Metabolism is the process your body uses to make and burn energy from food. It is how your body converts what you eat and drink into energy. This is a complicated process where calories in food and drinks are combined with oxygen to release the energy your body requires to live and function. Our bodies need energy even when resting. There are hidden functions that are always running in the background such as breathing, blood circulation, and replacing cells. Our bodies rely on metabolism to exists.
Basal Metabolic Rate.
Basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the number of calories our bodies need to function when at rest. BMR is the number of calories your body needs to carry out basic living functions. There are a couple of factors that affect your BMR. Firstly, your body size and composition. People who are bigger and have more muscles tend to burn more calories even when they are resting or post workouts. Secondly, your sex plays a huge role in your BMR. Males usually have less body fat and more muscles. While females have more body fat. On average women have six to eleven percent more body fat than men. Some studies show oestrogen reduces a women’s ability to burn energy after eating. This causes more fat to be stored in thier the body. Finally, as we get older, our muscles may decrease due to lack of mobility and fat accounts for more of our weight, this slows down calorie burning.
Factors Affecting Metabolism.
There two other factors that affect how our bodies burn calories. Food processing and physical activity.
Food Processing.
When we eat food, the process of digesting, absorbing, and storing the food consumed needs calories. It is estimated that ten percent of calories from carbs and protein is used during digestion and absorption of the nutrients.
Exercise.
Exercise and workouts such as walking the dog, doing the garden, and running or any movement burns calories. Apart from the calories for basic living functions, our body burns plenty of calories when we exercise.
Metabolism And Weight Loss.
Many people believe that their weight loss or gain is based on a fast or slow metabolism. I have heard people say that they cannot lose weight because they have a ‘slow’ metabolism. Metabolism is a natural process and our bodies regulate it. It will be different from one person to the other. It is in rare cases where slow metabolism causes weight gain, this is a medical problem. Weight gain is not a simple complex. It is affected by genes, hormones, diet, and lifestyle factors such as sleep, stress levels and exercise. People gain weight when they eat more calories than they can burns.
There are cases where some people lose weight or develop muscles quickly than other people. Everyone will lose weight when the calories they burn are more than the calories they need (while at rest and moving). Losing weight requires being on a calorie deficit. This is the foundation and the basic principles of losing weight.
Does Exercise Increase Metabolism?
People think raising their metabolism will help them burn more calories and boost weight loss endeavors. We burn some calories when we exercise. When we get our heart rates high during aerobic exercises such as walking, riding a bicycle, and swimming we will burn plenty of calories. This increased calorie-burn only lasts as long as your workouts. Our bodies might keep burning extra calories for an hour or so. The aftereffects of exercise stop there. Once we stop exercising our metabolism will go back to its resting rate. People eat more calories after exercising thinking their bodies will keep burning calories for the rest of the day. It does not work that way. You will gain weight if you eat more calories than your body can burn.
Does Muscle Mass Burn More Calories?
Muscle burns more calories than fat. This also makes people think having more muscle mass will boost their metabolism. Many people who do strength training will gain a few kilograms of muscles. However, this is not enough to make a big difference in burning calories throughout the whole day. Most of the time the brain, heart, kidneys, livers, and lungs will impact your metabolism more than muscles. These living functions require energy and calories 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. I have never heard of anyone exercising all week long.
Exercise Does Not Boost Metabolism.
In the bigger scheme of things, metabolism plays a small role in losing weight or gaining muscle mass. If you want to lose weight, you need to be on a calorie deficit diet. The quickest way you can do that is by eating 500 fewer calories or burning 500 calories a day through exercise. Doing both will be the most effective method to lose weight. Eating healthy and working out while being on a calorie deficit will cause you to lose weight, sooner or later.
If you are trying to lose weight it would be good to forget about trying to ‘boost’ your metabolism. Many “healthy” products claiming you can speed up your metabolism is false marketing. Some may even have dangerous side effects. Losing weight or achieving your weight goals is a function of eating healthy and exercising on a consistent basis. Our bodies do not need external assistance unless you have a medical issue. Treat supplements and third-party weight loss products with a lot of skepticism.
There are no short cuts to losing weight such as boosting or increasing your metabolism. The simple foundation is to consume fewer calories than you burn, weight loss will happen. Just be patient and consistent with the process. Should you suspect that you may have a metabolic issue, contact your doctor or registered dietician. They will help you find ways to lose weight while treating any underlying medical condition.