We come across folks who seem to be able to eat as much as they want and still maintain their weight, and we also know some who meticulously count calories yet gain weight rapidly.
In most cases like these, we traditionally turn to ‘metabolism’ as the culprit.
What Exactly Is Metabolism?
Metabolism is the process by which food is converted into energy by your body.
This involves countless biochemical processes in which calories from proteins, fats, and carbohydrates in the food you eat combine with oxygen to release energy.
Each day, your body burns a certain number of calories, representing what’s called your total energy expenditure.
This is affected by three major factors:
Processing of food. About 10% of the calories are used to fuel digestion, absorption, transport, and storage of the food you eat. Generally, this percentage remains steady and cannot easily change.
Basic needs. About 66-75% of calories are used for basic bodily functions such as breathing, circulating blood, repairing cells, adjusting hormonal levels, and keeping the organs properly functioning.
The calories your body uses up to maintain itself is called your basal metabolic rate, or BMR, which is measured in kilojoules.
When you are on a weight loss regimen, it’s important to preserve your muscle mass, because this is responsible for your BMR.
When muscle, or lean mass, is reduced, your BMR is also reduced.
Men have higher BMRs (about 7,100 kJ/day) than women (about 5,900 kJ/day) and although you continuously expend energy throughout the day, your BMR is lowest early in the morning.
Physical activity.
This may pertain to any movement you perform, such as swimming, running, walking, or even going up and down the stairs. You have great control over this aspect since it is determined by the duration, frequency, and intensity of your movements or activities.
Even if the energy expended by the muscles comprise a mere 20% of the total energy expenditure, this may go up to about 50% during strenuous exercise.
The Myth About Metabolism
We’ve been told since we were small that slim people have high metabolism while those who are overweight are ‘victims’ of slow metabolism.
This is true to a certain extent, but is not always correct.
Rather, weight gain or loss depends more on the balance between total calories consumed and total energy expended.
If you have a habit of taking in more than you can burn, expect to tip the scales at steadily growing figures.
It is for this reason that the benefits of diet and exercise cannot be overemphasized.
The BMR is also influenced by many factors that work in combination with each other.
True, it’s partly affected by your genes, but you also need to take into account age, gender, hormonal imbalances, illnesses, dietary deficiencies, the amount of muscle and body fat, and even crash dieting.
For instance, going on crash diets won’t speed up your metabolism – in fact, you’ll get opposite results, as your body automatically slows down metabolism to conserve energy due to your low caloric intake.
There are, of course, several effective and safe ways to work around one’s predisposition to a sluggish metabolism to get rid of unwanted inches and pounds.
M. Jamal
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