Your Metabolism

There is evidence that the rate of your metabolism is variable. One
thing that can actually slow your metabolism is dieting. Restricting
caloric intake can cause your body to shift into an energy-conserving
mode, because the body recognizes such a situation as one of famine, a
situation in which conserving energy is vital to survival. For this
reason, you may not have one precise level of caloric intake that
maintains your weight. Perhaps you have cut 500 calories a day from
what was previously your maintenance level caloric intake, and not
lost a pound, especially if you did not simultaneously increase your
level of exercise. Many dieters have seen this effect. Your metabolic
rate is variable within some range. However, just as dieting can slow
your rate of metabolism, there is something that you can do to speed
it up, and you can do this consciously.

This is an unusual posting for this newsgroup, but this is information
that I am guided to share with you. What I want to share with you is
that you can consciously influence the rate of your body's metabolism.
I am not selling any product, and this technique does not require you
to buy anything, eat any particular foods, or abstain from anything
other certain ways of thinking. This technique only requires a change
in the way you think about, relate to, and interact with your body.
Feel free to accept any part of that which follows. Feel equally free
to reject any or all parts. Use whatever serves you, knowing that no
one things works for all people. Many people will probably scoff at
these ideas, but that is okay and that is appropriate. If what
follows helps even a few, the effort will be well worthwhile.

Let me make it clear what I am telling you. You can speed up your
metabolism. You can do this! And it doesn't require you to buy
anything. I have no agenda in passing this information to you, other
than my desire to help others who struggle with control of body
weight, and the associated undeserved negative self-image.

There is a deep spiritual component to this truth (but there is no
religious component). We are spiritual beings, and the truth that I
share with you is related to the same truth that allows yogi masters
to brilliantly control their bodies in quite dramatic ways. Perhaps
you have seen film of Eastern mystics who can slow their rates of
breathing and pulse to the extent that they register as barely alive.
You have perhaps seen the yogi who can coil himself up into a sealed
one-meter cube plexiglass box, and slow his breathing and respiration
enough to allow himself to remain cramped in the box for hours,
without ill effect. Well, it is a degree of the same control that
these masters exhibit that can allow you to affect your own
metabolism. You have this ability (that is, not to easily duplicate
the feats of these yogi masters, but to perform the simpler task of
influencing the rate of your metabolism). You do have this ability,
whether you choose to accept it or not.

Now, please bear with me, for this all takes some explanation. (You
can do it without the explanation, but most people in our culture
really need to at least partially understand the mechanics or how/why
of a process in order to accept it.)

You are a three-part being. Your three parts are body, mind, and
spirit. However, contrary to what most people think, your mind is not
located in your brain. Your mind is really distributed throughout
your entire body. Your mind is distributed through your muscles, your
skin, your internal organs and every cell of your body, in addition to
your brain. The cells of your body are each alive, each is a
repository of your spirit, and each has a certain degree of
consciousness. (This part might be hard for you to believe, but it
is, never-the-less, true.)

The physical you is the entire collection of cells that comprise the
body-part of YOU that exists as a physical/spiritual being. Your
cells know that they are you. Your cells know that they are part of
the whole. Collectively, they know why they exist, and they know of
you, and they know of your identity. Your cells are immediately aware
of your problems, fears, hopes and dreams. Your cells respond to your
thoughts. Your cells respond to your vocalizations. Your cells
respond to your fears and act upon your state of "mind". This is why
stress can make you sick. Have you ever heard people complain that
when they are nervous, or under stress, that their skin might break
out, or that they lose their appetite, or that their resistance to
disease is lowered? These are real effects, and they happen because
of this truth that your body responds to, and reflects, your state of
mind. Conversely, you have seen people in the throws of a new
passionate love experience who seem to glow and radiate happiness and
health. This is a manifestation of the same truth that your state of
mind is reflected in your body. Now, what I am here to tell you is
that you can tap into this same truth for the purpose of temporarily
(or permanently, if that is in your best interest) speeding your
metabolism in order to help you lose weight, and keep excess weight
off.

Now, exactly how do you do this? In simple summary, you do it by just
talking to your body, out loud. There are several important
underlying steps that you might take in order to enhance the process,
but it really is as simple as just talking to your cells, talking to
your own body, out loud on a regular basis. I choose to do it while
I'm in the shower, as a private time when I can talk to my body
without worry about what other people might hear and think. (Some
reading this are already judging me as loony for suggesting such
"silliness.") I regularly speak to my cells and my body about several
aspect of my health (which is excellent), but when I was working on
losing weight, here is exactly what I spoke aloud, "WE choose that the
metabolism of our body is increased to the highest possible rate that
is consistent with good health, and WE choose that our metabolism will
stay at this high rate until all of this excess fat around our stomach
is reabsorbed and gone." If you speak such a sentence aloud, often
enough, it will have an affect on your metabolism. Anything you speak
and hear enough times WILL change your consciousness, and changing
your consciousness will affect your biological process. However, if
you would like the result to be quicker and more effective, there are
some underlying actions that will enhance the effect.

Now, about those important underlying actions, there is really only
one, but that one can be facilitated, or affected, in many ways. That
one action is to cultivate a deep and loving relationship with your
own body. Many people have no relationship at all with their bodies.
Many of those who do have some relationship with their bodies do not
have a relationship with it that resembles anything like love. You
can move toward a loving relationship with your body through the three
following underlying processes (as just one way to describe a complex
dynamic):
1. Develop an awareness of your body.
2. Make a conscious connection with your body
3. Love your body.

Developing an awareness of your body: An example of one way to do
this is to lie on your bed, relax and take a few slow, deep breaths.
(Yes, this is going to be kind of like a meditation, but you can do
it.) Relax and let go of you worries and problems for a few minutes.
Now, lightly put your attention on your body, while remaining relaxed.
Relax INTO your body and put your attention into it. Put your
attention on any part of your body that comes to "mind". Maybe on
your feet. Maybe on your legs. Maybe on your hands. Maybe on your
heart. At this point it doesn't really matter where in your body you
put your attention, for any attention will be positive. How does your
body feel? Where do you feel pressure from the bed? Connect with
your skin. Is it cold? Is it warm? Put attention to your nose. What
does your nose smell? Be aware of your ears. What do your ears hear?
Continue this process for as long as it feels comfortable and repeat
it as often as you feel inclined. You can practice being aware of
your body at any time through your day. You can do it while driving
the car or during class. Just place a portion of your conscious
attention to feeling your body and being aware of it.

Making a conscious connection with your body: Making a conscious
connection to your body is similar to developing your awareness of it,
with subtle differences. Making a connection with your body involves
coming to know, at a deep level, that every cell of your body is part
of YOU. Notice in the sentence above where I speak about my
metabolism, I used the pronoun "we" rather than "I." This is
intentional and it is important. The "we" is an acknowledgement of
the partnership that all of my cells have with the whole that is "me."
The "we" statement is a recognition, and it is a showing of respect.
Making a conscious connection with your body is also largely a matter
of how you think of your body. Stop thinking of your body a separate
from your mind. Stop thinking of your mind as being located in your
brain. (We mostly think this because of the images our eyes compose
seem to be projected behind the eyes, where the brain is located.) As
you go through the day, you deepen your connection to your body by
renewing your awareness of it. Know that every part is equally
important. Know that your arm is no less important than your heart,
for both your arm and your heart know that the other is important, and
they each have great respect for the role of the other. Each of the
cells of your body is a part of the ONE that is you. YOU are one
cell.

Loving your body: Beginning to love your body is an outgrowth of the
two steps above, but it is very important. Loving our bodies perhaps
does not come naturally to those of us who feel that our appearance
does not measure up to the ideal standards of our culture. But loving
your body is what your body deserves, and it is what you deserve. The
idealized physical appearance standards of our culture do not
determine your worth. You can love your body because it is a
biological miracle. You can love your body because it works so
endlessly to support your mind and your spirit. You can love your
body because it really is a temple, for in addition to your mind being
found within every cell, God is found within every cell of your body.
(It is perhaps risky to bring the "G" word into this posting, for that
will alienate some people, but truth is truth, and it is a great,
grand truth that God is within each one of us.) When you lie on the
bed, close your eyes, put your awareness on your body, smile with your
heart, and greet every part of your body with love and appreciation.
Smile with your heart, and greet the presence of God within your
cells. (If you are fortunate you might actually become aware of the
presence of God.) Feel the warmth of your arms, the warmth of your
legs, the warmth of your heart, and feel the warmth with which the
spiritual part of you loves the biological part of you. Make the
choice to give your body the love that it deserves. Make the choice
and have the intent. Your intent is very powerful.

As you practice the above three steps, and cultivate a deep and loving
relationship with your own body, several things will happen. Your
health will improve. You will find more inner peace. And you will
come to realize that your body DOES, and is willing, to respond to
your conscious will. As you come to feel a connection to your body,
you will also come to realize that your body feels a connection to the
mind and spirit parts of you. (Your body actually feels this now, but
the mental you is not aware of it.) As you come to realize that your
body responds to your will, responds to your choices, and responds to
your state of mind, you will come to realize that you do have power to
influence processes within your body that are normally thought of as
being out of reach of your mind. (Remember, this is the way the yogi
master can slow his heartbeat to the point of seeming to be near
death. This is the way the yogi master can sit on the side of a snowy
mountain, in freezing weather, wrapped in only a cold, wet towel, and
dry the moisture out of the towel with his body heat.)

At the same time you are practicing all of the above (except for the
wet-towel-in-the-snow trick), say out loud, every day, "WE choose that
the metabolism of our body is increased to the highest possible rate
that is consistent with good health, and WE choose that our metabolism
will stay at this high rate until . . . (insert your own weight loss
goal.)" Make the choice. Speak your choice. Speak your intent. For
your intent is very powerful.

Increasing your metabolism is one of the body processes that you
really can influence. I do not suggest that this alone can solve an
overweight problem, but it is a useful and powerful adjunct to your
diet and exercise regime. Speeding your metabolism can make those
diet and exercise efforts more effective. I did this myself, and saw
my rate of weight loss increase from two pounds a week to four pounds
a week. It was sure a lot more satisfying to see myself losing four
pounds a week than it was to struggle to lose one and one-half or two
pounds a week.

Can I guarantee that this will work for you? Of course not. Can I
show you proof? Of course not. But what do you have to lose? (No pun
intended.) And, developing a loving relationship with your body,
cultivating your body awareness, has many other potentially profound
benefits that I haven't touched upon here. The workings of all of
this are a deep and complex topic.

If you want to know any more about this truth, feel free to write me
privately. Just remove the letters "nospam" from my indicated email
address. I would appreciate hearing of your experiences.

I send you my warmest regards, and wish you great success.

John

I heard this excuse a ton of times: dieting slows your metabolism.

So what I say.

Suppose your BMR is 1600 calories. Even if you went down to 0, that's
just about 2 hours extra exercise a day to make up for it.

I accept that I was probably born with a slow metabolism so if that
means I burn 1000-2000 less calories than the next guy, I can deal
with it by exercising more and eating less.

It's not like if you eat 0 calories you can gain weight magically
besides water weight...


On 18 Apr 2004 23:14:04 -0700, (John) wrote:

There is evidence that the rate of your metabolism is variable. One
thing that can actually slow your metabolism is dieting. Restricting
caloric intake can cause your body to shift into an energy-conserving
mode, because the body recognizes such a situation as one of famine, a
situation in which conserving energy is vital to survival. For this
reason, you may not have one precise level of caloric intake that
maintains your weight. Perhaps you have cut 500 calories a day from
what was previously your maintenance level caloric intake, and not
lost a pound, especially if you did not simultaneously increase your
level of exercise. Many dieters have seen this effect. Your metabolic
rate is variable within some range. However, just as dieting can slow
your rate of metabolism, there is something that you can do to speed
it up, and you can do this consciously.

I lost 50 pounds in 8 months. I managed to trick my body by cutting out 90%
of my simple sugars and "being good" Monday-Saturday (using www.fitday.com
to stay at about 100 cal under basal). I looked at fat, calories, and sugar
on labels, but didn't really consider the carbs.
After church on Sunday I'd eat whatever I wanted at whatever restaurant we
went to (usually a buffet). That was my one "bad" *meal* a week (not one bad
*day*--never took home the leftovers). I never skipped the sugary desserts
at the buffets either. I think there's some diet book that calls this a
"reward meal," but I don't remember which one.
My body never figured out I was "dieting," and I didn't feel deprived. It
was the first time I lost so much weight without a plateau and without
additional exercise. With all the splenda/no-sugar products, I could make
muffins, sugar-free-FF cheese cake, etc for during the week (I like dessert
even after breakfast.... bad sweet tooth).
Lucy

For this reason, you may not have one precise level of caloric
intake that maintains your weight. Perhaps you have cut 500
calories a day from what was previously your maintenance level
caloric intake, and not lost a pound, especially if you did not
simultaneously increase your level of exercise. Many dieters have
seen this effect.