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Metabolism and a Healthy Weight
2020-10-23
What You Should Know About Metabolism Have you ever wondered how your body works the way it does throughout the day? We all know that cells and tissues function together, utilizing energy obtained from food in order to perform the tasks demanded by your body. But what few of us pay attention to is the process of utilization of this energy to perform the tasks. This utilization of the energy is what we call as the metabolism of the body. Let us assume that your body was a machine, like a cellphone, metabolism would be the electricity which runs the mobile. Human metabolism, however, is much more complex. It’s the complete set of biochemical processes that keeps you alive. The metabolic rate is the speed at which your body uses up the energy stored inside your body. It is measured as the number of calories you burn over a given amount of time. The calories utilized by your body is generally made up of three components. Activities that are required for keeping you alive such as blood circulation (including the pumping of your heart), breathing, maintaining body temperature in the body, and even just existing is what comprises the basal metabolic rate (BMR). In an average person, this accounts for a total of 50 to 60 percent of the calories expended.
<h2>Calories needed for eating, digesting, absorbing, and storing food</h2> <p>This is called the thermic effect of food (TEF). This uses a total of about 10 to 15 percent of your daily calories in an average person.</p> <h2><span style="color: #000000;">Calories used in physical activities</span></h2> <p>Also called activity-related energy expenditure, it accounts for the rest of the calories that you burn.</p> <p>The metabolic rate of the body increases when it comes to the utilization of your food, in order to provide you the power to exert yourself in physical activity. Every person tends to have a different magnitude of this metabolic activity.</p> <p>Most of us are thus eager to know how we can increase this metabolic rate in order to burn more calories, in hope of compensating for our sedentary lifestyle or the over consumption of food. If you have joined a <strong>“weight loss program”</strong> or planning to join one, a faster metabolism helps you achieve the desired results faster.</p> <h2>What determines your metabolic rates?</h2> <p>Many factors like your gender, age, current hormone levels, your body size and composition, all affect the metabolic rate of your body. In the case of gender differences, males tend to have a higher BMR as compared to those of females. Age is an obvious factor causing older people to have lower rates as compared to the younger ones. This is because people who are older have lesser muscle mass and the muscle tissue in your body is known to burn more calories as compared to the fatty tissue.</p> <p>Climate is also a factor affecting your BMR. If the climate is that of hot temperatures, the basal metabolic rate rises. Fever increases your BMR, while fasting and malnutrition reduce it. Your genes effect your BMR as well.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img title="best weight loss programs, best weight loss treatment" src="http://www.drmorepennow.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/The-digestive-system-utilizes-about-10-15-of-the-total-calorie-intake.jpg" alt="best weight loss programs, best weight loss treatment" /></p> <h2>Excess Fat bad for BMR?</h2> <p>Most people think their low BMR is the cause for their obesity, but this assumption barely takes in the complete picture. A lower than average BMR may increase the chances of <strong>“weight gain”</strong> in people but it is not always the cause for obesity. In fact the BMR is usually higher in obese people because they need more than the usual number of calories to fuel their larger bodies. Another added effect to it is their tendency to be sedentary, since higher calorie requirement for each movement causes them to exert less.</p> <p>Ironically, if you weigh around 90 Kgs and go through the “<strong>best weight loss program</strong>” to somehow, reduce down to 70 Kgs, your BMR would still be lower as compared to that of a person who has weighed 70 since the start. Thus, even the best “<strong>weight loss treatment”</strong> would seem ineffective as it would be easier for you to gain your weight back to the number with which you started. Another example of “not fair!”</p> <h2>Protein: Not a means for increased BMR</h2> <p>Many people, even dieticians or nutritionists suggest going for a high protein diet as the best <strong>“weight loss plan”</strong>. But there is no backing form the medical field regarding such suggestions. The simple fact that your body takes a little more energy to process protein as compared to carbohydrates is not enough to make you <strong>“lose weight”</strong> on a high-protein diet. It all depends, ultimately, on how many calories in total you consume throughout the day and how many you burn out of those.</p> <p>The effect of eating more protein on your metabolic rate is very small. This increase in the metabolic rate is not enough to cause the consumption of more calories as compared to the ones that you are currently consuming.</p> <p>Other factors which are thought to increase metabolic rate but are mostly not supported by medical evidence are- (1) Eating frequently but in smaller quantities instead of two or three larger meals, (2) supplements of green tea, and (3) getting enough sleep.</p> <p>The theory of “grazing” your food towards <strong>“weight loss”</strong> is barely supported by studies, and the ones that suggest anything close to it do not mention any significant boost in the metabolic rates.</p> <p><img class="right-img" title="best weight loss programs, best weight loss treatment" src="http://www.drmorepennow.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Green-tea-does-not-increase-BMR.jpg" alt="best weight loss programs, best weight loss treatment" /></p> <p>Green tea extract, which are popularly promoted as the <strong>“best weight-loss aid”</strong>, is completely based on theoretical concepts because it contains certain phytochemicals (including caffeine) which are thought to cause <strong>“weight loss”</strong>. But studies have not yielded any consistent result, and any effect caused is likely to be small and brief, thus giving a very good ‘impression’.</p> <p>Several studies have linked inadequate sleep with “<em>weight gain</em>” and, possibly, even a reduced metabolic rate, but if the studies conducted are looked upon closely, one can observe that the effect of the loss of sleep has not been measured directly. The indirect approach causes it to include many other factors, typically personal ones which affect the metabolic rates such as the daily physical activity and lethargy. It is obvious that if you’re exhausted from the lack of sleep, it is less likely for you to exercise.</p> <h2>The conclusion:</h2> <p>In the end, sadly, there is no neat trick yet known for boosting your basal metabolic rate. But looking at the known factors effecting metabolic rates you can always increase your activity-related energy expenditure which can be done simply by exercising more.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img title="best weight loss programs, best weight loss treatment" src="http://www.drmorepennow.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Strength-training-can-affect-the-BMR-1.jpg" alt="best weight loss programs, best weight loss treatment" /></p> <p>It’s sometimes even claimed that strength training can greatly increase your BMR. But the fact still remains that average people visiting the gym do not build enough muscle to achieve a meaningful capacity to burn calories afterwards. The only significant achievement would be the calories you burn during your workout. Aerobic exercises such as running, swimming, biking, or brisk walking burn more cal</p> <p>ories as compared to strength training and is more likely to boost your metabolic rate significantly afterwards—at least for a short while. For a balanced workout, you should include both aerobic as well as strength-building activities.</p> <div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_32x32_style"> </div>