I’ve got some bad news from you.
Despite what all the OCE Diets tell you, at a given weight and muscle mass, your metabolism isn’t going to go up, (or down) a whole bunch.
If you are 170 pounds with 150 pounds of lean mass…your resting metabolism is not going to fluctuate more than the equivalent of 100 or 200 calories worth of calorie burning over a 24 hour period.
I’ll admit that it fluctuates throughout the day, depending on your workouts and eating habits and sleeping habits…but when added up over 24 hours the total effect of these fluctuations is VERY SMALL, and it is MINISCULE compared to the fluctuations in the amount of food you eat.
Consider this-
It is very easy to overeat by 2,000 calories during a given day.
It is virtually IMPOSSIBLE to raise your resting metabolic rate by even 1,000 calories above normal…Not with a high protein diet, not with ephedrine, not by adding ten pounds of muscle, not even by experimenting with drugs like Clenbuterol.
This begs the question -if the fluctuations that are possible with metabolic rate are minuscule compared to the fluctuations that occur with calorie intake, then why does ‘metabolism’ get all sorts of attention?
It’s because it sounds mystical, magical, and to a certain extend…down right sexy.
It is great media fodder.
It is a great buzz word.
Put “boost metabolism” in the headline of an article…and it will get read guaranteed.
What do you think would sell more copies of Cosmo –
“3 secrets to losing weight by boosting your metabolism”
or
“3 secrets to losing weight by eating less”
The truth is, our love affair with our metabolisms is a main cause of obsessive compulsive eating.
The belief that what you eat can DRASTICALLY change your metabolism is not only wrong, but it can derail your weight loss efforts.
The bottom line is if you are counting on the foods you eat to burn your body fat for you, you are going to be very disappointed with the results.
The most important thing you should learn about eating is not how foods affect your metabolism, it’s learning to appreciate the value of simply eating less.
BP
