Metabolism refers to all the chemical processes that are continuously inside your body that allow life and normal functioning (homeostasis).

These processes include those that break down nutrients from our food and those that can build and repair our bodies.

Building and repairing the body requires energy that ultimately comes from your food.

The amount of energy, measured in kilojoules that your body burns at any given time is affected by your metabolism.

One calorie is equal to 4.184 kilojoules.

Achieving or maintaining a healthy weight is a balancing act. If we regularly eat and drink more kilojoules than we need for our metabolism, we store it primarily as fat.

Most of the energy we use each day keeps all the systems in our body functioning correctly. This is out of our control. However, we can make metabolism work for us when we exercise.

When you are active, the body burns more energy (kilojoules/calories)

So… is the metabolism really about weight loss? Yes and no.

Your metabolism is simply the name for the processes keeping you alive and running. These processes need energy or fuel to happen. If you were to consume the amount of fuel your body needs to keep these processes running optimally on any given day, you would use that fuel daily, store no more, and stay exactly where you are right now.

If you consume too much fuel for your body to use to operate, you will store that energy, most commonly as fat, for later use.

If you consume too little fuel for your body to operate today, it will pull on that storage (for example, “burn fat”) to complete the processes it needs to complete.

Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) rises after you eat because you use energy to eat, digest, and metabolize the food you have just eaten. This is called the Thermic Effect of Food or diet-induced thermogenesis.

The rise occurs soon after you start eating and peaks 2 to 3 hours later.

This rise in BMR can range between 2% and 30%, depending on the size of the meal and the types of foods eaten.

Different foods raise BMR by differing amounts. For example

• Fats raise the BMR 0 to 5%

• Carbohydrates raise the BMR by 5 to 10%

• Proteins raise the BMR by 20 to 30%

THE LOOPHOLE: Hot, spicy foods (for example, foods containing chili, horseradish, and mustard) can have a significant thermic effect.

zuBURN leverages the Thermic Effect of Food to help you burn additional calories every day.*