Do you know
people who complain about having a slow metabolism and how they barely eat anything
yet still gain weight? Have you met people who complain about someone they know
who can eat whatever he or she wants including large portions of junk food due
to a fast metabolism and apparently never gain weight. This scenario raises a
very good question on the role of metabolism in weight gain or weight loss. Metabolism
or metabolic rate is defined as the series of chemical reactions in a living organism that create and
break down energy necessary for life. More simply, it's the rate at which your body expends energy or
burns calories. One way to think about metabolism is to view your body as a car
engine that is always running. When you're sitting still or sleeping, you're
engine is idling like a car at a stop light. A certain amount of energy is
being burned just to keep the engine running. As humans our fuel source is the calories
found in foods we eat and beverages we drink.
How fast your
body's "engine" runs on average, over time, determines how many
calories you burn. If your metabolism is fast, you will burn more calories at
rest and during activity. A high metabolism means you'll need to take in more
calories to maintain your weight. That's one reason why some people can eat
more than others without gaining weight. A person with a slow metabolism will
burn fewer calories at rest and during activity and therefore has to eat less
to avoid becoming overweight.
Effective
Weight Loss Strategy!
If you could
choose between diet and exercise, diet would have far more influence on your
weight than exercise, but of course you should do both. Most people don’t
understand this fact. They believe that if they are exercising appropriately
then they really don't have to be careful with their food choices. This is
simply false. When you consume healthy foods, your body digests and metabolizes
the food to create energy. Simply metabolizing proteins and other nutrients
found in healthy food burn calories. Junk food however, is the opposite. It
tends to be high in fat and carbohydrates, as compared to healthy food which
tends to contain more nutrients. This slows down your metabolic rate increasing
the risk of obesity. The optimal way to lose weight is to follow a lower
calorie diet based on the healthy eating pattern and incorporate daily physical
activity into your lifestyle. It is important to make small changes in your
diet and lifestyle rather than losing 5kgs in one week through a
"crash" diet or "fad" diet. Always seek professional advice
from a nutritionist to get a personalized diet plan. Successful weight loss
involves a permanent lifestyle change; otherwise, you will easily regain the
weight that you lost.
