MYTHS OF

9. Unless the several smaller meals total
fewer calories, it doesn’t matter. A total
of 1,800 calories has the same effect
whether scattered over the day or eaten
in two meals.
10. Although catabolism is important for
breaking down food into nutrients,
anabolism stores carbohydrates and
fats for later use.
WHAT IS BMR?
The measure of your body’s calorie use
while at rest is your basal metabolic rate
(BMR). It’s the at-rest energy you use
over 24 hours to blink, sleep, breathe
and simply stay alive. To some extent,
your BMR is inherited, although other
factors do come into play. If you have a
low BMR, you’ll gain more weight than
someone of your size with an average
or high BMR who consumes the same
number of calories and gets the same
level of exercise over that same time
period.
But there is really no such thing as a “healthy”
metabolism, says Dr. Vijay Shivaswamy, an
endocrinologist and associate professor at
Nebraska Medical Center and the Omaha
Veterans Affairs Medical Center. “I really want to
go away from that whole concept of healthy and
unhealthy metabolism,” he says. “Everyone has
a basic metabolic rate. It’s ongoing; you need it
for breathing and so on. I feel that those
adjectives are perpetuating a misconception.”
ADD IT UP
YOU BURN MOST OF
YOUR CALORIES WHILE
AT REST. EXCERSISE
AND DIET DETERMINE
THE REST.
204 Leisurely biking (10 mph or
less) 1 hr
43 Vacuuming for 15 min
306 Mowing the lawn for 1 hr