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The 7 Biggest Myths About Metabolism-Busted!
Small Meals Throughout the Day
You don't need to eat six meals per day to stroke your metabolic fire. Three squares can also keep you from growing round. Research comparing the two ways of eating found that belly fat, the kind that increases heart-disease risk, only increased in the high-meal frequency group.
Focus on overall calorie control and get plenty of fiber, protein, and micronutrients. What you eat is more important than when.
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SIMILAR ARTICLES & IDEAS:
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Key Ideas
Eat Plenty of Protein at Every Meal
Eating food increases your metabolism for a while because extra calories are required to process your meal. This is called the thermic effect of food (TEF).
Protein increases your metaboli...
Drink More Cold Water
Drinking water may speed up your metabolism for about an hour. This calorie-burning effect may be even greater if you drink cold water, as your body uses energy to heat it.
Drinking water can also help you fill up and help you eat less, especially if you drink it half an hour before you eat.
Do a High-Intensity Workout
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) involves short, intense bursts of activity and help you burn more fat by increasing your metabolic rate.
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Key Ideas
Supplements and Metabolism
Myth: Supplements can speed up your metabolism.
Over-the-counter products that claim to boost metabolism often don’t have calories, don’t directly impact your metabolis...
Skinnier People
Myth: Skinnier people have faster metabolisms.
It’s more about body composition than body size when it comes to metabolism. Metabolism depends on the composition of protein mass you have—muscle is more metabolically active, meaning the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn when you’re resting. This is why lifting weights is one of the best ways to speed up your metabolism, it adds muscles.
Metabolism and Genetics
Myth: Metabolism is genetic, can't be changed.
Your genes do influence your metabolism, but, unusual genetic conditions aside, lifestyle habits affect it more. The amount of exercise you get and the choices you make when you feed yourself are more important factors.
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Key Ideas
Your metabolism
It is in every cell in your body. It refers to a series of chemical processes in each cell that turn the calories you eat into fuel to keep you alive.
The body's major organs — th...
How we burn energy
There are 3 main ways:
- the basal metabolism, the energy used for your body's basic functioning while at rest
- the energy used to break down food (also known as the thermic effect of food)
- the energy used in physical activity.
Most of the energy you burn is from your resting metabolism.
Metabolism variations
Metabolism can vary a lot between people, and researchers don't understand why.
2 people with the same size and body composition can have different metabolic rates. One can consume a huge meal and gain no weight, while the other has to carefully count calories to not gain weight.