Understanding Metabolism & Weight Loss

The body weight of a person is usually referred to in conjunction with his or her metabolism. A thin person is said to have a higher metabolism rate, and the opposite is said to be true of the not-so-thin person. A high metabolism rate means calories are burned at a faster rate, resulting in a thinner body. If this statement is correct, then, surely we can use metabolism to be our ally when it comes to losing weight.

To a large extent, the rate of our metabolism is in actual fact somewhat correlated to our weight. However, it is very simplistic to conclude that a low metabolism rate results in weight gain, and vice versa. Metabolism is not the cause of weight loss or gain. Our body does not work that way.

Let's take a minute to understand what metabolism is, and then let's try to connect it to weight loss.

To put it in simple terms, metabolism is simply the rate at which calories are burned for energy in our body. Or, it is the speed at which energy (measured in terms of calories) is being used up. Put it another way, metabolism is the chemical reactions that happen in our body, in which the food we eat is converted into energy. And energy is needed in order for us to live - including to breathe, to move about, and to carry out our day-to-day life operations.

The word 'rate' and 'speed' are used when metabolism is described. This is the key to our understanding of what metabolism is -- it is essentially related to time. Or rather, it describes an aspect of time. If our body's food burning process is slow, then, our metabolism is said to be low.

Let's now take a look at 'basic metabolic rate' (or BMR in short). This is the smallest amount of calories that you need in a day for your body to carry out vital bodily functions such as breathing, cell growth, circulating blood, and the like. The value of basic metabolic rate is dependent on a number of parameters like height, weight, gender, age, and how active a person is. The basic metabolic rate is different from one individual to another.

About 75% of the food we eat is used for basic metabolic rate, which means, cutting down on food intake cannot be relied on to lose weight. This is because our body has its basic metabolic rate to fulfill no matter what. If we starve ourselves, our body will respond by slowing down our metabolism in order to survive. Hence, less-calories are burned, while the rest of the calories are stored as fat. This is the exact opposite of what we want!

So that is why attempting to change your metabolism rate or limiting your food intake is not the answer to your weight loss concern. There is a better way, and it revolves around taking healthy food and having a great exercise routine. Healthy food means natural ingredients and absolutely no preservatives. This, my friend, is the way to go.

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Best of luck