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The Basics of Our Metabolism
Health | January 13, 2015
So What Exactly Is Our Metabolism?
Metabolism is generic term that covers the variety of chemical processes that occur in our bodies to provide energy, grow and recover. Our Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) measures how many calories we burn on an average day. Knowing your BMR will allow you to better assess your daily caloric intake. It’s helpful to know what your BMR is when trying to shed excess weight or fat or even gain weight by limiting or increasing one’s calories.
Factors That Affect Your Metabolism
The speed and efficiency of our Basal Metabolic Rate are affected by a variety of factors including age, gender, genetic predispositions, etc. Age, in particular, can be a significant factor. Between the ages of 25-30 our BMR drops by 2% or more for each succeeding decade of our lives. This factor alone helps explain why we sometimes gain weight in our late twenties and thirties without having made any major changes to our lifestyles. Menopause is another factor affecting our BMR as we get older.
Still, the variances between what are considered fast or slow metabolisms are usually only 200-300 calories. That’s not nearly as significant as people sometimes assume it is though over time it can definitely affect us.
Exercise Really Does Boost Your Metabolism
More than any other factor, exercise and building lean muscle will boost your metabolism. Scientifically speaking, numerous studies now demonstrate this to be a fact. A recent study done at Appalachian State University showed that 45 minutes of vigorous cycling elevated the participants’ BMR for up to 14 hours. Imagine what a 20-minute HIIT routine at the Zgym is doing!
An even more compelling study lead by Dr. Robert Gerszten, the director of the Cardiovascular Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, showed that even 10 minutes of exercise drastically affected our metabolism. The study examined blood samples of participants before and after exercising and found profound, positive changes to their metabolic rate that persisted long after exercising. An important finding in the study was that people who were already considered fit burned twice as much fat than people who were not due to a more efficient metabolism.
There’s no need for us to make excuses about our slow or sluggish metabolism when we know that exercise can remedy even the slowest among us. No excuses, Warriorz!
Private Member |
i really like the last paragraph. Yeahs !:)
Private Member |
slovakia
No excuses! Great article, Zuzka!
Private Member |
Thank you Zuzka, that’s great to know! My sis is one of those people with fast metabolism (eating two bars of chocolate per day sometimes and still looking skinny;-)), me not so much;-) But I have been exercising with You for a couple of months now and joined Zgym last month( one of the best decisions in my life, haha) and I already see some progress, but most of all I feel better emotionally, my mood’s improved and I have more energy, just as you say!! 🙂
I am going to stay consistent!! I just love you 😀 ( even though your Yoga last Sunday nearly killed, quite literally)
Best to You and all the other Warriorz:-))
Private Member |
lake tahoe, nv, usa
That’s great to hear that you’re feeling better! 🙂 I hope you’ll stick with it.
Private Member |
Z, this is a great article 🙂
I personally really feel like my metabolism is faster especially when I workout in the morning, it feels so good for the rest of the day 🙂 I’m addicted to Zgym 😀
Private Member |
Same here! Love Zgym! 🙂
Private Member |
Zuzka, I have been working out with you for a few years and adore your work outs. I tell everyone I know about you. I credit you to helping me shred my baby weight within two weeks as I stayed active and ate well during pregnancy. I have started training people in a Strength Fit class in my city and put together workouts based on the moves you show us. My house got struck by lightning three days before Christmas so my family and I have been living in a hotel for almost a month. I miss my gym area and equipment terribly but have been doing your Body Crush or DVD work outs in the lounge room. Thank you for helping me keep my sanity and igniting a passion in fitness I didn’t know existed until a few years ago.
Private Member |
lake tahoe, nv, usa
Omg I’m so sorry about your house. That must have been an interesting Christmas, but I bet it brought you guys more together 🙂 Thank you for giving me credit for your weight loss 🙂 Im telling every mom I can get them in shape!
Private Member |
linden, nj
Z, loved the article. Talking about metabolisms mine has changed so much as I have been aging. I am 47 try to eat clean and workout almost everyday. The only time I have is early morning so I am working out somewhere between 2:30-3:30 am (mostly to you) & I try for 1-2 hours. I love it. I do not feel right if I do not work out (I hate my rest dyas but know I need them). What I think would be great is if you create a Clean Eating Program that includes what you eat & it came with pre-determined meal plans. Please try to think about something like that. I know alot of us would be interested in purchasing it. Thanks again for being such an inspiration to us.
Private Member |
No excuses warriors! Thanks for the great article, Zuzka!
Private Member |
tel aviv, tel aviv, israel
Hi z. My metabolism rate is so slow because I am restricting my daily calorie intake to nearlly 700 calories. I workout frequently and intensively, but I am not getting perfect results because my body lacks many nutrients and supplements. I don’t look skinny thought I don’t eat. How can I get out of this starvation mode without putting on weight??. Please help me.
Private Member |
hi enas I have been In that place while I was suffering from an eating disorder. I suggest you slowly increase your intake to a healthy level. I promise your metabolism will speed back up again and you will be healthy if you follow the path of recovery and stay there. Restricting is not healthy. It’s a mind set change but your body will be healthier once you start eating more & and your metabolism will return but depending on how long you’ve been restricting and how serious it varies how long it will take to get to normal functioning. Just trust the process. Some basic guidelines are Aim for at least 1500 a day and increase from there depending on activity level. Hope this helps
Private Member |
It’s really a hard situation and i am aware about my problem. Unfortunetly i have been doing this for quite a long time. I will increase my calorie intake gradually, so my body won’t get a shock. Hope it will get back to normal.thanks a lot
Private Member |
Hi Inas
I did the same thing to myself, for about 8 years. I worked so hard and saw such minimal results. It seems now, a year after I have been conscious of my intake, that it is still very difficult to change my mindset! But I am doing it! I started with the hardest thing, I started eating breakfast, coffee is not breakfast :p
If you are like me than you didn’t get here overnight and you won’t change overnight, but one day you will wake up and be like WOW! Look at me go!
I have 2 things I would like you to remember, every day is a new day, keep going! and you are a strong, beautiful, smart and magical person, perfectly imperfect and worth every effort!
Private Member |
seattle, washington
Now that I have been exercising in a Gym,I see all these people walking for hours on treadmills and I want to bitch slap them! How is that effecting their metabolism? It’s no more intense than going about your day and far less productive!
Thank you for the article.
Private Member |
uk
And what is wrong with walking? It must be rather dull on treadmill but outdoors its the best thing to do:)
Private Member |
seattle, washington
Walking for hours on a treadmill is what was wrong not walking itself. That is part of your day. These very same people are those who park the closest to the front door and make an effort to make no effort at everything they do. Making it intensity is key to exercise. Whether you are lifting or jumping.rope. Getting back to the subject: The healthy people on the treadmill aren’t changing their metabolism doing hours of very low intensity exercise. They would be way better off following Zuzka’s workouts!!! 🙂