It Must Be My Metabolism: Metabolism Part One
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Just exactly what is metabolism? And how does it influence your ability to manage your weight? If you’re not sure, you are not alone. The word metabolism is often misunderstood and misused. On the other hand, if you’ve ever thought “it must be my metabolism” keeping me from losing weight. You may be right and then again you may not. Metabolism is complex. It involves more than simply burning calories. You might think of it as the way in which your body gets the energy it needs to function from the food you eat. You need energy to keep your heart beating, lungs breathing, and nerves firing even when you are at rest. However, it also involves the processes by which your body fuels all of the chemical reactions needed to build, maintain, breakdown, and repair body tissues. The speed with which your body performs these functions is often referred to as metabolic rate. What Makes Your Metabolism Unique? Your metabolism is influenced by such things as your body composition and weight, gender, age, height, thyroid, and activity level. What you eat can also influence your metabolism. But the effect of food and other supplements is very small. Body Composition and Weight The rate or speed with which you burn calories when you are AT REST is primarily influenced by your body composition. The more fat-free mass you have relative to your total body weight the higher your metabolic rate. Fat free mass is commonly referred to as lean body mass or LBM. It includes tissue such as lean muscle, bones, and organs. The activity of lean body mass is much greater than that of fat tissue. Men typically have significantly more muscle mass than women. This is why the average man has a higher metabolic rate than the average woman by as much as 10 to 20 percent. Although lean body mass may be the primary determinant of metabolic rate for individuals with a healthy body weight, it is a different and more complicated story for those who are significantly overweight. The greater a person’s weight the harder the body must work to support tissue of all kinds, both fat and fat-free. A plus-sized woman could have a metabolic rate as much as 50 percent higher than a thin woman! Height As with weight, height influences body size. The taller you are the greater the distance that must be covered to provide your body with the energy and nutrients it needs. This increases metabolic rate. Gender As mentioned previously in the discussion on body composition, men usually have more muscle mass than women. This gives men a faster or higher metabolic rate. Temperature The colder or hotter the environment, the harder your body must work to regulate body temperature. This will raise metabolic rate. However, given that many people today live in temperature controlled environments, the effect of temperature on metabolism is minimal. Age The older a person’s age, the slower the metabolism. There are many reasons for this. There tends to be a loss in muscle tissue in part from the aging process itself and in part from a decrease in level of activity. Exercise can slow down but not stop this natural process. Thyroid The thyroid is a small gland that lies just below the skin under the Adam’s apple in the neck. The thyroid secretes hormones that influence metabolic rate (speed of metabolism). Certain medical conditions and medications can influence the functioning of the thyroid gland. If the thyroid is over stimulated it will speed up metabolism. If it is under stimulated, metabolism is slowed down. Heredity Some people are born with a metabolic rate that is faster than the average. For these individuals, eating enough food to avoid being too thin may be challenging. Other people with an inborn tendency for a slower metabolism struggle to avoid weight gain. Most people fall within the range of average. Activity Level You have no control over your height, gender, age, or heredity. The functioning of your thyroid gland, on the other hand, needs to be checked and, if necessary, managed with the assistance of your medical doctor. The one thing YOU CAN DO to positively impact your metabolism for weight loss is to engage in increased physical activity or exercise. If you’ve thought, it must be my metabolism, how do you feel now? Still convinced? I’ll cover how metabolic rate is determined and the ways in which increased physical activity or exercise can positively impact metabolism in parts two and three of this series. Till next time, watch your calorie intake, eat healthy food, and be active! Health weight loss Health, weight lossmetabolism weight loss height weight gender temperature thryoid activity level calories energy fuel
