what really controls metabolism??

First and foremost the thyroid gland that sits in the front of your neck under your voice box is the little guy that controls our metabolism. The thyroid secretes T4 and T3 into our bloodstream and these hormones go to work in our cells to tell them how to convert the calories we eat into energy for us to use! They also control the temperature of our body and heart rate.

A healthy thyroid is always making these hormones with the help of another organ….
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The thyroid has a supporting partner in all of this, the pituitary gland, which is located in the lower central part of your brain. The pituitary gland releases thyroid stimulating hormone or TSH which allows the thyroid to function to send out the correct amounts of T3 and T4. Sort of a checks and balances system within your body.

I won’t get into the dysfunctions of the thyroid but I do want to chat about our lifestyle choices, mainly calorie intake and how that affects our energy levels and energy output.

When we have a consistent amount of calories coming in that is well above our BMR (basal metabolic rate) our cells can allow us to use the excess energy made during the metabolism process rather than store it. Our body would want to store energy (calories from food) if we were eating at or below our BMR for too long(several weeks, months or years) because it is in a state of stress at that point. The thyroid in this case would naturally want to release less of T4 & T3 so that our metabolism process slows down so that we may conserve energy for more important tasks WITHIN our own body. This translates to us;

• Wanting to move less because we feel fatigued
• Feeling depressed because of the fatigue
• Brain fog
• Your body naturally will stop twitching, bowel movements slow down, you even blink less. Whatever your body can do to conserve energy.

This is where you realize you are more in control than you think of your metabolism by fueling your body with the adequate amount of calories it needs to not be in a stressed state. This translates into us being able to;

• Having more energy
• Moving more each day
• Thinking clearly
• Less risk for depression
• More restful sleep And the list goes on and on!​

In conclusion, yes our organs do control metabolism but you can help support a healthier more active metabolism with proper calorie intake consistently and moving your body more.

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