Metabolism monitoring – what is it for?
Have you been struggling with excess weight for years? Do you lose weight only to regain what you lost? Do you try one diet after another? Do you punish yourself but have no idea whether what you are doing is effective?
If so, I will show you a device that can give you an accurate picture of your current metabolism — whether you are burning fat or not. Knowing this is a great help when composing and timing your diet. A special device, Lumen.me, can help you with this.
The essence and purpose of nutrition is to deliver into your body the substances necessary to maintain it. Foods consist of so-called macronutrients, vitamins, minerals and trace elements. The components of individual foods naturally differ, so it matters what you put in your mouth.
Macronutrients
Macronutrients include carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Your body uses them as energy sources and as "building materials." Macros contain a certain amount of energy: one gram of carbohydrates or protein provides 4 kcal, while one gram of fat provides 9 kcal.
Your body's primary energy source is carbohydrate (sugar). Carbohydrates (in the form of glycogen) are stored in your muscles and liver. Because they break down and "burn" easily, if there is any in the "reserve," your body will use it.
Fats (in the form of lipids) are stored in fat cells. This is a much more concentrated form of energy storage, containing more than twice as much as carbohydrates. Fat is put aside for long-term use and for times of scarcity, like preserves. Your body only begins to break down fat when your carbohydrate stores are depleted. Then lipids leave the fat cells and enter your bloodstream, from where muscle cells take them up. The mitochondria inside the cells (your body's miniature power plants) produce energy from them.
What determines what you burn?
What you are currently using as an energy source is determined by your carbohydrate intake and the "fullness" of your glycogen stores.
If there is sugar present, you burn sugar. If it "runs out" (i.e., there is no sugar), your body slowly switches to burning fat. The healthier your mitochondria, the faster the switch. With poor mitochondrial health, it can take even 3–4 days for fat breakdown to start.
Measuring the metabolism
The end products of energy production from carbohydrates are ATP (energy), as well as water and CO2. Carbon dioxide is expelled through the lungs — you exhale it. Energy production from fat, on the other hand, does not result in CO2 release, according to the description here.
Metabolism monitoring is therefore possible by measuring the CO2 content of exhaled air. A high concentration of exhaled CO2 indicates that your body is using mainly carbohydrates. The lower the CO2 level, the more fat you are burning.
Until now, metabolism measurements were possible only in clinical, office settings. Clinical testing systems are extremely expensive (a system costs well over ten million). There are only a few such devices in our country, and their value applies only to the moment of measurement. As soon as you eat, the value changes immediately.
For this reason, the Lumen.me device represents a huge step forward: with a 10-second test it provides excellent informative data.
Lumen.me
The Lumen.me device is a newly developed instrument, a combination of a capnograph and a flow meter. You must inhale through the small device until your lungs are full, hold your breath, then exhale through the device after 10 seconds. Lumen.me measures flow rate (from which it determines breathing volume) and the CO2 content of the exhaled air. From these data it provides information with clinically validated accuracy about your current metabolism.
You can control the device with a free downloadable iOS or Android application. Creating an account is required. Attention: the software is available only in English. Basic language skills are sufficient to manage its use. The app provides a great deal of help both in understanding the knowledge needed about nutrition and in composing your diet. You can log your meals; it calculates macros, the required amounts, offers recipe suggestions and has many other features. The better your English, the more you can make use of it.
You can follow the measurement results on your mobile phone or tablet. The received value can be 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 or 5. A value of 5 indicates carbohydrate burning, while a value of 1 indicates that you are burning fat.
What are the values for?
If you want to lose weight, you should aim for values of 1 and 2 upon waking in the morning. These indicate that you are also breaking down fat. Values of 3–4–5 mean you are still consuming too many carbohydrates (from which your body can even produce fat in times of hunger). If carbohydrate breakdown dominates, your body will not break down fat at all, so you cannot lose weight.
You can track changes in the values in the mobile app, and you will also receive a lot of useful information and dietary suggestions. You can customize your eating preferences, so meat-eaters, vegetarians and vegans alike can find recommendations suitable for them.
I have been using the Lumen device since 2019, daily, to follow my healthy lifestyle and nutrition. My personal experiences are extremely positive. The device and the app help you gain an accurate picture of the quality of your nutrition. You can lose weight without hunger and suffering, primarily by precisely composing the macro components of the diet. This is not a calorie-restriction method, but regulation of carbohydrate intake. I recommend it! Lumen.me
