Mocktail Minutes
Mocktail Minutes
Metabolism Myths
This week were are giving you a little Metabolism 101 lesson and debunking a few of the most common metabolism myths that we often hear!
If you have questions, or topics that you want to hear about, head over to our Instagrams https://www.instagram.com/bayleethedietitian/ or https://www.instagram.com/brianna.dietitian/ and send us a DM!
Featured Mocktails:
Olipop - https://www.instagram.com/drinkolipop/
Juni - https://www.instagram.com/drinkjuni/
Click play, sip back, and be empowered.
Hello, everyone. Welcome back to this week's episode of Mocktail Minutes. This is Bailey.
Brianna:And this is Brianna.
Baylee:This week, I am drinking the Banana Cream Olipop.
Brianna:Is it good? I don't think I've heard of it. I
Baylee:Hmm. I don't think I'd buy it again. I don't know. I thought this was a good idea.
Brianna:I feel like I haven't even seen that one. So that's cool.
Baylee:I know. I thought it was exciting. I was seeing like cream soda. It's not a favorite. It tastes a lot like a banana Laffy Taffy and I don't like those.
Brianna:Oh yeah. Me neither.
Baylee:Yeah, I don't know if I'm going to finish this one.
Brianna:That's unfortunate.
Baylee:bummer.
Brianna:Cause they're expensive. I I am doing another Juney. I think I did this like a couple episodes back, but the it's a sparkling tea with adaptogens has this one has green tea ashwagandha lines main reishi mushroom. It's the tropical favorite flavor. It's actually really good. I
Baylee:I'm glad one of us has a really good drink today.
Brianna:Yeah, it's like I would definitely get multiple of these. you win some you lose some, you know,
Baylee:Yeah, I don't know what it is about this. I don't know about it though. It's one of those drinks that's kind of like that instant stomach ache. It's just the flavor is not agreeing with you. It also just says, I just read that it says gently swirl before opening. I did not do that,
Brianna:Oh. I think it might make it worse.
Baylee:Sorry, Alliepop, you didn't win our hearts with this one.
Brianna:sorry. We like most of the flavors, so, you know. Mm
Baylee:This week, we are talking about metabolism myths. before we get into that, we're gonna break down what your metabolism is, why it matters. We've done this a little bit before, but we're, it's kind of been like spread out through episodes, so we're just gonna FINA first, and then we're going to jump into some metabolism myths that you have probably heard of before. So, starting off, your metabolism just refers to the chemical processes that your body uses to convert the foods you eat, the drinks you drink, into energy. You need these processes to be able to live, to function, to repair, to allow your body to respond to its environment. And, I think understanding this definition is important because when we think about metabolism, oftentimes I feel like we always think about it in terms of fast and slow metabolism, and in just terms of weight loss, where we all should run a high functioning, efficient metabolism. Because if it's not efficient, You're going to feel sluggish no matter what weight you're at. So your metabolism has to do with more than just high, fast weight loss, weight gain.
Brianna:hmm. Yeah. Well, and you're right. I think when most people talk about metabolism, it's almost always in reference to like like weight management, weight regulation, and it does a lot more. So again, your overall energy production, your metabolism provides the energy needed for like your basic everyday functions, breathing, blood circulation, physical activity,
Baylee:system.
Brianna:digestion. All the things, even like things like your cognitive function, stuff like that. So that's a big one. And then yeah, weight regulation show. It does determine how many calories your body burns a day which has influenced weight loss, weight, maintenance, weight gain. But it's much more complicated than just, do I have a faster, slow metabolism and then your overall health. So like a well functioning metabolism supports energy balance, hormone regulation, cell repair, and a healthy immune system. And. I feel like a lot of those are becoming like buzzwords, right? Like the cell repair, stuff like that. Yeah, your metabolism plays a huge role in it. So when you start to understand your metabolism, I think you get a little bit more okay with like, okay, I do really want to make sure my metabolism is doing well. Not just because maybe I want to lose weight, but also like, I need to have a good functioning body, you know,
Baylee:Yes. Yeah. So it's super important. Just, we want it to be efficient. We want it to be, I don't want to say like we want it to be fast. I would just say we just want it to be efficient. We want it to be, we want a productive metabolism.
Brianna:Yeah, we want an optimal, productive, healthy metabolism that's doing well.
Baylee:And it is broken down into. Different components. First, we have our basal metabolic rate and this is the energy your body needs to perform just basic life sustaining functions like the breathing, regulating your body temperature, circulating your blood. So your BMR actually accounts for 60 to 75 percent of your daily energy expenditure. And something I would like to point out here is I like to show people what their BMR is like, at this point for your body to survive and function, you need to eat this much. And all these 1200 calorie diets, so many people are under eating, then what their body just needs to survive, of course, your body is stressed out and exhausted. Because if you're not eating, let's say your BMR is 1375 I don't know and you're eating 1200 calories. I mean you're under eating what your body needs to just Help keep you functioning that day Your body's going to get stressed out and it's going to start to get rid of things that are taking up energy that you Don't really need them to survive. So muscle while muscle is great and it does promote longevity. It's also a very producing tissue in your body, it's going to require a lot of energy to maintain. So we start to lose muscle. It's also things like hair. Our body doesn't really care how shiny and strong and healthy your hair is. It's going to be more focused on, are we circulating your blood? So things like hair health can go down the drain. And we've actually had a whole episode on why you're losing your hair and means of weight loss. And that could be a reason why, You're just not eating enough to allow your body to feel safe enough to breathe. Why is it going to allow your hair to grow nice and shiny strong? Yeah.
Brianna:is like slow your digestion. So a lot of people are like, oh, you know constipation or bloating is because I'm eating too much. No, it's because you're not eating enough. Your, your body is saying, okay, we need to shut down a lot of the energy we're using for digestion because our heart needs to pump. Like at the end of the day, I always tell people your body is made to survive. That's what it wants to do. And unfortunately, a lot of things that we like, it doesn't need to survive. So those are the things that go. It's also, I think, just to throw it out there, because the whole calories in, calories out thing comes up a lot. And, yes, baso basic thermo genetics. That's not the right word. Words are hard. I agree. It's right. Like, I'm not saying it's wrong, but it's It's like a little bit more complicated than the way that we see it. So there's a difference between a calorie deficit and just like straight up starving. If you were eating underneath your BMR, that is starving, not a calorie deficit. There's a huge difference. So and I think this is important when people, cause people are starting to understand, Oh, BMR more because like they'll go get DEXA scans. And then have BMR and they're like, Oh, I'm, Oh, 1400 calories is what I'm supposed to be eating a day. And I want to be in a little calorie deficit. So then it'll drop down. And I'm like, no, that's your basic starting point, which is why you need to understand what that number means and what to take from it. And I think a lot of these decks of places don't do a good job at explaining that to you. That doesn't mean, Oh my gosh, I need less than this, but that's, Mm
Baylee:Because you also have to count, like if you're working out, it's not just you're working out and now you can eat more type of thing, but like, if you are working out, you do need to eat more because. You're moving your body more. You're going to hopefully be building muscle, but you can only do that if you're giving your body the right tools to do that, BMR is very important in that way, and it is going to be influenced by age because your BMR does decrease with age, it also is impacted by gender. So men typically have a higher BMR due to more muscle mass. And I mean, I hate to be the bear bad news, but nine times out of 10, The men just are going to lose weight quicker because they have a higher metabolism because they have more muscle mass. That's just the way it is.
Brianna:a little less complex, like hormone shifts going on.
Baylee:like there's things we can't change. So you could either pout about it or just move on with life and be like, well. Here we are. I don't know but it is also impacted, impacted by your genetics too. So nothing really we can change there except for muscle mass. And this is one of the big reasons we play such a such a huge emphasis. And then
Brianna:And then the other thing that burns energy and is part of your metabolism is the thermic effect of food So basically this is the energy needed to digest absorb and metabolize the things that you eat that does take energy and so this accounts for about 10 of your daily energy expenditure And different foods have different Basically thermo effects. So protein has the highest. So I think this is where a lot of people are like Like boost your metabolism. Like that's where that term comes from because it takes more energy to break down protein
Baylee:your physical activity is going to be the next part. So physical activity is just the amount of energy that is being used on movement, whether it's exercise or just daily activity of ADLs is what we call them, activities of daily living. I forget, like as a dietician, we have all these acronyms and then I'll like say it or I'll type it to someone and they're like, I don't know what that means.
Brianna:What is
Baylee:bad. And I've been. I've been nose all day, but your ADL, so like walking, fidgeting, going up and down steps. This all has to do with physical activity, and this can account for 15 to about 30 percent of your daily energy expenditure, but honestly, it's going to vary widely depending on what you're doing. So you can break this down even farther into exercise activity. So I'll planned exercises like going to the gym to lift weights, doing a workout class, like you plan to this 30 minute time period you're working out, or you have NEAT, which is non exercise activity thermogenesis. And this is the energy use for everything that isn't deliberate exercise, like typing, cleaning, fidgeting just like all the movement you do during the day. And this is where It can get a little bit confusing, but don't overthink about this too much. Like walking on my walking pad during the day. I don't necessarily count that as my exercise. I just count that as my movement, kind of the same way. Like, let's say you're a nurse and you're walking around the hospital all day long. That I would say is your daily movement, not necessarily exercise. My exercise mainly consists more of weightlifting. boxing. Those are kind of the main two.
Brianna:yeah Yeah, like actual like these are my planned workouts and I think that's a big one I think that we both talk to clients about that a lot like look at movement and exercise a little bit differently You For some people, that's like a step two, three sort of thing. But just think like both of them take calories. And the reality is you use a lot more of that energy with your neat movement than your planned exercise. So that's why it's really important to kind of separate the two and kind of look at them as different. There are other things that impact your metabolism or like that use up. I guess use of energy would be like hormones. So your thyroid hormones and insulin both play a significant role in how you regulate your metabolic rate. That's very important. I don't think people realize. how much your thyroid function and what your insulin is doing play a role in a lot of things. Your environment. So, you know, cold weather can increase your metabolism slightly because your body is working harder to maintain its temperature. This is where the idea of cold plunges come along again. I've actually been deep diving a lot on that way better for men than women. Just throwing it out there. Yeah. And then sleep and stress. So poor sleep and high strep can disrupt metabolic efficiency. And we do have like a hormones episode that kind of break down how each of these play into metabolism, what impacts and that sort of thing. It's a little far back, but we have one.
Baylee:So now let's jump into some myths that we have heard about metabolism. Some questions we've gotten. Myth number one, a slow metabolism is the reason for waking. So I mean, as we just mentioned, metabolism does play a role in how many calories you burn, but waking can do with other things. Like what does your nutrition look like? What does your blood sugar balance look like? What does your physical activity, your sleep, your stress, your like, what are all these hormones doing? So just because you have a slow metabolism, like what's, what's the bigger picture? What is everything else going on?
Brianna:I don't like looking at it like this. Cause when you say like a slow metabolism is the reason for weight gain. Number one, people feel like they can't fix it. And then number two, it feels like, oh, well then I need to restrict my calories more. Like, that's what sounds like a good idea. It's like, oh, I have a slow metabolism, which means I need less calories. And usually that ends up exacerbating the issue. So I look like, like you said, I like to look at it differently. Like, what is all going on? Like, how can I increase my metabolism so that I can have better weight management? I feel like that gives you a little bit better idea of like, okay, what should I be doing? Because the answer isn't always. decrease your calories for the most part.
Baylee:Yes, it kind of just spins.
Brianna:Yeah, it depends. Of course. The next is skipping meals slows down your metabolism. So the reality is skipping meals doesn't actually cause your metabolism to permanently slow down. It will in the short term, right? Cause you're just You're not giving it as much energy, so you need to burn a little less energy. So it'll like, you know, slow short term do it. But long term extreme calorie restriction, kind of like I was talking about, will lower your basal metabolic rate because your body does adapt to conserve energy. So eating regularly can regulate hunger and energy levels, and mealtime can also affect metabolism. I will say when I say eating regular meals, some people think, Oh, I need to be eating every two hours to keep my metabolism boost. I would say no, the majority of people just need to spread out their calories evenly throughout the day among like three meals and a snack, that sort of thing. When you, I think something I've really learned in the past year or so is like people's meal timing and meal sizes. Sometimes if we could just improve that and not even change calories, It would be so much better. I'm like, let's take calories off the table and not even talk about that. Like, let's start eating normal meal sizes spaced out appropriately and see what happens. My
Baylee:can change up to, like, 20%. And it's not like this happens in two years. Like, your metabolic rate can start to drop after, like, two weeks. So that's why, when you've done this before, you've lost weight. You've done it. You've lost the weight. But then you hit a plateau. So then you're like, okay, we gotta eat less. And eventually it's not sustainable, you start to gradually increase what you're eating, and now you're gaining weight. It's because your metabolism dropped. So that's where like Brian was saying, how can we increase our metabolism instead of always just trying to decrease what we're eating? Because you know, a lot of people I'm seeing don't need to decrease what they're eating. And it's funny because I was thinking about this. Ganon is seven months old at most. Oh, tomorrow. And, like, I will make him an egg and a piece of toast and, like, mashed and berries. That's, like, what some of my adults are eating. And I'm like, you need more food than this. My seven month old is what you're
Brianna:And you have to eat more. Exactly. Well, it's so true. And I think a lot of people are trying to function off, like literally a toddler amount of food. And it's very frustrating. It makes you feel like weight loss is like impossible. You don't feel great. Your cognitive function is horrible. You have no energy. It feels like everything is like this big feet. Like, how am I supposed to take care of my kids? Work, work out all this. Let's get you eating a little bit more, and then I promise you, you'll feel a little bit better. Because, going back to one of the things metabolism does, it's in charge of energy production. Your body doesn't care that you need energy for all the things that go on in your life, if you're not on your feet. And you can't get down to zero. That's always what I tell people. It's like, oh, well it worked. I'm like, correct, but you always have to be slowly eating less. Like, what is, what's the end
Baylee:if you're if you're here asking questions about how to lose weight again, it didn't work because it worked until it did not. So it's not sustainable. So we have to find what's sustainable, what's actually going to work to support your body first, and then we dial in more on the weight loss.
Brianna:Yes.
Baylee:And with this weight loss talk, next myth is thin people have a faster metabolism. It's not necessarily true. I feel like we can often look at me like, Oh, your metabolism must be so fast. No, that's not how it works. A person's metabolic rate is influenced by muscle mass, age, activity levels, not just their gravitational pull. So Some larger individuals, whether they're lean or not, often have a higher BMR because their bodies require more energy to maintain that mass. So just because someone is this little, petite, tiny person, you don't know anything about their metabolism.
Brianna:Mm mm. Yeah, and actually for, like you said, usually it's a little less because they just have less mass.
Baylee:Mm
Brianna:less to, they have less to, I guess, maintain. And that's such a slippery slope. The next is eating certain foods can boost your metabolism. So I hear this a lot and I think it's on a lot of supplements too. So like while some
Baylee:I think it has to do a lot with green tea. That's the one I always hear.
Brianna:yes. Oh yeah. And there's green tea in this. And I was so happy to see that it didn't be like, it boosts your metabolism. Stop. It doesn't. I mean, it can slowly, you know, it can have a small minor temporary increase in your calorie burning. Very minute. Like we're talking. You could like wave at someone and probably spend the same amount of energy. Okay. So, so it's a very small effect. It does not cause significant weight loss on its own. Same with protein. Now I will say you burn more calories of protein, but this whole, like the. You need to eat protein every two hours to boost your metabolism. And I agree with that either, but building muscle, staying active are more effective ways to increase your energy expenditure. Like remember the biggest hitters for how much energy we use your basal metabolic rate and your muscle mass. Yeah.
Baylee:The next one is metabolism slows down drastically with age. So I literally just said that your metabolism decreases with age, which it does, but it is often due to muscle mass and reduced physical activity rather than just aging. So staying active and incorporating strength training will help you kind of counteract. These changes that occur with metabolism.
Brianna:Mm hmm.
Baylee:it does decrease because of the age component, we still have other things that we can manipulate, such as the muscle mass.
Brianna:Yeah. And it doesn't, it doesn't decrease it like drastically because of your age. I think primarily women really struggle with this because they're the ones that really notice like, okay, once I hit a certain age menopause, it was like I had such a hard time losing weight or maintaining weight. It is that whole muscle. factor. I think women are now starting to build muscle when they're in that perimenopause state, so it's harder to build muscle, harder to maintain muscle, and then they have that hormone shift. And it's, if you don't have a lot of lean muscle mass when you go through that hormonal shift, you are going to have a much harder time, simply because of the muscle, not really because you turned 55. you can't change your metabolism. So that is a myth. genetics do influence your baseline metabolic rate, but you can change Your metabolism, for example, building muscle, staying active, managing stress and getting adequate sleep because you're supporting that hormonal balance, which can improve your metabolic efficiency. So I think sometimes, and we've talked about this before of just being like, it's my genetics or it's my age or it's my life season. And just being like, well, that's the reason why I can't, it's like really demeaning. And you've already made up your mind that you can't lose weight. You've already got you. Like, I'm like, well,
Baylee:yourself in the foot.
Brianna:Yeah, exactly. Because your mindset is like 90 percent of weight loss. You've already, your mindset is going to dictate all your, your behavior behaviors, your habits. I was trying to say behavior and habits at the same time. It's going to impact that. And it's going to be like, you know, if you truly think, Oh, it's so hard for me to change, I can't change. Like, why would you go for that little walk? You know, it's like,
Baylee:Yeah. And if you're constantly like this week's terrible, it's out of routine. It's like, it's going to continue to be terrible. Like we've got to start, stop getting in our own way and start just, promoting for herself, or I don't know what to call it. We have to just start doing and stop being So pity me poor me maybe Like just to be honest, we just we have to give our body more credit and Give ourselves more confidence when you Start realizing how great of a week it can be or how easy some of these habits or how simple Some of these habits are And you start doing them, and you see how much better you feel, you will stick to it. Because it's like, why wouldn't I want to feel this good? But if you are constantly stuck in the idea of how much it sucks, or how much weight loss sucks, or how much work it is, and how unhappy you are, you're going to stay unhappy. And that is, that's a fact.
Brianna:Or being like, my body's broken.
Baylee:Yeah, you cannot sit here and think about, Oh, that's not gonna work for me. My body's just broken. Like we're sharing facts here. We are sharing science. So if you just continue to sit here and be like, world's against me, not gonna work for me. It's just not going to happen. It's not going to happen. Like that's just how it is.
Brianna:And the first thing I ask people when they express this, because I think a lot of people do, because you are frustrated is, should we try something new then? Because odds are, you feel like your body's broken, nothing works, it's so horrible, because you've been approaching weight loss with this probably severe calorie restriction. And it's like, okay, let's try something new then. Because clearly this isn't working. You don't feel great. It hasn't worked. Your body's not broken. You're just not giving your body what it needs for it to have the outcomes that you want it to have. 10 times out
Baylee:I need to. Yeah, it needs a different approach and not just sit here and listen to us approach like you have to actually take what. We give you and implement it again. We're not your medical professionals or anything like that. We're just this is general education
Brianna:We could be.
Baylee:Yes, we could be but not at this moment and i've talked about this with like people wanting testing like yeah We can do testing but if you're not going to change anything and you want to get all this testing Like what's even the point? Like why are we spending money on blood work if we're not going to do it? Change anything based on what it says. Like there's not even a point like, cool, now you know, your blood sugar's all outta whack. What are you gonna do about it? And so it's always coming back to how we're gonna react, how we're, how, what are the action steps we're gonna take
Brianna:Exactly.
Baylee:Next myth is metabolism only happens when you're active, which is a very. It's an odd one that I've heard before, because your metabolism is always running, even when you're sleeping, because you have those basal metabolic functions like breathing. So your metabolism is not only active when you're up moving around. Yeah, it's probably going to increase a little bit when you have more physical activity during the day, or you have more muscle mass because it's just, it's increased more efficient now Transcribed But, it's not like that's the only time it's turned on. It's always turned on.
Brianna:You always have some sort of metabolic demand.
Baylee:Even if you sit on my couch all day,
Brianna:Exactly.
Baylee:always burn calories while you sit on the couch.
Brianna:And the best way for long term weight maintenance is to be burning the most calories as possible as you sit on the couch and watch Netflix. That's the key. Last one is cardio is the best way to boost metabolism. I think this is, any female has heard this. You want to lose weight cardio run go
Baylee:for three hours when I was in college. I would go on a Saturday and walk in the morning for three hours while I studied and watched TV.
Brianna:yeah because it's like this is it this is what you do and this is why i tell people don't look at the calorie burn on your watch for a workout Because it doesn't really work like that. Also, your watches are wrong. I hate to break it to you. That watch is assuming that the picture perfect calculation it has been given with your height and weight and age is absolutely correct. And that's what your metabolism is doing. And like eight times out of 10, it's not, and your watches are really wrong. Cardio does burn more calories during that activity. But strength training builds muscle, which increases your metabolic rate over time. And you burn more calories that day after strength training than you would after going for a run. That being said, a combination of both types of these is ideal for overall health and metabolic efficiency, just because they use two different energy sources, really. So it's not like, I say we need to focus a lot more on strength training and a little less on the high intensity cardio that typically people are doing, but that doesn't mean you can't go for a run or you can't bike or you can't hike. Okay. We still need that, but just shift it a little bit. Cause most women are like, okay, I want to lose weight. I'm going to go on the treadmill for an hour and a half, or I'm going to do hip five times a week. Cause oh my God, look at my calorie burn. Not very strategic. Also, your body adapts really easily to cardio. Just so you know, any runners will know this, your body adapts very quickly. So like, let's say you burned 300 calories on a run, every run you did for like the last three weeks. Well, like the next couple of weeks, you're burning less automatically because your body is adapting. So it's not very effective for long term calorie regulation.
Baylee:Yes, we love the strength training.
Brianna:We love it.
Baylee:I stopped wearing my Apple watch as much lately.
Brianna:Nice.
Baylee:I haven't been wearing it because I have the aura ring now and I was getting so overwhelmed by the amount of notifications that come through. And I was like, you know, if it's that important, they will call me. I don't need to be able to be notified at every second of the day. And so, yeah, we're experimenting mainly doing my ring, except it is annoying when I'm like going to look at the time.
Brianna:my watch for the most part.
Baylee:Yeah, I guess I could just
Brianna:People are like, why do you have a watch? And I'm like, well, because I like it for other reasons. But I do like the ring because it kind of adjusts what you need to do based on like your sleep. And like kind of if you track your cycle with it, it'll like tell you like, oh, this is a good aim of like activity and like to go for based off of what's going on with you. So I
Baylee:it tracks your activity better, I think, too. It does a better job with steps.
Brianna:Mm hmm. It does. My Apple watch and Aura ring are always completely different.
Baylee:Mm hmm.
Brianna:In terms of steps.
Baylee:And it's a lot of the days, like, if I'm using my walking pad, the Oura Ring will pick up more of the steps compared to my watch.
Brianna:Yeah, my watch will be like, Oh, you walked 0. 1 mile. I'm like, no, I didn't. I've been
Baylee:Yeah, I've been walking for 45 minutes.
Brianna:45 minutes. That's incorrect. And then you're like irritated because it doesn't match yours.
Baylee:Sweating. It's like,
Brianna:tool. But
Baylee:steps.
Brianna:yeah, that's wrong. Or like sometimes if I've been sitting all day like in clinic, but I have been like talking to people,
Baylee:Oh, yeah.
Brianna:000 steps. I'm like, I haven't, I haven't got it from this chair
Baylee:I've been moved. Yeah. Yeah.
Brianna:six hours. There's no way I got those steps. So I'll use it as a tool. That's what I tell everybody. Use it as a tool. The least interesting thing about it is how much calories you've burned.
Baylee:Yeah. That is true.
Brianna:It's not right. It's disassuming.
Baylee:there's definitely a margin of error there.
Brianna:Yes. 100%.
Baylee:we hope these myths help to clarify some things you may have heard about your metabolism and just gave you a better idea of what you're working with. And also maybe explain a little bit more why we focus so much on your metabolism rather than calories. So if you have any questions, feel free to send us a DM over at MocktailMinutes on Instagram, and we can answer them there. And we will be having our first morning sip. Workshop on the 31st of January, we are going to talk about 25 and fine. So we will have the signup link on our Instagram page. It'll be 25 to join. If you can't make it live, that's totally fine. We'll send you the replay, but we're going to talk about like how to get your vibrancy, your energy, like feeling. I don't care what it is like for if 25 you're like, God, I don't want to be like that again. Think of what you want to do. Feel again. You're like unstoppable all the time. Nothing is in your way. That's what we're going to help you get you back to.
Brianna:So yeah, I'm excited for it. Come. It's obviously live. We're going to be doing like Q& A. It's going to be really interactive. So it'll be kind of your time to ask questions. Utilize us.
Baylee:All right, everybody, have a great rest of your week, and we will be back next week. Bye!
