Overview of Metabolism and 3 Ways to Speed Up, Increase or Boost Metabolic Rate (BMR)

Having a basic understanding of metabolism is a key component to improving your fitness. The food you eat and how it is digested to provide the energy and building blocks required by your body is done through the process of metabolism.

Metabolism is a conglomeration of infinite chemical reactions taking place in your body’s cells that are continuously converting the food you eat into the energy that powers everything you do. This process began when your dad’s sperm fertilized your mom’s egg, and will continue until your last breath, or so.

Certain proteins control this chemical reaction of metabolism. And each chemical reaction is coordinated with all of your body’s functions in order to keep your cells healthy and working properly.

When you eat something, enzymes in your digestive system breaks down:

  • fats into fatty acids
  • carbohydrates into sugar
  • proteins into amino acids

After this breakdown, these molecular compounds are absorbed into your blood for transportation to the cells. The site of energy metabolism.

Depending on the current needs of your body, this energy is released for immediate use or stored in body tissues, especially in the:

The process of metabolism is a balancing of anabolism and catabolism, which are occurring in your body all the time. Anabolism is all about building and storing:

  • maintaining body tissue
  • supporting growth of new cells
  • storing energy for use in the future

Catabolism is all about energy production required for all activity in the cells by breaking down large molecules, usually carbohydrates and fats, to release energy. This energy release provides:

  • warmth
  • fuels anabolism
  • muscle contraction for movement

As these larger molecules are broken down, the released waste products are removed via your:

  • skin
  • lungs
  • kidneys
  • intestines

How your body controls the buildup and breakdown of metabolism is hormones released from:

  • thyroid gland ~ produces & releases thyroxine, regulates speed of chemical reactions
  • pancreas ~ secretes various hormones (insulin for one) which dictates which activity takes place

Metabolism is a complicated chemical process, however most think of it in terms weight gain, loss and calories burned. And the number of calories you burn is determined by:

  • how much you move
  • your basal metabolic rate
  • your body’s amount of fat & muscle

So, if you want to increase, speed up or boost your metabolism the big 3 ways to do it are:

  1. move more
  2. less body fat/more muscle
  3. increase your basal metabolism rate (BMR)

The first two shouldn’t need much explanation. Basal metabolic rate (BMR) deserves a bit of discussion.

Your BMR is a measure of the rate at which a your body “burns” calories while at rest. It can play a role in a tendency to gain weight. Lower basal metabolism bodies will tend to gain more body fat over time.

To a certain extent, your basal metabolic rate is inherited. And sometimes affected by health problems. But exercising more will not only burn more calories, the result of becoming more physically fit will increase your BMR as well. Since BMR is altered by body composition, the more muscle and less fat will almost always increase your BMR.

Best way for boosting or increasing your metabolism is to “get moving”!

Filed under: Metabolism

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