What Exactly is Metabolism & Can You Change It?
November 4, 2016Many people blame their weight on a slow metabolism. But, is their slow metabolism really to blame? If a slow metabolism is the cause of your overweight, can you increase your metabolism?
Yes, your metabolism has to do with your weight. However, it is the amount of food and beverage you consume and your level of physical activity that determine your weight. A slow metabolism is rarely the cause of someone being overweight.
What is Metabolism and How Does it Work?
Your metabolism is the process by which your body breaks down the food you eat and what you drink, and converts it into energy or calories. Your body then uses this energy to do all the necessary things a living body does. The energy derived from foods is used by your body to breathe and for your heart to keep on beating. Even the process of breaking down foods in your gut and absorbing it requires energy. The amount of energy or calories needed to run all these basic processes is called your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR).
An adult human burns about 800 calories per day carrying out these basic life functions. This means that even when you are sitting watching TV or sleeping, your body is using energy or burning calories. As long as you are living and breathing, your body is metabolizing food into energy.
The rest of the calories your body burns is to carry out the physical activities of daily living such walking, running, climbing stairs, etc. The average adult needs about 1800 to 2400 calories per day to run all these necessary bodily functions and activities of daily living. As we age, our caloric requirement does not change by much.
Why do I continue to get heavy? Your weight increases when you take in more calories than your body needs. If your body only needs 1800 calories per day to function and you are taking on the average 2500 calories per day, your body will store the extra 700 calories as fat. Over time, your weight will continue to increase as you get fat.
What Affects Metabolism and How Can I Change It?
Many things affect your metabolism. Some of these things you cannot control and some you can.
Body size and composition: The bodies of people that are larger and have more muscle mass, burn more calories, even at rest.
Gender: Men usually have more muscle and less body fat than females of the same age and thus tend to burn more calories at rest.
Age: As we age, we lose more muscle mass and our metabolism slows down as a result.
Physical activity: Exercise and other forms of physical activities account for most of the calories our bodies burn in a given day. This is the variable that we can control and have a substantial effect on the number of calories we burn daily.
It may be tempting to blame your metabolism for weight gain. But because metabolism is a natural process, your body has many mechanisms that regulate it to meet your individual needs. Only in rare cases do you get excessive weight gain from a medical problem that slows metabolism, such as Cushing's syndrome or having an underactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism) or steroids injections as treatments for different illnesses.
Unfortunately, weight gain is complicated. It is likely a combination of genetic makeup, hormonal controls, diet composition, and the impact of environment on your lifestyle, including sleep, physical activity, and stress. All of these factors result in an imbalance in the energy equation. You gain weight when you eat more calories than you burn — or burn fewer calories than you eat.
While it is true that some people seem to be able to lose weight more quickly and more easily than others, everyone will lose weight when they burn up more calories than they eat. Therefore, to lose weight, you need to create an energy deficit by eating fewer calories or increasing the number of calories you burn through physical activity or both.
While you don't have much control over the speed of your basal metabolism, you can control how many calories you burn through your level of physical activity. The more active you are, the more calories you burn. In fact, some people who are said to have a fast metabolism are probably just more active — and maybe more fidgety — than are others.
What Are Ways to Burn More Calories?
Regular aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise is the most efficient way to burn calories and includes activities such as walking, bicycling and swimming. As a general goal, include at least 30 minutes of physical activity in your daily routine. If you want to lose weight or meet specific fitness goals, you may need to increase the time you spend on physical activity even more. If you can't set aside time for a longer workout, try 10-minute chunks of activity throughout the day. Remember, the more active you are, the greater the benefits.
Strength training. Strength training exercises, such as weightlifting, are important because they help counteract muscle loss associated with aging. And since muscle tissue burns more calories than fat tissue does, muscle mass is a key factor in weight loss.
Lifestyle activities. Any extra movement helps burn calories. Look for ways to walk and move around a few minutes more each day than the day before. Taking the stairs more often and parking farther away at the store are simple ways to burn more calories. Even activities such as gardening, washing your car and housework burn calories and contribute to weight loss.
Don't look to dietary supplements for help in burning calories or weight loss. Products that claim to speed up your metabolism are often more hype than help, and some may cause undesirable or even dangerous side effects. Dietary supplement manufacturers aren't required by the Food and Drug Administration to prove that their products are safe or effective, so the recommendation is to view these products with caution and skepticism, and always let your doctors know about any supplements you take.
There's no easy way to lose weight. The foundation for weight loss continues to be based on physical activity and diet. Take in fewer calories than you burn, and you lose weight.
Our knowledge is increasing about all of the mechanisms that impact appetite, food selection, and how your body processes and burns food. Your health care provider can help you explore interventions that can help you lose weight.
 | ABOUT THE AUTHOR Wiljon W. Beltre, MD is a Board Certified surgeon who has dedicated his professional career to helping individuals who are significantly overweight achieve real, permanent weight loss and improve their health, well-being, and quality of life through metabolic and bariatric surgery. As lead surgeon at The Center for Metabolic and Obesity Surgery, Dr. Beltre continues to help people struggling with obesity find a permanent cure by providing excellent, personalized care, implementing the latest surgical techniques, and offering a powerful support network designed to empower individuals to achieve their weight loss dreams! |
