The Metabolism: Adaptation, Support & More
We’ve all heard of the metabolism, but do we really know its role?
The metabolism is composed of the chemical reactions that transform food into energy. We covered energy a few posts back. Today’s topic is another attest to how everything is intertwined.
One’s lifestyle influences how well their metabolism performs. Your body will not receive the nutrients needed to thrive If your metabolism can’t function properly. Metabolism adaptation will take over after an extended period of time.
Eating below one’s daily energy expenditure means the metabolism adapts. It will change hormone levels, decrease the rate of digestion, lower energy output and more. Every function slows for the body to meet its most basic needs.
While this is nice momentarily, it is not ideal long-term.
Food + Reverse Dieting
Eat food!
Depriving your body of food means the metabolism slows. The body senses scarcity and enters survival mode to conserve energy. Prolonged caloric deficits detrimentally effect metabolic rate.
Plus, it leads to muscle loss slowing metabolic rate even more.
Metabolism adaptation requires reverse dieting to better performance. This can be accomplished by adding a snack into your day, slightly increasing portion sizes and enhancing protein intake. What does this do?
The metabolism is no longer stressed, begins to relax, becomes stronger and energy is supported.
Muscles and metabolism go hand-in-hand. We build muscle by consuming an adequate amount of protein. The body works harder to break down and consume protein which speeds up the metabolism.
It doesn’t take nearly as much work for the body to break down carbs and fats. Majority of calories burned, about 20 to 30 percent, comes from processing protein. Prioritizing protein allows not only for more calories burned, but preserving and building muscle.
Hydration
Drinking water is optimal for metabolic function. Calories and nutrients can easily be processed since water increases resting energy expenditure. This means you burn more calories even while you do nothing.
Just 17 ounces can increase metabolic rate by 30 percent in both men and women. The metabolism begins to engage after 10 minutes and reaches its max at about 30 minutes. Water keeps things moving as intended.
Sleep
Getting enough quality sleep helps regulate hormones. When this doesn’t happen, hormones that manage appetite and metabolism suffer. Leptin, the hunger hormone, is the main hormone affected by sleep.
A lack of sleep means leptin decreases. This decrease leaves you hungry and craving junk foods. At the same time, little sleep increases ghrelin which stimulates hunger.
Disrupting said hormones leads to overeating, weight loss difficulty and decreases metabolic rate.
This continuous cycle leads to metabolic changes meaning the body tries to conserve more energy. It inches closer to metabolic adaptation. Sleep is the number one way to build muscle.
Revisit our sleep article for more on catching those ZZZs.
Strength Training
Muscle is required to boost metabolism and undo metabolic adaptation. It takes more work for the body to maintain muscle making your metabolism stronger. Just 2.5 pounds of muscle raises your basal metabolic rate up to 100 calories a day.
Remember, to build muscle you must be somewhere in the eight to 12 rep range. This also includes following progressive overload. Building muscle takes time so don’t get overwhelmed.
Reducing Stress
Constant stress means your body is flooding with cortisol. Excess cortisol causes the body to produce less testosterone which supports muscle growth. You won’t get benefits from burning more at rest without muscle growth.
The fight or flight state slows all functions — further slowing the metabolism. Protecting the body and survival become more important than digestion and other bodily functions. You must find ways to avoid this state.
Discovering coping skills that work for you is vital. Aim to complete several a week or even every day. Maintain a healthy level of cortisol by completing breathing techniques, practicing yoga, meditating, walking daily or whatever you enjoy.
Takeaways
It’s no mystery that we’ve talked about these areas before – diet, hydration, sleep, strength training and managing stress.
The repetitiveness should highlight the importance of maintaining them. Prioritizing these aspects of life can make or break someone’s quality of life. Your metabolism will operate as intended when you support it.
Resources
I listened to two different podcast episodes when writing this post — Metabolic Adaptation and How to Improve Your Metabolism & 5 Ways to Actually Boost Your Metabolism.