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The Facts about Metabolism
By Tammy Hischke
For those of you who have ever thought your metabolism might be the cause of your inability to burn calories or lose weight, this article is for you. In the information that follows we will define metabolism, look at what influences metabolism, and learn how we can maintain or increase metabolism throughout life.
What is metabolism?
Loosely defined, metabolism is the rate at which your body utilizes energy or calories. The two major components that make up metabolism are basal metabolic rate and lifestyle/occupational energy requirements. Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) or resting metabolic rate is your body's energy requirements at rest and accounts for about 50 to 60 percent of your total energy output (metabolism). Breathing, your heart beating, and blinking require energy. This energy is your BMR. A simple analogy for your BMR can be seen in a car that has been started but still sits in the driveway. Other components of your metabolism are your lifestyle and occupational energy requirements (activity level). Your activity level accounts for approximately 30 to 40 percent of your total energy output. Still another small percent of your metabolism goes to digesting and absorbing food and nutrients.
What factors influence metabolism?
Lean muscle mass greatly affects the rate at which you utilize energy. Muscle mass is very metabolic. It requires a lot more energy to sustain muscle mass than fat mass. The more muscle mass you have the higher your metabolism will be. Men generally have a higher basal metabolic rate for this reason.
Age also affects BMR. Older individuals usually have a lower BMR than younger individuals. This could also be due to a decrease in activity and a decrease of lean muscle mass as we get older. Cardiovascular exercise and a resistance training routine can reduce the effects of age on BMR.
Extreme weight loss can lower your metabolism. Simply put, it takes less energy to support a lighter you. A resistance training program can reduce the effects of extreme weight loss on your metabolism.
Eating smaller, more frequent meals can have a small effect on metabolism by keeping your energy level raised throughout the day.
The thyroid gland produces a key BMR regulator, thyroxin, which speeds up the metabolic activity of the body. The more thyroxin, the higher the BMR.
Certain stimulants such as caffeine and nicotine can affect BMR.
Is your metabolism making you fat?
With the exception of very rare metabolic disorders the answer is NO! Once food is consumed you either use it or store it. If you consume more calories than your body utilizes in a given day, you will store the excess calories in fat. If you increase your level of physical activity and increase lean muscle mass, you will increase your energy output and there will be fewer if any calories left over to store as body fat.
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