5 Things You Should Know About Your Body

Have you tried dieting lately? Chances are you have, and have met with limited results. Chances are, you’re trying something that fights against the way your body was designed. You see, your body is effectively a complex machine – let’s compare it to a car for a moment. You have to put the proper octane of fuel in your engine, and also oil in the engine. If you put oil in the gas tank, you’re going to have problems. In the same way, you have to put the proper fuel into your body. The problem is that with food there are a lot more options than gasoline. Just as the average car driver understands the basics of gasoline, so too should you understand the basics of how your body handles food. I’ll be assuming you understand the basics like what carbohydrates are and what is your metabolism, but if you have questions feel free to ask.

There is an order in which your body uses energy! That order is carbohydrates, then protein, then fats. Simple carbohydrates (like sucrose or glucose) are burned first, as ready energy. This is what gives you a sugar rush if you have too much. Complex carbs such as those found in bread or pasta provide more lasting energy through the day. Proteins are then burned, providing even more lasting energy. Fat, burned last, provides the greatest energy potential. The point of this is not to avoid fat. The point is that to provide lasting energy through the day, you need a mix of all types. Energy from carbohydrates is used to utilize proteins, which are in turn used to utilize fats. If you ignore any one group, you’ll suffer an energy low when you start burning that type. Ever had a nap attack? This is one reason why.

What you eat affects your metabolism! Your body is filled with automatic feedback mechanisms. These feedback mechanisms are too numerous and complicated to go into detail here. But suffice to say, when you don’t eat, more organs than just your brain and stomach take notice. If you eat more, the more your body will recognize that food is plentiful. Less food will be digested, since it’s not necessary. Conversely, if you eat very little (read: starve yourself), your body will react as if food has become extremely scarce. Your body will try its best to store up as much fat as possible. This is why so many diets fail – they make your body store up fat instead of burn it.

Your metabolism is different at different times of day! An important application of this is breakfast. Eating breakfast wakes up your body’s metabolism (it slows at night, since you don’t need much energy), which can enable greater weight loss over the course of the day. Conversely if you eat too much for dinner or eat dinner too late, the calories you don’t lose will be stored as fat. Lunch should be the biggest meal of the day, since that is the time at which your metabolism should be at its high point.

Muscle weighs more than fat! When you start up a workout, don’t be surprised if you gain a little before you start losing. The important thing to remember is that even though muscle weighs more, it burns calories even when you’re standing still. So even though you might jump up a few pounds, from that point forward losing weight will become easier and easier for a while. Of course for every exercise and diet there is a plateau – once you approach and reach this point it will be more difficult to lose weight. At this stage your body has adapted – you have to “one up” your exercise and force your body to adapt again, building more muscle.

Water is key! This should go without saying, but drinking enough water every day is so important. Recalling the previous example, oil is to cars what water is to people. It’s what makes everything in your body run properly – without it your body will break down very swiftly. Basically, it is almost impossible to drink too much water. I don’t have specific info here, but studies I’ve read suggest that being well hydrated can contribute to weight loss.

Well, I hope I’ve given you some knowledge you didn’t have before. Get out there and live life to its fullest!