The technical definition of metabolism is the sum of all the chemical physical changes that take place within the body that enable it to continue to grow and function. Metabolism involves the breakdown of complex organic properties to release energy and keep your body healthy. You may have heard the terms anabolism and catabolism thrown around. There terms refer to actions that take place within your body. Contrary to popular belief, catabolism isn’t just the loss of muscle tissue. When you burn fat you are also catabolic and that is good. Conversely when your body stores fat or builds muscles, it is called anabolic. Sculpting lean muscles means focusing on the habits that promote catabolism of fat tissue and anabolism of muscle tissue. A hgher metabolism implies your body is burning more claories even at rest. But there are specific habits that you must learn to turn your body into a lean mean, fat burning machine!

MUSCLES BURN FAT!

Resistance training boosts your metabolism in a number of ways.  Weight training itselfhas beeen shown to increase post exercise consumption for up to several hours after working out! Weight training overloads the muscles to increase their size to help you burn more calories.  Adding just 1 lb of muscle per year can help you lose 5 lbs of fat, even if you at exactly the same!

Muscle is metabolicly active so it requires calories even when you are resting. Muscle tissue also helps increase the number of  fat burning enzymes and organelles in your body.

SUPPLEMENT YOUR BODY BY EATING HEALTHY FATS

Healthy fats are involved in the manufacturing of hormones and repair of the cell membranes in your body.  With the right type of fats. your body can use this anabolicly.

These processes require energy so the fats may actually increase your metabolism despite the added calories consumed.  This isn’t a green light for downing that 5 lb bag of almonds, but eating healthy polyunsaturated  fats from nuts, seeds and vegetables can keep you satisfied as well as support your metabolism.

EVERY LITTLE BIT COUNTS

Believe it or not, making small changes in your daily habits can have a dramatic effect on your metabolism.  Are you the guy who drives around for 10 minutes looking for the perfect parking space when you could be inside in 5 had you parked and walked the extra block or two to your destination?  Stand instead of sitting.  Take the stairs instead of the elevator.  Walk to the store instead of driving when it’s nice outside.  I know you’ve heard all this before but it’s astoundingly true- people who make theses small decisions to be active end up being leaner than those who don’t!  You have a million little opportunities to burn calories each day.    Get with it!

CARBOHYDRATES ARE NOT EVIL!

They aren’t the enemy. Eating the right kind of carbohydrates can actually help your metabolism!  But all carbs are not created equal!  Those 200 kcal that come from lentils are definately not the same as those 200 kcal from that cheesecake.  The lentils contain fiber, nutrition and other goodies the body must work to extract.  That cheesecake (or cookie or pie or regular coke) is like heroin- it goes straight to storage- and fast.  Like it?  Good, because you are going to be living with it on your butt for a while.
Our online VITABOT nutrition program is a great tool for looking at the nutritional value of the foods you are eating each day.  Take the time to record just one day and get an education on how you are fueling your body!

FLUCTUATE YOUR CALORIES

Zigzagging caloric intake is a very effective method for keeping your metabolism revved.  Just like our workouts, our dietary habits need “cross training” and variety!  If you eat too little calories your metabolism may actually slow down your metabolism because it thinks you are starving.  Confuse it by adding calories (nutritionally dense) one day and sparing the next (ie. 2200 kcal one day and 1800 the next)…  This type of confusion prevents homeostasis or the status quo for your metabolism!

INCRESE THE FREQUENCY OF EATING

Yes!  That’s what we’re saying!  EAT MORE OFTEN!  Now that doesn’t mean more calories but the same calories over more small meals.  This keeps our metabolism elevated and our bodies fed so we aren’t grazing the fridge at 9 or 10 at night starving since we didn’t eat all day trying to “be goo.”  PLAN YOUR MEALS.  Use the VITABOT meal planning programs and shopping lists to plan foods in advance so you can feed yourself often!

INCREASE PROTEIN

Protein requires a complex conversion in your body to be used as fuel.  This makes it more metabolically active in your body as it requires more calories to process than that pop tart.  Eating lean protein also feeds your muscles and keeps blood sugar anchored to prevent hunger and overeating.  And don’t worry vegetarians- there are plenty of protein sources for you to eat as well.  Just check out your VITABOT  system!

MAKE YOUR CARDIO COUNT!

Sorry folks but reading on the elliptical isn’t going to cut it if you want to impact your metabolism.  Get out of your comfort zone with drills increasing the speed or resistance of the work you are doing.  This can be in 1 min drills with 2 min recovery – the combos are limitless.  Our workouts  are designed to provide you with high intensity cardio with challengin resistance intervals to give you the ever changing workouts you need to keep your body guessing and changing!

KEEP A DIARY

Studies show that people who write down their goals, the food they eat and the exercise they are doing have far better results than those who wing it.  Take out your calendar and plot a plan for success.  INTENTION is 90% of anything we do well!   DON’T JUST DO IT- WRITE IT DOWN!

Keep moving!  Keep Moving!  Keep Moving and we’ll see you in class!