Mastering Your Metabolism

Hey there, Fit Fam,

We are going to talk about metabolism, specifically mastering your metabolism so that you can burn fat almost effortlessly. There are four things that you need to know specifically, but before that, lets talk about metabolism in general.

Metabolism is roughly the way your body burns energy. What is energy? Energy is calories, and when your metabolism is not working properly, your body stores those calories as fat. When it is working properly, you use those calories as energy throughout the day.

Let’s talk about the four things that make your up metabolism.

The first is your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate), or RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate). This is the calories you burn while you are at rest, but you are not sleeping. For example, if you were to lie in bed for 24 hours, these are the calories you would burn. This accounts for roughly 65-70% of your TDE (Total Daily Expenditure). We also refer to this as your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure).

Second, is your activity level and exercise. The idea is that you are going to burn 15-25% of your TDE, with your goal being 25%.

The third thing is your digestive process. This is the amount of calories you burn when digesting food, and will account for 5-10% of your TDE. Protein has the highest thermic effect of food, so you actually burn more calories eating protein than any other macronutrient.

Last is your AHG (Adaptive Heat Generation), which is your body’s ability to raise its temperature in order to create balance in the body. This accounts for roughly 7% of your TDE.

Now, lets break these down a little bit more so that you can manipulate them.

You can raise your BMR by feeding yourself and by doing exercise (weights or HIIT). The thing to think about here is that you want to build muscle. The more muscle on your body, the higher your BMR, and the more fat that you burn while you are at rest.

A lot of people email us here at Morellifit, asking if cardio is good or bad. If you are trying to get your activity level to 25% and you are really trying to get to your BMR through exercise, you will want to stick to weights or HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). The reason for that is because you create an afterburn effect that allows you to burn calories 24 hours a day.

When talking about the digestive process, you have your protein, your fats, and your carbohydrates. Try starting with your protein (a piece of steak, chicken, or fish), chewing it nice and slowly, and then move onto your other macronutrients. You should feel satiated, as protein is the most satiating of the macronutrients. You will then be less hungry and less likely to overeat, improving your ability to hit the 10% mark of your TDE. If you are eating the right amount, getting enough protein to keep you full will never be an issue.

Lastly, your AHG is just the homeostasis of the body.

These are the four things you would like to consider when you are talking about your metabolism, and understanding your metabolism, so that you can burn fat or build muscle at your leisure.

With all that, I hope this information serves you, and I understand that it can be a little more complex, but this should start to simplify it. If you have any questions regarding metabolism or calories, leave those below. We answer those questions every single day in the comments, so we’d love to hear from you. You can even potentially spark some new ideas for upcoming videos.

Remember, this is a process. It is not a destination, it is a journey, and it all begins with a single step for everybody, no matter where you are.

Be patient. Stay the course.

And lets get fit, together!