Metabolism and Weight LossMetabolism is a word that is often used in discussions about weight loss. We hear people blame a slow metabolism for weight gain, and marketers promising products that will raise your metabolism to promote weight loss. But what exactly is your metabolism, and how does it affect your weight? What Is Metabolism? In simple terms, metabolism is the word describing how your body turns food into energy. Your body requires energy for all activities, including breathing, circulating blood, adjusting hormone levels, and growing and repairing cells. The number of calories your body needs to create enough energy for your specific needs is called your basal metabolic rate - or metabolism. If you have a higher basal metabolic rate, that means that your body burns more calories naturally in order to create the energy you need. A lower metabolic rate means that your body requires less calories. What Determines How High (Or Low) Your Metabolism Is?
Your metabolism only accounts for 60-75% of the calories you burn every day. Whether you gain or lose weight depends on what else you're doing to burn calories, and how many calories you're taking in compared to what your body is burning. Regulating Your MetabolismWhile it's common to hear people blame a slow metabolism for weight gain, metabolism is actually a natural process of the body that tends to regulate itself pretty effectively. In rare cases there is an underlying medical problem that makes metabolism slower than what it should be. But in order for most people to lose weight, they need to look beyond the body's natural metabolism to lose weight. In addition to the 60-75% of calories that are burned by your natural metabolism, there are two other factors that determine how many calories your body will burn in a day. Food processing. The process of digesting, absorbing, transporting and storing the food you consume is called thermogenesis. Thermogenesis requires energy from calories. Unfortunately, thermogenesis only accounts for about 10% of the calories burned each day. In general, the amount of energy your body needs to process food is fairly stable and difficult to increase. Physical activity. The rest of the calories your body burns, after accounting for your metabolism and thermogenesis, comes from physical activity. The more physical activity you engage in, the more calories your body will use. Weight is lost when you are taking in fewer calories than your body is burning through metabolism, thermogenesis and physical activity. Metabolism is not something you can easily change or increase in order to lose weight. Nor can you change how many calories your body burns by processing foods. What you can do is increase the amount of physical activity in your life and reduce the number of calories you take in so that you're consuming less than your body is burning. If you've tried unsuccessfully to change your diet and exercise in order to lose weight, you might want to consider contacting your doctor. Your doctor can help you determine if you have a medical problem that's affecting your metabolism, or help you explore options like weight loss surgery to limit the amount of calories you take in. |
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