Does Metabolism Really Matter?
Many people ask this question. We have decided to cast light on this profound question. Do you want to know if it is metabolism which destroys calories and make you lose weight? Wishing to find out how it works?
Let’s clarify together.
It’s a well known fact that the thinner a person is, the higher his metabolism, and vice versa, but this is not 100 % true, as weight does not depend on your metabolism only.
In fact, it’s up to the calories stored, calories which are not burnt. So, if you want to put on some weight, simply eat more calories; want to lose some, then, consume less fatty food. Metabolism plays the role of calories’ burner in this process.
Metabolism is a tool to transform food consumed into energy
In a nutshell, after you’ve eaten some food, there are different biochemical processes which start working in your body. Metabolism is one of them, during which calories delivered with fats, proteins and carbs are mixed up with oxygen, thus discharging the energy required by the body.
Each day your body burns a certain number of calories which is called overall energy consumption. Three are three factors which constitute energy consumption, they are principal needs (processes taking place in your body, like breathing, circulating blood and etc), consumed food processing and physical activity. In the case of the last factor you are the only one to decide how many calories you want to burn.
Before making resolution if it is metabolism which influences your weight and taking steps, you should consult the doctors, as in most case medical examination is the one and only trusted way to find this out. Yes, it looks pretty evident that if you qualify as obese, then your metabolism is lower than it should be, but in fact it’s very unusual for the metabolism to affect your weight.
Think differently, if you put on weight, then the calories are accumulated in your body. Why is that? Isn’t it because they are not burnt? Yes, it is indeed. So, there are three ways out, namely take in fewer calories, increase physical activity, thus burning more calories, and doing both.
Unfortunately it’s not easy to decide what the standard energy need is. Each body is a unique instrument which requires its own number of calories, that’s because there are special factors affecting need for calories.
Let’s consider three of them. First of all, it’s constitution and size of your body. It’s logical that the bigger person is the more energy he needs. Then, mind the percentage of fat and muscles in your body. More muscles means more calories burnt, that is your basal metabolic rating is likely to be higher if muscles are prevailing in your body.
The second factor is age. The younger the person is, the more he moves, consequently more muscles he has in relation to fat. After a number of years, we start moving less and the quantity of active muscles is likely to be on the decrease. Gradually metabolism is slowing down and the body doesn’t need so many calories to be burnt anymore.
Another factor is sex. Men tend to have higher metabolic rate as they move more and have more muscles in comparison with fat.
Is it possible to meaningly increase the number of calories burnt?
Well, yes, it is but each process has its limits. You are not able to increase your basal metabolism beyond all bounds. However, constant daily physical activity will help you create a certain muscles tissue and destroy needless calories.
You are free to choose any activity you want – yoga, aerobic, walking, or using a threadmill, each of those will make your muscles stretch and become stronger. You don’t need much time; 30 min per day is quite enough. However, if your life style allows you to spend more time, then you are welcome. The more muscles you have and the stronger they become, the more calories they burn, and consequently the more weight is lost.
You should also realize that increased physical activity doesn’t simply imply doing more exercises in gyms and etc. You must pay a special attention to how much you move in your daily life. Find any possibility to do more movements, let it be house / car cleaning, or parking your car further away, so that you had to walk.
Remember, that metabolism affects your energy needs, but what really matters is the food you eat and activity you do.
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By Mike, June 24, 2009 @ 11:46 pm
I’ve heard so much about different ratios of types of food, different times of day to eat, specific exercises to do, etc. I’ve tried many myself (being the skeptic I am) and seen others try these things as well. To be honest, it ALL boils down to calories. Anything you eat has stored chemical energy. Depending on what that food item is, its caloric value will vary. Likewise, your body HAS to use a certain amount of calories per day even if you were to literally lay in bed all day and use NO muscles. If it didn’t, you would be dead. As read above, many factors influence this basal rate: age, sex, body mass, etc. This number can be determined with fair accuracy if you simply type “basal metabolic calculator” in google and fill out the information pertaining to you. On top of that energy consumed, you body will also need more energy if it ISN’T going to be laying in bed all day (as most of us don’t). Most of these online calculators can take this information into account as well. Once you accurately input the information, you will get a pretty close estimation as to the number of calories your body consumes on a daily basis. Now, this is where it gets dificult. This is the part where 80% of people THINK they have down but don’t (as in Eduardo’s case I would assume). Once you have this estimated number for your body’s daily caloric consumption, you need to monitor the number of calories that go into it. You need to carry around a small booklet and write down EVERY SINGLE THING you put in your mouth throughout the day. You can’t even miss a single cracker or a single jelly bean as those have calories too. And we still haven’t reached the difficult part (though very few people can even do this right). Once you have a record of what you eat, you need to look up ACCURATE information on the caloric value of every single thing on your list. The nutrition facts on the packages is accurate. But not everything will have this (ie. when you eat an apple or an egg). However, if you type “caloric value of ____” into google, you should get multiple sources estimating that value for whatever it is you type in. Once you get the TOTAL number in one day, and are confident that it is as accurate as it can be, then you’re set. Keep this up. If you eat roughly the same calories that your body uses, you will stay the same. If the number of calories you eat is higher, you will get fatter. If it’s lower, you’ll loose wieght. This is as simple as it gets. We are machines that use energy, that is all. In Eduardo’s case, you are likely not monitoring your intake of calories accurately. Or, you don’t have an accuarate estimation of how many your body needs per day (or both!). So if you aren’t seeing any changes at all, you are probably really close to that equilibrium point I mentioned earlier where your intake is equal to you body’s expenditures. In this case, you have two options: 1) eat less or 2) exercise more. AND STICK TO IT. Assuming you were to eat 200 calories fewer per day than you use, your body would dip into its reserves and take 200 per day to compensate. Since one pound of fat contains about 3,500 calories, it would take 17.5 days at this rate to burn just one pound. That’s half a month. People are often disuaded by this, but the truth is, it takes TIME. So no, don’t try and take the easy way out with diet pills. I doubt they’ll help you with you problem and on top of that, they aren’t cheap. You’ll be wasting your money. Just monitor your intake EVERY DAY for at least 3 months and compare it with your daily needs. It has nothing to do with WHAT you eat or when, just the ammount of calories (don’t get me wrong though, WHAT you eat is also important for other reasons, but for the sole sake weight loss, calories are hands down the dominant factor). Good luck with it, it will take immense effort and time, but you can’t imagine how much better you’ll feel!!!
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By Rhonda Olsen, June 21, 2009 @ 3:45 am
Love Dr. Ann’s video! I didn’t know that high fibre foods and omega 3 fats could increase metabolism. I just thought they were good for helping with satiety and were heart healthy. I do know that having lean muscle mass is important. I’ve heard that a pound of muscle burns 50-100 calories a day even when we are at rest and that a pound of fat only burns 1-3 calories…ouch! Good incentive to stay active!
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By John, March 28, 2009 @ 6:08 am
Thank you for an interesting topic, as metabolism is something I’ve been thinking much about. As many others I was somewhat sure, that only metabolism determines one’s weight. Now I see it’s a slightly different story. I’ve been doing some stuff to increase metabolism, one of those drinking various supplements (green tea, for example), I guess I need to change an approach and see how much I eat, and if I spend all the energy. Thank you for factors you provide, they explain a lot.
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By Eduardo, March 28, 2009 @ 6:08 am
It’s nice to know what metabolism is and how it affects our bodies and loss weight, but as regards energy spend, you know I have my point of view and I believe I am not the only one who thinks the same. Ever since I realized my weight is somewhat too big, I started to look for ways to battle it. One of the most common advices I’ve met is physical activity. No problem, I did it. Shaping, walking and even yoga (that was funny, indeed), but still no result. My weight has not changed. Believe me, I eat less. I am thinking now about taking some weight loss drugs. Is there anybody who can recommend some really useful one? Will be really thankful.
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