Metabolism – things you can and can’t control >>> Must Read
So, when it comes to your metabolism there are of course factors that you can’t control like your genetics (see below for my full list). And others that you can control. If you understand these factors and start to really work with the things you can control your body will not only look better, but it will become easier to reach and maintain your healthy weight. Additionally you will be able to have a far better handle on your energy levels, your stress, your strength gains and your over all health.
The scientific definition of metabolism is the rate in which the body makes or breaks chemical bonds.
The definition you and I would probably be more interested in understanding is as follows: Metabolism is the rate in which one’s body burns off and utilizes calories, or energy.
The biggest questions I get from my students and our entire KB community are as follow: Can I change my metabolism? Can I control it? What can I do to speed up my metabolism?
Well, believe it or not there are factors that you CAN control, and those factor right here:
CAN CONTROL:
DIET – what you eat, how much you eat, when you eat – see below
WORKOUT / ACTIVITY – active lifestyle and workout (are you on a program? are you over training? are you consistent?) – see below
SLEEP – yes! you can control this – see below
STRESS – this effects sleep, eating, and can be fixed by working out! – see below
CAN’T CONTROL:
AGE – yes the younger we are, the more efficient your metabolism
GENDER – men have faster metabolism then women, so your guy should have NO Excuses!
GENETICS – Thank mom and dad/ look at mom and dad as examples – heres a thought picture your mom and dad their underwear – do it. Got the mental image… okay now that will be you UNLESS you get on a program – a real program and workout!
***Check out the Fitness Series tab above for some of our result driven programs (all levels).
Lets discuss what you CAN control, even if sometimes it feels like you cant control anything 🙂
DIET
The Whole Food Approach
Eating mostly whole, unprocessed food should be your goal. Do not get supplement-crazy, in fact you should limit or simply rid yourself of supplements, bars, workout drinks, and never allow them to replace real food.
Eating plenty of meat, veggies, and high quality carbs is perfect enough. For most people fish oil is the only supplement I would recommend.
Portion Control
Watch your portions, do not make more then you need. Same goes for ordering in or eating out. Watch what you put into your foods and make sure to limit your ingredients – and do not be afraid to portion control or replace your condiments, your butter or your sauce with a more healthy option. **See our Blog post on healthy trade ins!
SLEEP
So many of us think we can’t control sleep. However you actually can! How? well a good nights sleep ranges between a solid six to nine hours! Nine? yes, many professional athletes train so hard that they require more sleep for recovery. At this point in your life you should be able to identify how many hours a night you need to feel fully alive and active the next day.
Once you identify your required amount, quality of sleep is key, and so is getting that amount. Many of us that can’t sleep well, wake up at night or can not fall asleep have these issues because of two things: Stress and Diet.
If you starve yourself all day your body will naturally wake up in the middle of the night. Similarly if you stuff your face and over eat your body will have a difficult time falling asleep, as it will be digesting food. If you eat sugar at night with out a good dinner the body will often stay awake and unsettled. It is very important to have a consistent plan of clean eating that helps the body digest, absorb nutrients and stay satisfied.
If you feel stressed you might be unable to fall asleep, often many thoughts and scenarios going through your mind, almost as if you are on a race track. The best way to deal with stress, as you will see me discuss below is to exercise and eat clean. Crazy right? But it works every single time. Study after study has showed us that good, programed and consistent exercise helps prevent stress.
WORKOUT/ DAILY ACTIVITY
We say this time and time again- in this world to be healthy you have to do two things:
1. stay as active as possible through your day
2. take part in a consistent, programmed out training routine
You must find activity in your day, if you want more details on that I wrote an article on our blog about being active and how to fins activity in everything you do.
The next thing is simple, as I wrote last week:
A good, educated exercise program (note I emphasize the word program) is meant to improve your ability in a specific sport, to help you become stronger and more mobile, to help you get and stay pain free; be it back pain from sitting, knee pain from running, neck pain from an old injury. Exercises also serves to prevent injury. Now the bi-product of a good training program is having a fit, lean body (cue your goal to look great in your jeans or your bikini).
A solid and result driven exercise program should follow logical parameters in load, time intervals, duration, exercise sequences and progressions. It should also have those same parameters in the rest periods with in the workout, as well as your weekly programming.
The format of your training program is essential to your success. Athletes train for power, speed, injury prevention and/or strength gains. Many regular people train to look good, be healthy and be able to function correctly (often to get out of pain to perform their recreational sports or hobbies).
The good news? I know you guys noticed it too, there are 4 things on the CAN control list vs 3 things on the CAN’T control list! SO GO ON… start checking off all of the things you can control and get that much closer to your goals and your #KBBODY
***And remember, for me its not about my pant size, its about how easily and seamlessly I can integrate my these things- like my workouts, healthy eating and healthy living into my life. No stress, no train- just results!
XoKb, Stay Focused -Dasha Libin