Perhaps you know someone who complains about having a “sluggish” metabolism and how he or she eats very little but still puts on weight or have difficulty with weight loss. Or, you’ve heard someone complaining that they have a friend or family member who can eat whatever he or she likes without gaining weight – due to a fast, speedy metabolism. In either case, the individual often concludes by saying, “it’s just not fair”! These two situations bring about some important questions:
- What is the exact role of metabolism in weight loss or weight gain?
- Do your genes determine your metabolic rate? If yes, is it possible to speed up a slow metabolism through medications, exercise, or certain foods?
- Is the importance of metabolism only a myth? Is weight loss or gain just a matter of “calories in and calories out?”
To answer these questions, let’s begin by explaining what metabolism means.
What Is Metabolism?
Metabolism (metabolic rate) is a series of biochemical reactions in living cells and organisms that generate and break down energy essential for life. Simply put, it is the rate at which the body burns down calories or uses up energy.
There are several ways through which your body burns calories:
- Through exercise
- Through normal daily activities
- At rest, your body burns the most significant percentage of calories, merely keeping the body functions working. We call this process the basal metabolic rate. Your inherited genes partly determine your basal metabolic rate (BMR) or resting metabolic rate (RMR).
Metabolism is partially genetic and, to some extent, out of one’s control. There are a lot of debates on whether it is possible to change your metabolic rate. Some “lucky” people inherited genes that promote a fast metabolism from their parents and easily eat more than others without adding weight. Others are not as lucky and wound up with a “sluggish” metabolism.
An excellent way to think about metabolism is to see your body as a vehicle engine that’s always in operation. When you are sleeping or sitting down doing nothing, your engine idles like a vehicle waiting at a traffic light. A particular amount of energy is being expended to keep the motor working. Sure, for humans, the fuel is not gasoline. Instead, its fuel is the calories obtained from the foods we consume and the beverages we drink. Depending on the calories’ composition, the energy can be used straight away or stored (in fat cells) for later use.
How quickly this engine runs, on average, determines the number of calories you expend. If your metabolism is fast or “high,” you will burn more calories during activity and while at rest. A fast metabolism means that you will have to consume more calories to maintain your weight, but the calories’ composition is also essential with a fast metabolism. That explains why some individuals can eat more than others without putting on weight. Someone with a slow (low) metabolism will expend fewer calories during activity and at rest and therefore, needs to eat less to avoid gaining weight.
Metabolism and Weight Loss — Half Nature, Half Nurture
The belief that metabolism is the key to weight loss or gain is half-truth and half myth. The increasing obesity rate in the US cannot be attributed only to an inherited disposition to have a low (slow) metabolism. Genes don’t mutate that fast. So, it’s more likely that something environmental — specifically, changes in diet and doing too little exercise — is to blame.
The truth is, for a lot of people, excess weight is not due to thyroid issues, bad luck, or some uncontrollable external factors. Rather, it’s a calculation of the amount of calories taken in versus calories expended that determines changes in weight all through their lives.
Whether you have a slow or fast metabolism, all human bodies are programmed to store unused energy in adipose cells. So, you will add on weight if you consume more calories than your body burns.
On the other hand, if you consume fewer calories than what your body burns during daily activities (including sleep, rest, and exercise), you will hypothetically lose weight. Also, our body’s ingenious design allows it to see a lack of food as starvation. So, in response to this, our resting metabolic rate (RMR) reduces, which means fewer amounts of calories expended over time. That is one of the reasons why it’s not easy to lose weight by just not eating.
Our weight tends to change little by little every day. In the short term, your body can adapt to a little more or a little less than your daily requirements.
However, a few extra calories every day can result in massive weight gain at the year’s end. For instance, consuming one extra apple every day can result in a weight gain of approximately 9 lbs by the end of a year! Similarly, a small reduction in daily calorie intake can lead to significant weight loss. Removing dessert one day a week could result in a weight loss of about 6 lbs per year.
Several theories can explain what controls the amount of food an individual eats, when they become full, and the reasons they eat beyond their point of satiety. These factors play a significant role in determining one’s final weight. One of these theories is that we all have a set point – which is a particular weight at which the body feels “happy.” If you drop weight, your body may suddenly increase its hunger signal in an attempt to return to your set point weight. This theory may also be a reason why it’s so challenging to lose excess weight. However, it’s still unknown how that set point is determined and whether a mechanism like that truly exists.
The Bottom Line
Metabolism matters when it comes to weight loss. And knowing your metabolic rate is crucial whether you want to lose weight, maintain weight after loss, or are looking to improve your athletic performance. Of course, you can change how you balance the number of calories you take versus the calories you expend through daily activity, which can significantly impact your weight. At the end of the day, muscle mass is a huge indicator and predictive factor in weight loss. Maintaining our muscle mass is one secret in changing your metabolic rate. If you are looking to hack your metabolism, know that there are many tricks available to you if you know your metabolic rate. BioIntelligent Wellness offers a simple, 20-minute RMR test that will help you identify your resting metabolic rate, and we develop an effective plan to help you get to your goals quickly.
Why guess when you can test?
Contact us today and have your metabolic rate tested. You can also set up a complimentary consultation with our coaches to learn how metabolism and weight loss are interlinked with nutrition.
