Meet Your Metabolism

"Burn more calories and you will lose weight". A straightforward Equation, Right? But if you are on this journey you must know it is not as simple as it sounds.

Your weight depends a lot on your metabolism. If your metabolism is strong and fast your body will be burning more calories but if your metabolism is slow, the weight may not go down as you want. Why's that?

Well, in this lesson we are going to talk about this one important factor which can influence your weight, how it works and how you can make it work.

What is Metabolism?

Metabolism is the process in which the body breaks down food and drinks and converts them into energy. This process uses calories from food and drinks and oxygen to make the energy needed by the body to do all other functions.

Your metabolic rate is the rate at which you burn through energy. It is also called "daily energy expenditure"-the number of calories you burn in a day. This daily energy expenditure has two components:

Resting energy expenditure - calories you burn while your body is on rest.

Non-resting energy expenditure – calories you burn by working out, walking, playing, or chasing your dog.

Resting Energy Expenditure:

Even if your body is at rest it needs energy to do all the functions like breathing, balancing hormones, repairing cells, and sending blood throughout the body. So even if you are resting on your couch and watching TV, your body still uses the calories to do all of those things. That number of calories burned while resting is known as your basal metabolic rate or resting energy expenditure.

Non-resting Energy Expenditure:

The calories you burn while doing any kind of activity are known as your Non-resting energy expenditure. Whether it is a workout or just walking towards the office, your body is burning some extra calories to do that function. This non-resting energy expenditure is divided into three parts:

Exercise activity thermogenesis

non-exercise activity thermogenesis

thermic effect of food.

All of the activities from practicing yoga to walking to digesting your snacks fall into these three calories.

Resting and non resting energy expenditure are the basic components of your metabolism. Let's focus on resting energy expenditure, or your basal metabolic rate.

This basal metabolic rate is highly influenced by weight, height, age, and gender. That's why everyone has different basal metabolic rates. A heavy, tall and young person would have increased basal metabolic rate than a light, short older person.

It's hard to increase your height, we know, but you can change your weight.

Yes, weight influences your basal metabolic rate.

Basal Metabolic Rate & Weight Loss:

When you lose weight, your basal metabolic rate also decreases, because there is not much fuel for the body.

You must be thinking, if metabolism means burning calories then slow metabolism means less calorie burn? You're correct. When your metabolism is slow you won't be losing as much weight. But that's not a bad thing.

A study published in the International Journal of Obesity found that changes in metabolic rate explained 67% of "less-than-expected" weight loss in adults suffering from obesity.

What does this mean?

It means if your scale is not moving like before, then your changing metabolism might need some extra support.

This all happens because of metabolic compensation(adaptive thermogenesis) slowing down your metabolism to compensate for the weight loss to maintain your current weight. Basically, it's your body telling you that it's worried that it may not get enough food in the future and it goes into preserveration mode. As we feed it less food it becomes more efficient and learns to get by on fewer calories by slowing the metabolism.

Let's take an example, there are two identical twin males- Henry and Ben, Both are 5'9", 180-pound, and 35-year-old. Henry has been 180 pounds his entire adult life. Ben on the other hand tried different strategies and was able to lose some weight. And he is also now 180 pounds. Do both have the same metabolic rate now? No, Henry burns 2,090 calories per day, while Ben burns about 1,740 calories per day.

No matter if their lifestyle, weight, height and age are the same. Both have their own basal metabolic rate depending on the needs of their own bodies. As the body knows well how many calories it needs to burn to work properly.

According to a study, published in the International Journal of Obesity, people who lose 10% or more of their body weight have a 20% - 25% decline in their Basal metabolic rate. It means an obese person who loses some weight will burn way fewer calories than a person who has the same weight.

That's why losing weight is hard but maintaining your weight loss is even harder. But don't worry, we have got your back here. Now that you know all about your metabolism and how it works. We have some great ways for you to make that metabolism work and maintain your weight loss.

Make the most of your metabolism

No matter how much your metabolism is influenced by other factors. We have got some science-baked solutions which can help you to get most of your metabolism and make it work for you.

Here are three scientific solutions to even the most annoying obstacles.

Tip #1: Gain muscle

One thing that works best for your metabolism is your "muscles". Muscle burn more calories than fats. The more muscles you have the more calories you will burn.

When you lose weight, you don't just lost fat, you lose but you lose muscles too. Some research estimates that 25% of what you lose during your weight loss is fat-free mass including muscles and tissue organs.

So start strength training. When you do weight lifting or push-ups you are challenging your muscles to deal with the higher level of resistance which results in increased muscle size and growing new muscles.

Studies show that people who diet and strength train lose more weight than people who diet and do cardio. Plus Cardio increases your hunger hormone, ghrelin, while strength training can inhibit it.

Tip #2: Keep moving

You may be shocked to hear that, but exercise is not the biggest factor when it comes to weight loss. We know we have talked about strength training just now but that's was for your muscles. Apart from that exercise does not have much effect on your metabolism.

We agree exercise is good for your health, it can prevent the risk of various diseases and more importantly, can help you keep off the weight that you have lost. But it will not help much in losing that stubborn weight.

Studies have also shown that. According to a study, people who change their diet and start working out lose almost the same weight as those who just change their diet.

So, what we are trying to say here is that don't just overdo your exercises. If you like it, then do some. But that's not where you should put all of your energy. Instead focus on little movements like walking to the office, dancing around the house, playing your favorite game or anything that keeps you active.

Tip #3: Eat Protein

We have already discussed how much muscles are important for your metabolism to work. Now we will tell you about protein- a key for building and maintaining muscles. And not only this but this protein is also important when it comes to losing weight and keeping it off.

Recent studies have shown that taking extra protein can protect your metabolism and muscles from some negative effects of weight loss.

It means eating a second round of shrimp or tofu can help your metabolism from slowing down. There are various ways you can do that. All you have to do is add a little bit more protein to your meals and snacks.

Now you know how your metabolism works and what you can do to make the most of it. All you have to do is;

• Get strong, grow your muscles and increase your metabolic rate.

• Keep yourself active.

• Have extra protein in your meals and snack time to grow your muscles.