Own Your Metabolism

I have two empty legs and a black hole for a stomach. 

In fact, most people are astonished at the quantity of food I consume daily.  Often I joke that I became a fitness expert so that I could eat as much as I'd like and not get fat.  I am lean, hungry, and eating quite often and I don't have a shred of guilt about it.  Because I own my metabolism.

I realize that my metabolism is unique.  But so is yours.  Grasping the concept of your metabolism, that it belongs to you, is key in your quest for health.  The focus starts on not changing your metabolism but changing your attitude in its relation to you.  You must own it. 

Most people develop a strong appetite when they are going through puberty and growing.  Hormonal changes in the body spike hunger signals and turn teenagers into Fridge Stalkers--always standing, door ajar, drooling into the white light....

The problem is that the occurring hormonal growth of puberty eventually stops, the activity lessens, environmental and emotional stress grow, and those developed eating habits perpetuate weight gain.  Somewhere along the way we lose control of our metabolism and become slaves to it.  We forget to be the masters.

The first step into owning your metabolism is to understand the following Metabolic Truths:

1) We consume calories.
2) We burn calories.
3) We store calories.

Our consumption of calories is based off of hormonal driving forces.  If we learn to manipulate our endocrine system, which is responsible for the production and delivery of hormones throughout the body, then we move into the direction of owning our metabolism.

Think growth and recovery.

The best thing about exercise and activity is that the body burns calories to sustain movement and function, and to recover and adapt over time.  If exercise becomes regular then the body becomes more efficient at utilizing calories for energy expenditure.

Create the expectation for the body to burn and it will learn to continuously be ready; your metabolism will speed up.

Oppositely, do nothing, continue to eat, and watch your body become efficient at storing calories in the form of fat.

The choice is yours.  Become efficient at storing your consumed calories or burning them.  Own your metabolism or become a slave to it.