Boosting Your Metabolism to Lose Weight….Does It Work?

Posted by admin on January 17, 2012 in General Health with 7 Comments

Most people want a strong metabolism and it seems like everyone has the perfect recipe that will increase it. These include everything from manmade supplements, natural foods, exercise routines and meditational practices.

However, before you buy into any of these claims that a certain supplement or exercise can boost your metabolism by rates enough to lose a significant amount of body fat, you should really take a close look at four common fallacies that exist on this topic about the metabolism.

1. Rapid Weight Loss Will ‘Damage’ Your Metabolism

First and foremost there is no such thing as ‘damaging’ your metabolism. “Metabolism” simply refers to the processes in your body at a given time. From this perspective then, the metabolism can never be damaged. The metabolism is just a portrayal of these processes and not the process itself. Even people who are afflicted with a severely wasting disease will be functioning normal after they recover.

Unless you have a diagnosed metabolic disorder that will actually change the normal routine that your body processes fuel – and this is very rare – then you’re body is processing food/fuel just like everybody else. Weight gain seems to happen over longer periods of time, but weight loss almost always happens quickly (10-16 weeks). There is some research indicating that when someone has lost significant weight the metabolism is functioning perfectly normal all the way through and at the end of their fast weight loss.

2. Special Foods Can Boost Metabolism at High Rates

You can boost your metabolism, but you’re not likely as much as 50 to 100 percent as some say you can. Science says that an elevated metabolic rate has very specific symptoms like when you exercise, your metabolic rate is elevated and your body shows symptoms such as fatigue, perspiration, an elevated heart rate, heavy breathing, and thirst.

Bodybuilders and fitness models will often use a drug called Clenbuterol to increase their metabolism. Clenbuterol causes the symptoms of an elevated metabolic rate such as noted above. Drugs like these will cause the evaluated metabolism but so-called metabolism-boosting recipes such as taking a teaspoon of cinnamon or drinking a cup of green tea will not emulate these symptoms.

3. Obese People Have a Slower Metabolic Rate than Non-Obese People

This is a common misconception that overweight or obese people have a slower metabolic rate and that they are not burning enough calories. The reality is that these people – when compared to height and age matched non overweight people – have a higher metabolism and would burn more calories on a daily basis. A bigger body that has more mass and is processing more food is doing more work.

Metabolism is just the description of all the metabolic processes going on in your body.

If your body is bigger than your friend for instance and you regularly eat more food than he/she does then you’re body is busy processing that food and increasing fat mass in your body.

This translates to a higher metabolic rate or a greater degree of calories burned per day compared to someone who isn’t as big and not eating as much.

This does not produce weight loss; it just means that a bigger body has a bigger metabolism and a smaller body has a smaller metabolism.

What this all means is that if you want to lose weight then you should forget about the word metabolism. Remove it from your vocabulary and focus on eating less food.

4. Breakfast Kick Starts your Metabolism

Eating breakfast has no special effect on your metabolism. If you like to eat breakfast then you should enjoy it but don’t expect it to help with your ability to burn calories. There are some claims that breakfast can also help with cognitive function but this research was only shown to have an effect in children.

It may be that growing children might do better in school if they get something to eat in the morning simply because it keeps them happy and more attentive in class. That may be the case for children but it is very clear there is no effect of breakfast on adults.

In conclusion, if you want to lose weight then work on eating less not burning more.Your diet should help you lose body fat and your exercise routine should be help you maintain or increase your muscle mass. These two methods combined are the best way to lose weight for a long term solution.

Guest post by: Will from Sprained Ankle Institute. He also writes for Lose Weight Fast.

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ShariJanuary 18, 2012 - 5:31 pm #1

I have often appreciated the simple, no-nonsense articles featured here, however, this one is pure bunk. Who is this guy? He says eating breakfast has no effect on metabolism? So, putting fuel on the fire does not encourage it to keep burning? Many studies have proven the opposite. He says a bigger, heavier person cannot blame their weight challenges on a slower metabolism. Rather the fat one should forget what they know about metabolism and simply focus on eating less? Garbage. I am a heavy person and I have a very difficult time losing weight, but I have many thin friends who eat massively more than I do. I have trouble eating more than 800 calories a day while they freely admit to eating 2000 or more on any given day. I exercise regularly, they don’t. I’m fat, they’re thin. And this guy says we fat ones should just eat less? That is insulting, ignorant, and pure nonsense. When I was younger I could eat much more and maintain my slender body. Now that I’m in my 40′s my body will not turn loose of weight even with a starvation diet. Many others, MANY others, have had the same, common experience—lower calories (eating less) does NOT lead to weight loss. Metabolism must be addressed in order for a body to burn fat.
adminJanuary 18, 2012 - 5:38 pm #2

Hello Shari,

I agree that the blog was a bit out of line with what I usually post here. I’m not sure I agree with it either. However, I am willing to post articles of this sort to get different viewpoints out there and get a discussion going. I will ask the author to back up his claims.

Thank you for your honest response. I appreciate your readership.

Jaime
ShariJanuary 18, 2012 - 6:04 pm #3

Thank you, Jaime. I’ll admit I’m sensitive to the issue. I was a very thin, fit person until several years ago when my health took a dive. I still lead the same healthy lifestyle, eat clean, don NOT drink soda or eat fast foods, cook the great majority of my family’s meals from scratch, etc, but the body is a very different body than I used to have in spite of my efforts. Cutting calories not only does not work for many people, but actually makes the problem worse. What else can this be other than a metabolic issue? When someone like this guy says stuff like this it furthers the myth that all fat people eat too much. It’s hurtful and fosters prejudice in those who’ve never experienced the agony of metabolic inadequacies.

Again, I do appreciate the many good, informative articles you provide for us here. Keep up the good work. (maybe think about getting rid of this guy though
WillJanuary 19, 2012 - 3:36 am #4

HI, Shari

So, you say that eating breakfast kick starts metabolism because “putting fuel on the fire encourages it to keep burning”. And following this logic, eating breakfast or even a big breakfast (more fuel) are good for weight loss? Well, I disagree – http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/01/health/research/01diet.html?_r=1&nl=health&emc=healthupdateema7
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41177896/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/t/big-breakfast-may-make-you-fat-after-all-study-finds/#.TxfYvoGrWHM

Focusing on boosting your matabolsim, you are missing a very important thing…eating breakfast is added calories!

That’s why my weight loss mantra is…eating less not burning more.

Again, If you like to eat breakfast then you should enjoy it, but I do not think it helps to burn calories enough to lose a significant amount of body fat.
ShariJanuary 19, 2012 - 5:11 pm #5

Hi, Will–Well, the jokes on you then because I’m fat and I don’t eat breakfast, lol.:-) I do feel I should though. Don’t you think eating a healthy, protein-based breakfast would help keep blood sugar levels even and insulin levels low, thereby reducing fat storage?

But breakfast or no breakfast, I WISH eating fewer calories would lead to weight loss. I eat very little–mostly just because I’m busy and tend skip meals. Eating less MAY work for some who’ve been over eaters, no matter how much or little weight they have to lose. That makes sense. But to say that to lose weight we must all eat fewer calories implies those who are overweight are eating too much and that simply is not true for everyone. What about the studies that confirm that overweight people in general eat less than people of normal weight? I’ve found more people, close friends and family, who fit into that scenario. When I do manage to lose weight it’s usually because I’ve worked to increase my intake (and calories) of healthy foods. The “calories in vs calories out” theory may very well be true for a large population of people but it’s a blanket solution and I believe people are individuals.

I’m just some anonymous woman who struggles with weight and health issues, and certainly not an expert in the field, however I do have 20+ years of learning about health–especially my own health and metabolic issues. I feel a more plausible culprit behind the vast majority of weight issues are the additives, pesticides, hormones, and other disgusting ingredients that are allowed in the food. They wreak havoc on the body, stress out the organs responsible for removing toxins and keeping the body running smoothly, and confuse delicate hormone imbalances. Until the government puts a stop to the crud in the low quality food fed to the people and cleans up the farming and meat industries, weight issues will continue. Still, they continually blame the citizen rather than evaluating their toxic policies.

Just to clarify though, I do think you have made valid points in #1 and #2 of the article–so you’re not all bad. Thank you for your time.
adminJanuary 19, 2012 - 5:16 pm #6

Shari,

You make very valid points. Processed foods wreck havoc on the body and can contribute to weight gain.

Thank you both.

Jaime
WillJanuary 20, 2012 - 10:24 am #7

Shari, what is your BMR? Do you count calories daily?

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