Speed up your metabolism?
Dr. Schneider says, "I googled the above & got more than a million hits. Mostly people trying to sell you something, most not even knowing what the word metabolism means. It doesn’t mean burning calories faster. That’s the misconception.
Your thyroid rules metabolism, and sets the rate at which your muscles – repeat, muscles – turn sugar and fat into energy (burn calories). No pill or magic drink is going to “speed up” that Basal Metabolic Rate…BUT…you can use up more calories by exercise.
Muscles are our machinery. Picture two guys working out, hefting the same-weight barbells at the same intense rate. One is muscular, devoted to exercise & working out; the other is skinny & just starting (or his muscles are skinny under lots of fat). They’re doing the exact same thing -- but who’s burning more calories? The muscular one. Our bodies are like cars: the bigger, heavier ones use more. Metabolism’s bottom line: EVERYTHING breaks down to just one of three things: protein, fat, or sugar.
But what about good carbs? you’re thinking. The answer: they are good, they help to avoid blood sugar & insulin spikes, they may even take a whole hour longer to metabolize -- but they’ll still become sugar.
The liver, our metabolism's Houston Control, uses only x amount of that sugar for fuel, depending on your activities. Excess sugar is converted...into...fat. And that pouch over the belly ("belly fat"), is the worst place to have fat because the liver *mainlines* the fat right back through your hepatic vein into your bloodstream...as sugar & bad fats. Round and round. Carbs become sugar which becomes fat which re-enters the bloodstream as sugary-fatty yuck.
A bit more complicated than that, but within 24 hours, that's what it amounts to. So keep it simple. Consider fat & carbs the same. For health & weight loss you want as little as possible of both in your diet.
Exercise, even moderate exercise is therefore the only real way to speed up your metabolism. Don't waste your money on frustrating gimmicks.
And take a look at Exercise is Cumulative. (Halfway down, to the left.) You don't have to do it all at once.
Let "little" exercises become a habit. Pace while brushing your hair or waiting for something. Ever notice that high-strung people who pace tend to be thin? a habit; sow a habit & you reap a destiny."
Always check with your doctor before starting any exercise program.
AMAZING FACTS ABOUT YOUR HEART AND BLOOD SUGAR
1. Your blood sugar drops with just a one-pound weight loss. In fact, with just the first ounces off, you’ve made yourself immediately healthier. (Overweight is also a huge risk factor for breast and ovarian cancer in women, prostate cancer in men, and colon cancer in both men and women.)
2. Your heart, which is the size of your closed fist, is a small, overworked muscle, pumping 24/7. And for every extra pound of fat you carry, your body has to grow seven new miles of blood vessels -- primarily capillaries but also small arteries (arterioles) and small veins (venules) -- and your heart has to work that much harder. Put on two pounds and that’s fourteen new miles of blood vessels; fifty extra pounds requires 350 miles of new blood vessels. On and on, do the math.
But good news: the opposite is true. For every pound of fat you lose, your body sheds seven miles of blood vessels. They just re-absorb, break down, and get excreted. Lose two pounds and that’s fourteen miles of blood vessels gone, lightening your heart and body’s load.
I’ve told you these two things so you’ll know that even a little is a lot. Repeat that out loud to yourself: even a little is a lot. Let it be your mantra.
Because dieting is a slooow process, like watching the grass grow. Try to accept that, and the next time you catch yourself groaning, “Oh it’s almost a week and I’ve only lost two pounds” – understand that that’s good. You’ve already brought valuable change to your body; taken a literal load off your heart. Try this too for reinforcement: take a can off the shelf that weighs one or two pounds, and heft it. Or, in the supermarket, keeping your elbow straight, lift some wrapped meat weighing two pounds. It’s heavy. And you’ll think, Wow, I lost this much?
Copyright © 2010 The Cardiologist's Wife Chocolate Too Diet. All rights reserved.
The Cardiologist's Wife's Chocolate Too! Diet:
No Sugar, Low Fat *&* Low Carb
