2. What Does Your Metabolism Do? Clearing the Confusion

Metabolism has become a buzz word among dieters, diet creators and in nutrition. It’s used to explain or justify virtually everything in the diet world. But few people are able to explain and understand what does your metabolism do? 

What Advertisers Say About Metabolism

You’ll often see in advertisements, if you simply increase your metabolism can reverse chronic health problems including diabetes, pre-diabetes, heart disease, and of course obesity or weight management. 

But … can it be that simple? … and what does metabolism really mean? Can a simple change in metabolism really be the magic answer to weight management, diabetes, or heart disease?

Generally, when someone begins a conversation with comments about metabolism, it’s intended to convince you that you need either a low-carbohydrate or a low-fat diet or maybe some magic supplement. 

Keto, carnivore, vegetarian, and plant-based diets are all various forms of low-carb or low-fat diets and each claim to be the perfect diet to reduce risk of chronic diseases. Who’s right and who’s wrong? … or can they all be right?

Metabolism: Let’s Start with the Basics

The first and most basic principle to understand about nutrition and diet-related diseases is that you must balance calorie intake with expenditure. A very simple equation,  How much food do you eat compared with your daily fuel needs (are you taking in more calories than you’re burning each day)? 

If you’re not very physically active you need fewer calories. As you get older, you need fewer calories. The smaller your body size (ie. height), you need fewer calories. If day-after-day, you consume too many calories, you will shift your metabolism into storage mode.

The basic math is that if your daily fuel needs require 2000 calories, but you’re eating 2500 calories, the fact is you’re going to gain weight, store body fat, and yes, increase your risks for diabetes and heart disease. If you’re eating too many calories then, the details about what you’re eating do not matter nearly as much as how much you’re eating (the total calories). The first thing to do is changing your diet to reduce your total daily calories, that’s the most important step toward making a meaningful change.

How Should I Reduce My Calories to Lose Weight?

Most Americans get about 50% of calories from carbohydrates (about 1200 calories each day), 35% from fats (about 900 calories) and 15% from protein (about 325 calories). If you want to reduce your total calorie intake, it should be obvious that carbohydrates and fats are the easiest places to take from. And you’ll see very soon as we go on, that protein needs to be a big part of the solution.

As you come to better understand the question “what does your metabolism do”, I’ll help you understand how important it is not only to get your calories right each day, but how to correctly balance your calories by macronutrient (ie. carbohydrates, fats, and protein) to optimize the performance of your metabolism while controlling your daily calorie intake (remember the car engine analogy). We’ll make sure you not only have enough fuel, but the right fuel.

You’ll better understand how a to get enough protein throughout the day, to make your muscles the central focus of your metabolism and then show you how to balance carbohydrates and fats to optimize your daily energy and performance. 

Metabolism: Why You Should Understand the Basics

Metabolism is a complex topic that I have researched, further complicated by so much misinformation. I have made a career from conducting research studies and publishing my findings on from the past 40 years in world-leading scientific journals. So what I’m sharing is the latest scientific research I was personally involved in.

While the science can get a bit complex,  the application for you to optimize your personal lifestyle is relatively simple, but the benefits are lifelong and have astounding health implications. And that’s why I created the metabolic Lifestyle.