The One Dietary Choice Proven to Increase Metabolism
Let’s talk about metabolism! That so called “pesky thing” that slows down as we age and prevents us from losing unwanted fat. Well, it turns out, it may not be true. I’ll take a mildly deep dive into it and bust some myths.
What is Metabolism?
The dictionary defines it as:
“the chemical processes that occur within a living organism in order to maintain life.”
What this means in everyday terms is: Your body has many chemical processes taking place to convert the food you eat into energy. These chemical processes, in short, make up your metabolism. When you eat and your metabolism converts the food into energy, the energy is then distributed toward different body functions such as:
- Breathing
- Circulating blood
- Digesting food
- Growing and repairing cells
- Managing hormone levels
- Regulating body temperature
When we hear the word “metabolism”, many of us instantly think of “our ability to burn fat”; however, burning fat is only a small portion of what your metabolism is responsible for.
Let’s dive into some misconceptions and some truths.
Metabolism Myth & Truth
Many people blame metabolism for weight gain, and while this is sometimes the case, it isn’t as common as you think. Your body is smart and regulates itself depending on the energy your body needs. For example, overweight and even obese people often have very fast metabolisms because their bodies need more energy just to maintain their basic body functions. On the other hand, thin people can have slow metabolisms due to chronic dieting. When you chronically diet, your metabolism slows down because it’s trying to preserve the small amounts of energy (food) it has available.
Are there certain foods that will increase my metabolism?
Well, if there was a magic food that melted fat off your body, you’d have already heard about it, right?
But before we get too far into that, you must understand that your metabolism is unique. According to www.medicalnewstoday.com, “Many factors can affect metabolism, including age, diet, biological sex, physical activity, and health conditions.” As you can see, your diet is only one factor when it comes to metabolism.
The #1 Dietary Choice
With that being said, there is one dietary choice that is proven to slightly increase your metabolism – PROTEIN. Â Remember, your metabolism is responsible for numerous processes that keep you alive, and one of those processes is food digestion and processing. It takes energy to digest and process carbs, fats, and protein. Fortunately, it takes the most energy to digest and process protein. This is known as TEF (or thermic effect of food). It goes without saying, when your diet is rich in protein, your metabolism can slightly increase because of the energy it takes to break protein down. As we age, our bodies cannot synthesize protein as well as they did earlier on. It is crucial to increase the amount of protein you consume daily as you age.
After everything we know about protein, I think it’s safe to say – Eat more quality protein.  Speaking of, you’re already familiar with the most common animal protein sources like chicken and turkey. Check out some of these non-traditional sources and try incorporating them into your routine sometimes! Some of my favorites include skinless chicken breast, canned tuna in water, Life Shake Meal Replacement, Collagen-9, Greek yogurt, lentils, split peas, and unsweetened beef jerky.
I’ll cover more in my next blog.
For some of my favorite sources of protein mentioned earlier, visit www.optimalhealthforlife.myshaklee.com to purchase them or contact me to find out which one suits your needs the best