By Michal Baird, M.D.
Did your metabolism FLAT LINE a few years ago? No matter what you do, no matter what you eat… you still can’t seem to LOSE WEIGHT!!
How Your Metabolism Works
Your metabolism involves hormones and enzymes that take food and drink and change them into energy. When you eat and drink more than you burn, you store the rest.
Your metabolism is influenced by your age, your heredity, your body composition (% body fat and muscle), and yes, your size.We will help you figure out your trouble spots and get your weight and energy headed in the right direction.
We Americans… we’re an interesting bunch. A lot of us don’t have time to eat any "real food" early in the day (or so we think). "Aye, there’s the rub"… trying to fit healthy foods into a busy lifestyle.
Cranking your engine with breakfast and having the correct foods for lunch is a great way to get your metabolism up and running. Skipping Food Increases Stress Hormones. Skipping food shoots up your stress hormones and then the hunger hormones get into the chase. Now, who wants those cortisol levels going higher and higher? Not me and not you. What is it about those cortisol levels that make us fat? Well, back in the Stone Age, when humans were out foraging for edible roots and berries, suddenly we would look around and…Yikes! There’s an enormous carnivorous bear and we’re on its menu! Adrenaline surges and causes all our fat cells to release fatty acids into our bloodstream to be used as quick energy. We need to make a speedy exit, and the adrenals jump into overdrive, releasing cortisol. This cortisol helps us handle the surge of energy and the release of fatty acids.
Flash forward to the modern world, and we’re not running away from hungry bears… in fact, we’re not even standing – we’re hunched over, staring at computer screens, enclosed by cubicles – so cortisol guides all that released fat toward our bellies, leading to toxic fatty deposits in and around our organs.
Great, huh? So what’s one to do? The Importance of Exercise Exercise is an effective stress reliever and it burns calories. So, get up, stand up. Take a minute. Close your eyes. Breathe. Perform some light exercise. Relieve some stress. Chill.
Exercise also gets your metabolism moving out of the slow lane and into passing gear. Use those muscles boys and girls! Using muscles can just be the simple act of getting up from a desk or couch – all motion can be classified as exercise. Walk, move around, use your arms and legs. Dance. Put on a James Brown song and get on the good foot! Every little bit helps!
The Benefits of Healthy Food There’s more good news. Healthy food can also ease the effect that stress has on our hormones. Healthy, fun and easy food can be found. We at MMC don’t expect perfection (how boring!) but we do hope to help you change a few bad eating habits.
ABC’S of Metabolic Resuscitation:
REMEMBER Your ABC’s…
■ Activity
■ Better Nutrition
■ Check for Endocrine Problems
And Don’t Forget the D!
Why wait? We’re in charge of the ABC’s~ you’ve got the D,
Do It Now!!
We Can Help!
For help resuscitating your metabolism, visit us online at www.goingmetabolic.com.