Metabolism is the process by which the body converts food into energy. The speed of metabolism varies among individuals and can change with age. A faster metabolism burns more calories, potentially making it easier to lose weight, while a slower metabolism burns fewer calories, which may lead to weight gain. While metabolism plays a role in weight management, it's not the only factor. Diet, exercise, and overall lifestyle also play a significant role.
Understanding Metabolism
In simple terms, metabolism is the internal process by which your body expends energy and burns calories. This process works at different intensities in different people. Age also affects metabolism, as it can slow over the years, even if you start out with a fast metabolism. Differences in metabolism speed are evident in how easy or hard it is for people to gain or lose weight. A slow metabolism burns fewer calories, which means more get stored as fat in the body; that's why some people have difficulty losing weight by just cutting calories. But you can't entirely blame a sluggish metabolism for weight gain. The reality is that metabolism often plays a minor role.
Exploring High Metabolism Diets
High metabolism diets aim to increase the rate at which the body burns calories. These diets often involve specific eating patterns, food choices, and exercise recommendations. There are several approaches, each with its own set of rules and guidelines.
The Metabolic Confusion Diet
The Metabolic Confusion Diet, also known as calorie shifting or calorie cycling, involves alternating between high-calorie and low-calorie days or weeks. Unlike diets that focus on a specific daily caloric intake, this diet aims to "trick" the metabolism into becoming more efficient.
How it Works:
- Calorie Cycling: The diet recommends alternating between high-calorie and low-calorie days or weeks.
- Exercise: Regular exercise is recommended, but no specific routine is mandated.
- Individualized Approach: High- and low-calorie days are tailored to each person's weight-loss and health goals.
Potential Benefits:
- Weight Loss: Restricting calories leads to weight loss, as the body burns more calories than it consumes.
- Metabolic Flexibility: The diet may keep the metabolism adaptable, improving the body's ability to burn and store carbohydrates and manage fat storage.
- Less Restrictive: The unlimited calories on high-calorie days may make the diet feel less restrictive.
Potential Drawbacks:
- Calorie Miscalculation: Depending on individual needs, the prescribed calorie levels on both high- and low-calorie days may be insufficient or excessive.
- Unsustainability: Feeling restricted can lead to unhealthy eating patterns, making the diet unsustainable in the long run.
- Lack of Personalization: A generic weight-loss protocol may not be as effective as a plan tailored to individual fitness and wellness goals.
The One-Meal-A-Day (OMAD) Diet
The One-Meal-A-Day (OMAD) diet is a type of intermittent fasting that restricts calorie consumption to a single meal or a short window of time each day.
Read also: High-Fiber Diet for Better Health
How it Works:
- Calorie Restriction: The diet involves consuming all daily calories in one meal, creating a calorie deficit.
- Fasting: Long fasting periods between meals are a key component.
Potential Benefits:
- Weight Loss: Calorie restriction leads to fat loss.
- Other Health Benefits: Fasting may reduce heart disease risk factors, decrease blood sugar, and reduce inflammation.
Potential Drawbacks:
- Extreme Restriction: OMAD is one of the most extreme forms of intermittent fasting.
- Loss of Lean Body Mass: This eating method may not be ideal for maintaining or building muscle mass.
- Adverse Health Effects: Some studies suggest that excessive calorie restriction may increase cholesterol and blood pressure.
- Negative Symptoms: OMAD can lead to nausea, dizziness, irritability, low energy, and constipation.
- Unsuitability for Certain Groups: The diet is not appropriate for pregnant or breastfeeding women, children, teens, older adults, and people with eating disorders.
- Potential for Unhealthy Food Choices: People may overconsume processed, calorie-dense foods during their one meal.
The Fast Metabolism Diet
The Fast Metabolism Diet claims to rev up your metabolism so that you can eat plenty of food and still lose weight. Your dietary goals are accomplished by rotating foods throughout the week. The Fast Metabolism Diet does not require you to count fat or carbs or track your calories.
How it Works:
The Fast Metabolism Diet is a 28-day program that aims to rev up your metabolism so that you can lose excess weight. The Fast Metabolism Diet program is split into three phases which are repeated on a weekly basis for a total of four weeks. Each phase emphasizes different foods and provides recommendations for various physical activities. Portion sizes vary by phase and depending on the amount of weight you want to lose.
- Phase 1 (Monday-Tuesday): The diet’s promoters claim that this phase unwinds stress and convinces your body that it is no longer trying to store fat. During these two days, you should eat a high-glycemic, carb-rich diet with moderate amounts of protein. Fats should be avoided. This is meant to reduce stress and anxiety, prepare your body for weight loss and encourage your adrenal glands to produce lower amounts of the stress hormone cortisol. Foods to eat include high-glycemic fruits, such as pears, mango, pineapple and cantaloupe, as well as high-carb whole grains, such as oatmeal, brown rice, spelt and brown-rice pasta. This phase also promotes foods rich in vitamins B and C, such as lean beef, lentils, oranges, turkey and kiwi. These are thought to stimulate your thyroid to burn fats, protein and carbs more efficiently - and convert sugar into energy instead of storing it as fat. During this phase, you are encouraged to include at least one aerobic workout.
- Phase 2 (Wednesday-Thursday): This phase is supposed to unlock fat stores and build muscle. During these two days, your diet should be rich in protein and non-starchy, alkalizing vegetables, yet low in carbs and fats. Lean, high-protein foods that help create muscle include beef, bison, turkey, fish and chicken (1). This phase also includes vegetables, such as cabbage, broccoli, kale, spinach, cucumbers and collard greens. The diet plan claims that these vegetables are alkalizing and supposedly lower the acidity of your blood, stimulating your liver to release fat cells. At the same time, they’re said to provide the enzymes and phytonutrients needed to break down high-protein foods. However, keep in mind that your body tightly regulates your blood pH level, keeping it slightly alkaline around 7.36-7.44. In fact, it would have detrimental consequences if the pH of your blood fell out of its normal range (2, 3). So, while the vegetables promoted for the second phase are very healthy, they’re not healthy because of their supposed effects on blood pH. During the second phase, you are encouraged to do at least one weight-lifting session.
- Phase 3 (Friday-Sunday): This phase is designed to accelerate your metabolism and fat burning. During these three days, you are encouraged to add many healthy fats to your meals and snacks while consuming moderate amounts of protein and carbs. Foods to eat in this phase include olive or grapeseed oil, safflower mayonnaise, eggs, nuts, seeds, coconut, avocados and olives. Foods like seaweed, coconut oil, shrimp and lobster should also be included since the diet claims that they boost metabolism by stimulating your thyroid gland. During this phase, you are encouraged to pick an activity that allows you to unwind, such as yoga, meditation or even a massage. This is meant to lower stress hormone levels and increase the circulation of fat-burning compounds.
The Fast Metabolism Diet warns against some foods which should be avoided whenever possible. These include:
- Wheat
- Corn
- Dairy
- Soy
- Dried fruit
- Fruit juices
- Refined sugar
- Artificial sweeteners and foods containing them
- Caffeine
- Alcohol
- Fat-free diet foods
However, the diet’s founder does make an exception for vegetarians and vegans, who are allowed to eat three soy foods: tempeh, tofu and edamame. Note that these must be organic and not genetically modified (non-GMO). On this diet, non-organic produce and nitrate-containing meats are also banned because the additives, preservatives, pesticides, insecticides and hormones they may host are thought to slow down your liver’s burning of fat.
Potential Benefits:
The Fast Metabolism Diet likely helps you lose weight for several reasons. First, it incorporates plenty of whole foods. This may increase your fiber intake, which may contribute to weight loss. Next, excluding soy, wheat, refined sugar and sweeteners further cuts out many processed foods from your diet. This can naturally reduce the number of calories consumed, further promoting weight loss. What’s more, the prescribed weekly physical exercise is likely to increase the number of calories burned, further contributing to the energy deficit needed for weight loss. Moreover, hydration - emphasized strongly in the diet - can lower appetite and may help you burn a few more calories to promote additional weight loss.
Read also: Delicious High-Fiber Smoothie Recipes
By incorporating plenty of fruits, vegetables, lean protein and healthy fats, it’s richer in vitamins and minerals than some other diet plans. Its extensive list of foods to avoid also naturally curbs your intake of highly processed, empty-calorie foods, leaving more room for nutrient-rich ones. The fiber content may also promote gut health, blood sugar control and immune and brain function.
Potential Drawbacks:
The Fast Metabolism Diet has major drawbacks as well. The Fast Metabolism Diet puts a strong emphasis on consuming specific foods in a certain order to boost metabolism and promote weight loss. However, there is little scientific evidence backing such principles. There is absolutely no research to support this theory of “surprising” your metabolism as a way to lose more weight.
The Fast Metabolism Diet is frequently criticized for being unsustainable. Many people complain that it requires too much measuring, weighing and food prepping to fit into a busy lifestyle. Such a specific and restrictive diet may also be difficult to follow if you eat out regularly or attend barbecues, birthday parties or holiday events. Although the long list of foods to avoid does cull many processed foods from people’s diets, it also cuts out some beneficial ones. For instance, soy is linked to a modest decrease in cholesterol levels and may also contain some cancer-fighting compounds, Caffeine is another banned food on this diet which is associated with improved brain function, protection against Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s and a lower likelihood of depression
The Role of Hypermetabolism
Hypermetabolism is a condition characterized by an extremely fast metabolism, where the body burns more calories than it should. This can occur when the body needs extra energy to heal or repair itself.
Symptoms of Hypermetabolism:
- Unexplained weight loss
- Increased appetite
- Excessive sweating
- Fatigue
- Quick and/or irregular heart rate
- Anemia
Causes of Hypermetabolism:
- Burns or other traumas
- Sepsis
- Eating disorders (during recovery)
- Hyperthyroidism
- Cancer
- Surgery
- Genetic conditions (inborn errors of metabolism)
Complications of Chronic Hypermetabolism:
- Muscle weakness or muscle atrophy
- Bone density loss
- Heart problems
- Kidney damage
- Weakened immune system
Treatment of Hypermetabolism:
- Custom meal plan with increased calorie intake
- Medication to treat underlying conditions
- IV fluids for dehydration
- Cancer treatment (radiation or chemotherapy)
- Limited physical activity
Strategies to Boost Metabolism
While some diets claim to "reset" or drastically alter metabolism, sustainable approaches focus on lifestyle changes. It is often a small change that may help you burn more calories. That, along with adopting a healthier diet and making sure you get enough exercise, may give people the extra push they need to lose and maintain weight.
Read also: The Hoxsey Diet
- High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT): After a period of interval training, your metabolism can stay revved up for as much as a full day.
- Protein and Weight Training: Combine adequate protein intake with weight training to increase muscle mass, which can boost metabolism.
- Green Tea: Studies have found green tea contains a compound called epigallocatechin gallate, which may increase the calories and fat you burn.
Important Considerations
When considering any high metabolism diet, it's essential to keep the following in mind:
- Sustainability: The most effective weight loss program is one you'll stick with.
- Nutrient Density: Ensure that your diet provides a variety of nutritious foods from all food groups.
- Individual Needs: Consider your specific fitness and wellness goals.
- Professional Guidance: Consult with a healthcare professional or registered dietitian before making significant dietary changes.