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Metabolism
Metabolism is the term used to describe the inner chemical processes that occur in the mitochondria inside the cells, during which food energy is turned into cellular energy. The rate at which you turn food energy into cellular energy is called the metabolic rate.
If you have a high metabolic rate your cells will convert food energy into cellular energy efficiently, which means that you will not store excess or unused calories as fat so easily.
Conversely, if you have a low metabolic rate, you will not convert food energy into cellular energy efficiently, and food energy (measured as calories) will be stored as body fat after your glycogen stores are full.
It is well recognized that metabolism has a lot to do with excessive weight gain and those with a slow or sluggish metabolism will gain weight very easily and tend to develop cellulite. Fat cells in areas of cellulite have a very low metabolic rate and this is why it is so hard to burn fat off from these affected areas.
Factors that influence the rate at which you burn fat include:
- Syndrome X which is also known as the metabolic syndrome or insulin resistance
- Leptin resistance – leptin is a hormone that regulates hunger and it may stop working if you have been overweight for several years
- Fatty liver or sluggish liver function
- Excess cortisol levels caused by prolonged stress – cortisol is an adrenal hormone and it promotes weight gain and fluid retention
- Thyroid gland problems such as thyroid resistance and/or low levels of the thyroid hormone called T3 (triiodothyronine)
- Our genes – this is our unique DNA which we inherit from both parents
Body toxicity – toxins impair the energy factories inside the fat cells, which reduces their ability to burn fat. Most of these toxins are fat-soluble and only the liver can turn fat-soluble toxins into watersoluble toxins. If this does not occur, the toxins cannot be eliminated, and will stay inside the fat cells. This causes persistence of cellulite.
- Gut problems such as unhealthy bacteria and leaky gut can cause impaired metabolism. To improve the types of bacteria in your gut, increase vegetables and fruits in your diet, take a probiotic, and try some fermented foods.
- Food sensitivities and intolerances cause inflammation, which irritates the gut and overworks the liver leading to problems with metabolism. Food intolerances and allergies cause cravings, often for the very food that is causing the problem.
The most common offenders are gluten and sugar. The most common food intolerance to cause weight gain is gluten. “Gluten – is it making you Sick or Fat?”
- A chemical imbalance in the brain’s neuro-transmitters, especially low dopamine, which makes you crave comfort foods. This can be helped with the amino acid tyrosine. • Lack of exercise, which will reduce blood supply to the fatty areas and increase fluid retention in cellulite areas.
- A negative self belief pattern – this can be helped by counseling, clinical hypnosis, meditation techniques and by getting expert advice.
- Imbalances in sex hormones such as oestrogen dominance and/or androgen excess in women. This is common in Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS).
- Hormonal changes may cause weight gain.
Many women complain of weight gain before menstrual bleeding and during and/or after pregnancy. This can be prevented by correct diet and keeping your metabolism at efficient levels. Hormonal imbalances can be treated by using bio-identical hormones such as natural progesterone.
The synthetic hormones in the contraceptive pill, and many types of Hormone Replacement Therapy, can lead to weight gain. Bio-identical hormones do not cause weight gain.
Eat breakfast like a king, Lunch as a queen and supper as a pauper.
Get your carbohydrates down such as wheat and its products.
Exercise regularly with rebounder
Avoid the following foods
Sugar, Alcohol, milk, meat and its products, eggs, soft drinks and carbonated drinks and caffeine (Tea, coffee, coco and chocolate).
At Wellness Wave Centre, we customize meal plans to suit your weight reduction or weight gain journey.
COMMON FACTORS THAT CAUSE WEIGHT GAIN
Liver Function
The liver is the major fat burning organ in the body and regulates fat metabolism in several very sophisticated ways. In simple terms we can describe the liver, as an organ which can burn fat and can also pump excessive fat out of the body through the bile into the intestines.
Thyroid Gland Function
The thyroid gland is located in the front of the neck attached to the lower part of the larynx (voice box) and to the upper part of the trachea (windpipe).
The thyroid hormone can be considered to be the throttle or accelerator of body metabolism and as we discussed earlier, metabolism is the process by which cells burn fat.
The thyroid gland produces a thyroid hormone called thyroxine (T4) because it contains 4 molecules of iodine.
Thyroxine is not a highly active hormone and must be converted in the body to its more active form called Tri iodothyronine or T3, which contains 3 molecules of iodine.
Most of this conversion of T4 into T3 occurs in the liver, so you need a healthy liver for efficient thyroid function.
T3 acts directly upon the energy factories inside the cells (mitochondria) to speed up the rate at which they convert food energy into physical energy.
In other words T3 speeds up the metabolic rate. The conversion of T4 into T3 can slow down with advancing years, fatty liver, liver disease, poor diet, or exposure to various toxins such as some prescription drugs, excessive alcohol or insecticides.
Slow or reduced conversion of T4 into T3 is called “thyroid resistance” and results in abnormally low levels of T3 or even the wrong shaped T3, which is useless.
People with low levels of T3 or the wrong shaped T3 (known as reverse T3) will have a very slow metabolic rate and will find it very hard to lose weight. They will age more rapidly and be fatigued.
They will experience dryness of the skin and hair, fluid retention, and a tendency to puffy cellulite, especially just below the inner knees.
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