Increase One's Metabolism Really

[Energyforlife]

Good morning all,

I am 30 years old and I am looking to increase my metabolism. After doing low carb diets without real results. I want to do the feeding of Ray Peat by following the advice of kate deering. I would really like to increase my metabolism.
I would like to have some very detailed advice on what worked in terms of diet and lifestyles.
At the level of the indications, I am at 36 degrees Celsius on waking and at 60 bpm.

 

[LLight]

What are your symptoms? What are you eating currently?

Just increasing metabolism without resolving the underlying issue that induce it in the first place, for example by taking stimulant, is not a good idea.

 

[Energyforlife]

I eat orange juice, milk, fish, potatoes, meat, rice, yoghout grec, sugar, vegetable

 

[yerrag]

Your temps - is that armpit or oral? I started taking my temperature the wrong way, and when I got it done right, I found my temperature to be normal. If you're using a regular thermometer, a digital one, it usually beeps after a minute. Don't pull it out, leave it there and take a reading every minute. Stop only when the temperature doesn't go up on the succeeding reading. That is a better indication of your temps. The oral temperature is what you want to use. The armpit temp is 0.5 degrees C lower than the oral. A normal waking temp is 36.5C and it will rise to 37C during the day.

Body temperature can increase due to infection and inflammation, as we are all aware of. But, in cases where one has endotoxemia, a persistent low-grade inflammation could slightly increase body temperature. If we're only slightly hypothyroid, the rise in temperature due to endotoxin-based endotoxemia could make the appearance that our temperature is normal.

60 bpm heart rate can be improved. 5 minutes of rest at least is needed to get a resting heart rate.

To get heart rate to be a good basis for metabolism, I want to be sure my acid-base balance is optimal. This means that our blood pH is at 7.4, allowing for some fluctuations. This increase the likelihood that we have enough electrolytes in our system, as electrolytes are crucial in the efficient pumping of the heart, particularly with calcium playing a huge role in the pumping of the heart. But there are other factors affecting the pH of blood, such as the internal production of acids such as lactic acid and keto acid, as well as external sources that are acidic loads on the body. It's important to have enough calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium (there are other electrolytes such as chloride as well) stores in the body, and this is one area you can work on. You can test your urine pH as a proxy for your blood pH. A Hydrion pH test strip with range of 5.5- 9 will do. The urine optimal pH is on the range of 6.4 - 6.8.

It's important to know that your metabolic rate is dependent largely on two inputs - sugar and oxygen. They're not the only ones, but you can draw the analogy of internal combustion engines where the input is gasoline and oxygen. You have to make sure gasoline and oxygen is getting to the engine continually in the right mixture. You can use a blood glucose meter (used by diabetics, but I use one myself even though I'm not diabetic) and an oximeter, to get an idea of how well you're able to metabolize sugar and oxygen, respectively. These are tools I've found to be helpful.

With the blood glucose meter, I can learn at any given time my blood glucose. In between meals, I feel okay when it's between 70 to 100, though I'm usually at 85. When on a day fast, when I depend on glycogen to supply my blood sugar, I'm at around 70. After a meal, it goes up to 140 (I only did once, but I was at first shocked then I realize 'but of course'), and an hour after it would go down to 95ish , and 2 or 3 hours later, it would level off to 85. I can take more values on the 4th and 5th hour, and then plot this into a curve where the x-axis is time in hours, and the y-axis is the blood glucose. This curve would give me an idea of how stable my blood sugar is. For those familiar with a glucose tolerance test (GTT), this ins't it but it draws elements from it. People with a bad case of hypoglycemia could easily faint with a GTT, as their blood sugar could drop so quickly, but with my method, you're not given yourself 70grams of pure glucose that's liable to produce an insulin reaction that will cause you to faint from the low blood sugar. You're simply taking measurements every hour after a meal, and pricking your fingers with sterile tips won't hurt. I won't go through the steps of using a blood glucose meter. Just buy one as it's affordable, and follow the simple instructions. The brand I use is Terumo. There are consummables, but they are affordable.

One time I felt sleepy, and I took a blood sugar reading. Instead of the usual 85, I got a 104. I then knew my body wasn't metabolizing sugar as fast as it should. It turns out I had been urinating a lot that time, and I could be low on vitamin b1. I took some b1, and my blood sugar reading the next day was back to normally what I'd get. With a blood sugar meter, and with an understanding of sugar metabolism and blood sugar regulation (insulin kicks in at a high blood sugar level to convert sugar to fat in the liver, driving blood sugar down; the liver converts sugar to glycogen and stores it, and when blood sugar is low, glycogen is converted back to blood sugar; potassium facilitates tissues' absorption of sugar) you can learn a lot more about your sugar condition more than your doctor, who relies only on fasting blood sugar and HbA1c, which really doesn't tell the whole story. And you can rev your own engine.

With an oximeter (or any Samsung Galaxy S model above the S5 - ie. s6, s7, s8, s9 etc), you can measure your spO2. Ray Peat, in one interview with Patrick Timpone this month on One Radio Network, talks about the spO2 readings. Listen to it. While he doesn't go in depth on it, he says that on warm surroundings, one should be able to get readings even lower than 90. This contrasts with the conventional wisdom, as practiced in hospitals, that the higher the reading, the better, like 99. I use the oximeter and whereas in the past I normally get a reading of 98, now I'm getting a reading of 94. This has been in lockstep with an increase in heart rate. And this makes sense, with the higher metabolism indicated by my higher heart rate, I should be using more oxygen. The higher oxygenation rate would mean higher consumption of oxygen, and this would be reflected in lower O2 saturation is blood, as more oxygen is being released by hemoglobin to the tissues.

If you have reliable metrics to work with, you can more easily monitor your progress in improving your metabolism, and you may even see for your cause and effect relationships. Good luck!

 

[Energyforlife]

I'm French so I do not necessarily read French well, I mostly use google translation.

The idea is to have solutions to increase my metabolism but especially to feel better.
I have already tried many things.

1. I take my temperature under my armpit.

2. For the urine test strips, I have never done it.

3. For the glucometer: I do not like to sting myself too much to get the sugar level. Are there other solutions?

4. For the oximeter, I have not tested either.

5. What are you eating? What did you put into practice? What did you try to eat?

I'm trying to put some simple things in place to see how I could move forward.

I really appreciate your message. It is very complete.

 

[olive]

Best way to increase the metabolism is to increase muscle mass in my experience. I eat 4500+kcal per day and am lean as ever. Back when I was skinny and did endurance running I would pack on fat every time I ate more than 2500kcal even though I was far more active.

 

[ExCarniv]

Best way to increase the metabolism is to increase muscle mass in my experience. I eat 4500+kcal per day and am lean as ever. Back when I was skinny and did endurance running I would pack on fat every time I ate more than 2500kcal even though I was far more active.

Which program you recommend to put muscle without too much stress?

 

[GreekDemiGod]

Before finding out about Peat and this forum, I was under the impression that one's metabolic rate cannot be substantially be increased, at least that's what the fitness experts say. And how the '6meals a day' thing in bodybuilding circles to 'stoke the metabolic fire' was utter bro-science.
I'll admit I haven't studied this topic, so I'll keep my doubts.

Are we really increasing our metabolism or are we playing ourselves?

 

[olive]

Which program you recommend to put muscle without too much stress?

A
3x8 barbell squat
3x6-8 snatch grip RDL
3x8 OHP/barbell push press

X
Rest/yoga/walking

B
3x8 flat bench press
1x12 close grip flat bench press
3x8 chin ups
3x8 dips

X
Rest/yoga/walking

X
Stretching/yoga
3x10 seconds full effort sprints
Core

Repeat.

Add 1.25-2.5kg on the bar each week.
Don’t train to failure, you should always have 1-3 reps in reserve.
Eat high carb, low fat, medium protein.
Hit all your micronutrient targets, track via cronometer.
Sleep 8+ hours.

 

[yerrag]

. I take my temperature under my armpit.

A waking armpit temp of 36C I would consider normal.

3. For the glucometer: I do not like to sting myself too much to get the sugar level. Are there other solutions?

Neither do I like it. But I worked myself up to try it. It's really nothing after the first time. Your enemy really is inertia.

5. What are you eating? What did you put into practice? What did you try to eat?

I eat rice, pork, chicken, beef, goat, lamb, saltwater fish, squid, shrimp, oysters, mussels, small octopus (pojito) . And plenty of collagen from chicken feet, pork ears, oxtail, beef and pork tendons. Also occasional goat liver, pig and ox intestines. And cooked green leaves for calcium and magnesium. Also milk. Fresh fruit juice from pineapple, Satsuma orange, cantaloupe, watermelon, and whatever fruit's in season such as guava, cherimoya, mango, and atis. And coconut water. I use sugar, white or muscovado, liberally. Also cane sugar Coke. Also aloe vera juice. The only supplements I use regularly are b1/b2/b3/b6 and vitamin C, as I feel I get plenty of nutrients from food.

But I don't count calories. I just eat till I'm full and have 3 meals a day without snacks in between except for fruit juice. With good blood sugar regulation, I don't feel any need to eat outside my meals.

I'm trying to put some simple things in place to see how I could move forward.

I really appreciate your message. It is very complete.

You're welcome. I'm sure you can slowly figure out something that works.

Lastly, keep it simple if possible so you can manage it well and not stress yourself out. And enjoy what you eat. The nice thing about Ray Peat's ideas is that it's not a stretch to live it out!

 

[ExCarniv]

Before finding out about Peat and this forum, I was under the impression that one's metabolic rate cannot be substantially be increased, at least that's what the fitness experts say. And how the '6meals a day' thing in bodybuilding circles to 'stoke the metabolic fire' was utter bro-science.
I'll admit I haven't studied this topic, so I'll keep my doubts.

Are we really increasing our metabolism or are we playing ourselves?

As olive said, if you increase your muscle mass, you can eat more are don't gain fat, I'd call that increased metabolism, Peat also said something similar, muscle is protective and helps to burn fat on rest.

 

[GreekDemiGod]

@ExCarniv Indeed, holding on to muscle mass if evidently more metabolicaly demanding.

 

[Energyforlife]

what kind of routine do you advise me?
From sunrise to sunset to improve my energy and get in shape
.
Meditate?
Breathe in a bag?

I am interested in biohacking but no one speaks about work ray peat.

 

[RWilly]

Your temps - is that armpit or oral? I started taking my temperature the wrong way, and when I got it done right, I found my temperature to be normal. If you're using a regular thermometer, a digital one, it usually beeps after a minute. Don't pull it out, leave it there and take a reading every minute. Stop only when the temperature doesn't go up on the succeeding reading. That is a better indication of your temps. The oral temperature is what you want to use. The armpit temp is 0.5 degrees C lower than the oral. A normal waking temp is 36.5C and it will rise to 37C during the day.

Body temperature can increase due to infection and inflammation, as we are all aware of. But, in cases where one has endotoxemia, a persistent low-grade inflammation could slightly increase body temperature. If we're only slightly hypothyroid, the rise in temperature due to endotoxin-based endotoxemia could make the appearance that our temperature is normal.

60 bpm heart rate can be improved. 5 minutes of rest at least is needed to get a resting heart rate.

To get heart rate to be a good basis for metabolism, I want to be sure my acid-base balance is optimal. This means that our blood pH is at 7.4, allowing for some fluctuations. This increase the likelihood that we have enough electrolytes in our system, as electrolytes are crucial in the efficient pumping of the heart, particularly with calcium playing a huge role in the pumping of the heart. But there are other factors affecting the pH of blood, such as the internal production of acids such as lactic acid and keto acid, as well as external sources that are acidic loads on the body. It's important to have enough calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium (there are other electrolytes such as chloride as well) stores in the body, and this is one area you can work on. You can test your urine pH as a proxy for your blood pH. A Hydrion pH test strip with range of 5.5- 9 will do. The urine optimal pH is on the range of 6.4 - 6.8.

It's important to know that your metabolic rate is dependent largely on two inputs - sugar and oxygen. They're not the only ones, but you can draw the analogy of internal combustion engines where the input is gasoline and oxygen. You have to make sure gasoline and oxygen is getting to the engine continually in the right mixture. You can use a blood glucose meter (used by diabetics, but I use one myself even though I'm not diabetic) and an oximeter, to get an idea of how well you're able to metabolize sugar and oxygen, respectively. These are tools I've found to be helpful.

With the blood glucose meter, I can learn at any given time my blood glucose. In between meals, I feel okay when it's between 70 to 100, though I'm usually at 85. When on a day fast, when I depend on glycogen to supply my blood sugar, I'm at around 70. After a meal, it goes up to 140 (I only did once, but I was at first shocked then I realize 'but of course'), and an hour after it would go down to 95ish , and 2 or 3 hours later, it would level off to 85. I can take more values on the 4th and 5th hour, and then plot this into a curve where the x-axis is time in hours, and the y-axis is the blood glucose. This curve would give me an idea of how stable my blood sugar is. For those familiar with a glucose tolerance test (GTT), this ins't it but it draws elements from it. People with a bad case of hypoglycemia could easily faint with a GTT, as their blood sugar could drop so quickly, but with my method, you're not given yourself 70grams of pure glucose that's liable to produce an insulin reaction that will cause you to faint from the low blood sugar. You're simply taking measurements every hour after a meal, and pricking your fingers with sterile tips won't hurt. I won't go through the steps of using a blood glucose meter. Just buy one as it's affordable, and follow the simple instructions. The brand I use is Terumo. There are consummables, but they are affordable.

One time I felt sleepy, and I took a blood sugar reading. Instead of the usual 85, I got a 104. I then knew my body wasn't metabolizing sugar as fast as it should. It turns out I had been urinating a lot that time, and I could be low on vitamin b1. I took some b1, and my blood sugar reading the next day was back to normally what I'd get. With a blood sugar meter, and with an understanding of sugar metabolism and blood sugar regulation (insulin kicks in at a high blood sugar level to convert sugar to fat in the liver, driving blood sugar down; the liver converts sugar to glycogen and stores it, and when blood sugar is low, glycogen is converted back to blood sugar; potassium facilitates tissues' absorption of sugar) you can learn a lot more about your sugar condition more than your doctor, who relies only on fasting blood sugar and HbA1c, which really doesn't tell the whole story. And you can rev your own engine.

With an oximeter (or any Samsung Galaxy S model above the S5 - ie. s6, s7, s8, s9 etc), you can measure your spO2. Ray Peat, in one interview with Patrick Timpone this month on One Radio Network, talks about the spO2 readings. Listen to it. While he doesn't go in depth on it, he says that on warm surroundings, one should be able to get readings even lower than 90. This contrasts with the conventional wisdom, as practiced in hospitals, that the higher the reading, the better, like 99. I use the oximeter and whereas in the past I normally get a reading of 98, now I'm getting a reading of 94. This has been in lockstep with an increase in heart rate. And this makes sense, with the higher metabolism indicated by my higher heart rate, I should be using more oxygen. The higher oxygenation rate would mean higher consumption of oxygen, and this would be reflected in lower O2 saturation is blood, as more oxygen is being released by hemoglobin to the tissues.

If you have reliable metrics to work with, you can more easily monitor your progress in improving your metabolism, and you may even see for your cause and effect relationships. Good luck!

Excellent post. Thank you. (I never want to put the thermometer in my mouth after all of it's use in the arm pit.) lol

 

[Kram]

Best way to increase the metabolism is to increase muscle mass in my experience. I eat 4500+kcal per day and am lean as ever. Back when I was skinny and did endurance running I would pack on fat every time I ate more than 2500kcal even though I was far more active.

Mind sharing what you eat? I am struggling to get above 3500 cals and looking for more ideas. Thanks.

 

[Tristan Loscha]

doubling to tripling of urinary output also happens if the setpoint of sodium-intake is tipping.

 

[Hans]

Increasing muscle mass is important but not as important as keeping serotonin and cortisol at bay and optimizing thyroid and CO2 production.
Someone can have a lot of muscle but still easily gain fat if stress hormones are high.
Olive gave a nice and simple minimalistic approach that will help to keep stress low while building muscle.

I'd add that even lower reps can be utilized while focusing mainly on the concentric part which will help to boost androgens in the muscle.
Exercises like muscle up, partial deadlifts, high pulls (with bumper plates), box jumps, hill sprints, etc., can all be tweaked to be mainly concentric that will only be beneficial for the metabolism.

Additionally, for speeding up the metabolism, keeping the gut clean will also greatly reduce serotonin and increase CO2.

 

[yerrag]

Increasing muscle mass is important but not as important as keeping serotonin and cortisol at bay and optimizing thyroid and CO2 production.
Someone can have a lot of muscle but still easily gain fat if stress hormones are high.

That's a good point, especially coming from you Hans!

I was kinda thinking along a parallel line of thought. I happen to not be doing workouts nor even taking long walks. I was just too busy. Honestly, my spare time is consumed on my personal quest to lower my very high blood pressure (Personal quests on health more often than not take a story of their own, and gobble up tons of time).

So, for people like me, my opinion on building muscle mass is that it's optional. More important to have the balance that allows for the body to be in a natural state of high metabolism. The body does not have to create an energy sink for the purpose of inducing high metabolism because it has its own energy sink. There is always a demand by the body for energy, even without having great muscle mass. What surplus is left after the body uses its metabolic energy for growth, healing, maintenance (regeneration, repair, immune system upkeep), and physical and mental activity, will be used for developing the body such as boosting brain capacity, improving virility, developing better skin, and growing a bountiful mane of hair. Ray Peat has talked about people with higher heart rate being (generally) more intelligent than people with lower heart rates (heart rate as proxy for metabolism).

So, as long as we practice a lifestyle that does not get in the way of our body's ability to metabolize sugar and oxygen in the most efficient way possible, the body will naturally gravitate towards a high metabolic rate. Ray Peat's ideas show the way.

 

[Energyforlife]

English is a problem for me, I do not understand exactly what I have to do.
I tested as I told you about fifteen diets.
I just want to regain my energy to have a happy and healthy life.
Today at 32 years old, I am often tired, I have yellow teeth, a big baldness, nail fungus, dandruff, ....
For me it seems to be symptoms of a problem but what interests me is what to do concretely.
My weak knowledge of English blocks me to understand all the elements. I just want some very concrete things. thank you

 

[LLight]

English is a problem for me, I do not understand exactly what I have to do.
I tested as I told you about fifteen diets.
I just want to regain my energy to have a happy and healthy life.
Today at 32 years old, I am often tired, I have yellow teeth, a big baldness, nail fungus, dandruff, ....
For me it seems to be symptoms of a problem but what interests me is what to do concretely.
My weak knowledge of English blocks me to understand all the elements. I just want some very concrete things. thank you

1. Try dry fasting (in an intermittent way) or reduce your fluid intake.
2. Do not restrict calories.
3. Eat food rich in osmolytes (for example beets).
4. In my opinion, do not try to (over)exercize, especially if you are tired.
5. Optimize your sleep (for example, use blue blocker glasses)

Good luck