Metabolic Power - The Key to Everything

From "The People Need to Know" Series

by Phil Kaplan

 

Key Point:

METABOLISM IS EVERYTHING

I devote a fair amount of time, in working with clients and students, discussing metabolism.

There’s a good reason for that.

Metabolism is everything. 

At least when it comes to energy, health, function, and performance.

And that's pretty much everything.

If you seek fat loss, energy restoration, or movement away from chronic disease, restoring Metabolic Power is the answer.

At the risk of over-defining the concept, I’ll share one quick summation.

YOUR METABOLISM

Your metabolism consists of thousands of proteins and molecular components interacting to convert the nutrients you consume into matter and fuel, into living tissue and energy.  It’s the vital process that allows you, as you sustain life, to build muscle, bone, and cellular structures all interacting to allow you, as a unique being, to move, grow, recover, and heal.

At a purely biochemical level of energy-production, it’s the process of converting carbohydrates, fats, and proteins into atomic substrates fueling the production of ATP (muscle fuel) in cellular mitochondria.

Whew.

A quick reframing allows me to re-emphasize that the strength and efficiency of your metabolism are the primary determinants of your energy and power.

If, therefore, we’re looking to restore health, optimal performance, and a sense of physical ease, we have to get to a place where we can address and fine-tune metabolism.

CAN WE ACHIEVE METABOLIC EXCELLENCE IF WE'VE MOVED AWAY FROM HEALTH?

Optimizing Metabolic Power isn’t a simple task, but it’s a linear path of specific actions and anyone willing to commit to betterment can rev up the inner workings of the metabolic mechanisms and restore innately provided power.

For most people living their lives in some level of compromise, there are memories of “the good old days” when it was easy to keep body fat at bay and energy required little more than waking up in the morning with optimism for the waking hours ahead.

As I explain when I discuss Weight Loss Resistance, a decrease in metabolic power is the result of many overlapping factors leading to a chronic condition where stress load exceeds recovery.  The residual endocrine (hormonal) maladaptation creates interference in the “normal” metabolism of fat oxidation.  Fat builds up and  doesn’t seem to want to go away.

Whether the initial metabolic “injury” is a toxic stressor, an emotional stressor, an environmental stressor, or a biochemical stressor, the autonomic nervous system, in its divine intent to protect you, begins to run “stress programs.”

Chronically activated and perpetuated “stress programs” lead to a series of metabolic changes and the progression of chronic health and performance challenges.

To undo metabolic compromise, we have to work both ends,
the input (food, breath, water, nutrients)
and the programing (restoration of Parasympathetic Recovery.

While the science is complex, I’ve made the process simple with the Metabolic Reboot and the synergistic power of the 42 principles the program is built upon.

Knowing “The Reboot” makes it simple, I urge you not to fall into the pit of overwhelm as I introduce “the players.”

We’ll start with the most obvious items:

ADJUSTABLE VARIABLES

Food Intake

• Macronutrients
• Micronutrients
• Thermic Effect of Foods Consumed

Daily Activity (movement throughout the day)

Induced / Voluntary Activity (Exercise)

Now let’s familiarize ourselves with the  systems, organs, and physiological components that are connected to this vital process

NERVOUS SYSTEM

Hypothalamus

Amygdala

Vagal Nerve / Pineal Gland

ENDOCRINE SYSTEM

Pituitary Gland

Adrenal Gland(s)

Thyroid Gland

ORGANS, COMPONENTS, AND BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS

Liver

Pancreas (Insulin and Glucagon)

Muscular System

Adipose Cells

Cardiac Systems (Heart)

Respiratory Systems (Lungs)

INTANGIBLES:

Gut/Brain signaling (leptin, grehlin)

Emotional Responses

Meditative Access to “Center”

YES,, THAT'S A LOT, BUT THERE'S NO NEED FOR CONCERN . . . 

If you just read through that list, and had a “fear” moment, or a sense that this thing is too big or too complicated, I want to remind you of two points:

1. You were born with the internal intelligence, beyond thought, to integrate all of these players flawlessly, so you know your body is capable of metabolic balance
2. I’ve made the process simple with the Metabolic Reboot

Why, if I’ve made it so simple, am I devoting so much time to revealing insights into the complex science?  Because I don’t want you to get fooled.

It’s easier to take a metabolism boosting pill.

It’s easier to try an exercise sequence you found online in hopes of boosting metabolism

It’s easy to try supplements, folk remedies, or meds.

Those actions are easy, but without a plan program, or system that involves all of the players I just mentioned, the “easy” attempt will lead to a hard wall of failure.

THE PROBLEM: You’re unhappy with the way your body looks, feels, or functions

THE FIX: The  Metabolic Reboot