juice, 155 cal

PM SNACK: 8:45pm poppa salad, 100 cal

DINNER: 9:15pm, shrimp and shirataki noodles in butter and garlic, over roasted brussel sprouts and mushrooms, 690 cal

EVENING SNACK: 9:30pm, Fritos, 300 cal

-----

TUESDAY COUNT: 2830

Woke up super early, around 4:30am, to make knish filling & dough while working out and taking care of the early-arising baby. Got really hungry in the evening and broke the budget, but stayed in relative control.

AM SNACK: 5am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 9:15am, Fage whole yogurt with agave, vanilla and almonds, 310 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, chicken sausage, roasted brussels and mushrooms, sofrito black beans, 590 cal

PM SNACK: 3:30pm, momma salad, 100 cal


PM SNACK: 8pm, apple/carrot/beet/cucumber/celery/ginger/kale/cayenne juice, 155 cal

PM SNACK: 8:30pm poppa salad, 100 cal

DINNER: 8:45pm, x

EVENING SNACK: 9:30pm, Fritos, 300 cal

EVENING SNACK 2: 10pm, Fritos, 300 cal

EVENING SNACK 3: 10:30pm, 2 pieces whole wheat toast, with hummus and peanut butter, +/- 500 cal

-----

WEDNESDAY COUNT: 1970

Long day, up at 4am to bake knishes. Popped in on a party in Brooklyn after work, very tired but happy when I got home.

AM SNACK: 5am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 8am, fruit smoothie, 410 cal

LUNCH: 1pm, grilled curry chicken breast, roasted broccoli, quinoa, water, 630

PM SNACK: 4:15pm, momma salad, 100 cal

DINNER: 8:30pm, Stouffer's Frenchbread pizza, poppa salad, 530 cal
Was going to be 960 cal, but one pizza fell in the oven. Oh well, for the best, I really didn't need it, just tired and wanted an easy meal.

EVENING SNACK: 9pm, Fritos, 300 cal

-----

THURSDAY COUNT: 2105

Long day, up at 4 to package knishes and do chores. Long day at work, too, but today was the day I finished negotiations with the powers that be, so I'm down for the short and midterm at this gig.

AM SNACK: 5:15am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 9:30am, steel cut oatmeal with brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon & salt, 350 cal

LUNCH: 1pm,chicken meatballs, jodhpur lentils, steamed string beans, 530 cal

PM SNACK: 4:15pm, momma salad, 100 cal

PM SNACK: 7:45pm, apple/carrot/beet/cucumber/celery/ginger/kale/cayenne juice, 170 cal

PM SNACK: 8:45pm poppa salad, 150 cal

DINNER: 9:30pm, scallops, broccoli, sofrito black beans, 545 cal

EVENING SNACK: 11pm, pretzels, 240 cal
The bandito came and ate all my Fritos! Ay yai yai!

-----

FRIDAY COUNT: 2240

Up early again for laundry, weight lifting, food shopping.

AM SNACK: 5am, iced green tea, 0 cal

BREAKFAST: 9:30am, Fage whole yogurt with agave, vanilla and almonds, 310 cal

LUNCH: 1:15pm, Quarter Pounder Deluxe, small cherry diet coke, 540 cal

PM SNACK: 4pm, momma salad, 100 cal

PM SNACK: 6:30pm, apple/carrot/beet/cucumber/celery/ginger/kale/cayenne juice, 150 cal

DINNER: 7:30, Stouffer's French Bread pizzas, 840

EVENING SNACK: 9pm, Fritos, 300 cal