‘Burn’ Metabolism book review
It’s almost a full-time job keeping up with current research in the world of fitness - and this book, ‘Burn: The Misunderstood Science of Metabolism’ by Herman Pontzer is one of those books that will change how you look at sports science. I’ve blogged about metabolism in the past, and my post on how to boost your metabolism still stands true. However, new research explains why pesky pounds gained can be so tricky to lose.
Evolutionary anthropologist Dr Herman Pontzer says that the problem is in our brains, not our biceps—specifically, the way we understand the relationship between weight and exercise. Pontzer says that human metabolism “evolved over millions of years to defend against weight loss”. As a result, the calories we burn every day stay within a fairly narrow range whether we’re gym rats or couch potatoes. In other words, whether we’re a hunter gatherer in Africa, or a computer programmer in Edinburgh, our daily metabolic rate is around about the same. This is not all bad news. Knowledge is power, as they say.
Things we do to boost our metabolism; having more muscle mass (strength training), eating well early in the day, good hydration and getting moving (cardio exercise) are all important to see a change in body composition. The tricky thing is that the more fat you lose, the more your brain ‘tells’ you that you need to eat more to get that body fat back. In an evolutionary sense, we have adapted to keep body fat on as a safety measure for when food is scarce. In a Western society, we have no scarcity of calories (in fact the opposite, it’s just too easy to eat too many calories, especially with ultra-processed foods), but our bodies haven’t caught up to this recent development.
The trick is to get more active, whilst concurrently being mindful of food intake, This means making nutritional choices that are less processed and more wholesome. According to ‘Burn’ exercise doesn’t necessarily mean your metabolism moves faster, but that you use different energy pathways as you exercise. Fitness is hugely important for so many body functions (and also optimal mental health), that Pontzer is very careful to stress that it doesn’t mean not to exercise, but to exercise at a moderate and sustainable amount. Overtraining can have as many negative aspects as undertraining (but is much less common).
In summary, eat well, move regularly and find an optimal daily pattern that allows you to burn a similar amount of energy to the amount you take onboard. ‘Burn’ is a recommended read, especially if you like to know the science behind the theory.
