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Your metabolism is not making you fat, you are making you fat. Yes, I said it. Don’t blame being overweight on your metabolism, blame it on your dietary habits and your lack of exercise. I’m not trying to offend anyone, so don’t take this personally. I’ve been a personal trainer for over 15 years and I can honestly say that maybe 5% of my clients that are overweight or obese can blame it on their metabolism due to serious illnesses and/or medications. If you research this subject, most health/fitness professionals agree that it is the lack of discipline and consistency individuals have when it comes to proper eating and daily exercise.

Metabolism is defined as the chemical processes the body needs to sustain life. You may have even heard someone you know say, “I can’t lose weight because I have a slow metabolism”. There may be a little truth to this excuse that many people use, however, other factors such as how many calories you consume and how much exercise is performed greatly out-weighs having a “slow metabolism”.

Your metabolism is influenced by a few factors: age, sex, proportion of lean body mass, and heredity. After the age of 40 your metabolism starts to slow down by approximately 5%; men tend to burn more calories at rest than women do; having a higher amount of lean body mass can lead to a higher basal metabolic rate (BMR); lastly, some lucky people are just born with a high metabolism.

It is a fact that people that carry more weight on their body also have higher metabolisms because the body has to work harder to sustain itself. That’s why it is much easier to lose weight and reach short terms goals at the beginning of a new diet/exercise program and harder later on in the program. When an individual is overweight, the metabolism is running so high that cutting back on calories will result in very rapid weight loss. Then, when you lose body fat and muscle, your body needs fewer calories to sustain itself. That helps explain why it’s so easy to put the weight back on after you lose it. Most people go back to old habits of eating the same amount of calories they ate while being overweight.

In order to keep your metabolism high you must exercise and eat properly.

Cardiovascular training must be done in order to burn body fat and strength training must be done in order to build and maintain muscle mass. Muscle burns more calories at rest than fat.

Eating smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day also keeps your metabolism high. Six smaller meals spread out about every three hours throughout the day is the best way to do it. Larger meals are more difficult for the body to digest efficiently. Eating smaller meals more often will help to burn more calories throughout the day.

Lastly, I want to discuss factors that can’t significantly affect your metabolism. Weight-loss supplements, regardless of their claims, will not increase your metabolism. Supplements can be dangerous, are not researched enough, not backed by the FDA, and not recommended by this personal trainer. Also we’ve all heard on television about certain foods such as green tea, chili peppers, and other spicy foods that can increase our metabolism. However, most real research shows that these foods cause only a small, very short term boost. These foods are healthy and have other benefits for our bodies, but please don’t consume these thinking you are going to drastically increase your metabolism for the rest of your life.

Metabolism is a tricky subject when it comes to weight loss. People need to make informed decisions when it comes to dietary behaviors. I hope we’ve cleared up some misconceptions about eating and exercise and the role they play on your metabolism. When it comes to weight loss, we must exercise consistently, eat smaller meals, and be patient. You must make these factors a part of your life, for the rest of your life. Following these guidelines will help you to reach the goals you’ve set and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

I find that many of my clients tend to overtrain and not give their bodies the well deserved rest it needs. Rest and recovery are key in helping to keep your body strong and fit. Resting also helps to prevent overtraining injuries from occurring. Believe it or not, rest and recovery is just as important as exercising.

In order to increase your fitness level, make improvements in your favorite sport, or just to be healthy, your body must be exposed to stresses such as strength training and cardio conditioning. Once stress is applied, your body then needs time to adapt to the stresses. This is when recovery time takes place to help your body grow and develop properly, without injury.

If you are just beginning an exercise program, it’s very important to start off slow. Your body needs to adapt to the exercise you have started and the stress overload on your body. Taking a day off from training every other day will help keep your energy levels high and body feeling strong. Without rest, your body will begin to fatigue easily, motivation may slip, increased risk of injury may occur, which leads to the possibility of dropping out of your program.

Muscle soreness and stiffness is very common when exercising, for beginners and more advanced fitness enthusiasts. When muscles are sore, it is most important to rest that muscle group until the pain is gone without an anti-inflammatory. Don’t let muscle soreness get you down. Your body will need time to recover, thus making you stronger with proper rest. I always tell my clients that if the body hurts, then you should not train. Training sore muscles does nothing good for you. It only slows down your body’s growing process and increases risk of injuries.

I’m providing to you the most important rules of rest and recovery. The following recommendations will help you to cope with your sore muscles and may help expedite your recovery process.

You must get adequate sleep.

Sleep is most important in your rest and recovery period. Your body goes through a healing and growing process during this time. Eight hours of sleep is what is recommended for good quality rest.  For the best sleeping conditions, make sure the room is dark, cool, and quiet. To ensure you are getting the best sleep you can, do not exercise, drink alcohol, watch television, or eat right before going to bed.

Proper nutrition and hydration are keys to recovery after training.

In order to stay hydrated, you must replenish lost fluids and electrolytes after training. So drink water and consume the proper foods to replenish diminished energy stores. It is most important to consume the proper carbohydrates and proteins, the macronutrients, and vitamins and minerals, the micronutrients, within 30 minutes of finishing your training session. This will ensure proper growth and development of the muscle tissue you’ve broken down.

Stretching will help to keep muscles loose but will not prevent muscle soreness.

Stretching immediately after exercise, such as resistance training and cardiovascular conditioning, is very important. Stretching will keep tight muscles loose and flexible which may help to prevent injuries. However, stretching will not prevent muscle soreness. Muscle soreness primarily comes from the break down of muscle fibers or micro-tears in the muscle itself.

Massages are a favorite of many of my clients.

A good massage has several benefits. Massages help to increase blood to your muscles which enhances oxygen and nutrient delivery for faster recovery. Massages also help to rid the muscle of lactic acid, a chemical biproduct that forms in the muscle during exercise. Lactic acid is what causes the burning sensation you may feel when training with weights or doing isolation abdominal movements. Additionally, the warming and stretching of muscles during a massage may increase flexibility and can remove knots and help adhesions to feel better. Research shows that massages also improve one’s mood, reduce fatigue, and increase relaxation. Overall, massages are great for your physical and mental well-being.  Locally, we recommend Spa Mariana for Sports Massage and a variety of other treatments.

So take time and get your rest. Your body will feel stronger and perform better!