|
About
Diets
Do
you need to diet?
Metabolism
Binge Eating
Disorder
Popular "Fad" Diets
Atkins Diet
Mayo Clinic Diet
Zone Diet
Cabbage Soup Diet
Grapefruit Diet
Very Low Calorie Diets
Fit for Life Diet
Sugar Busters Diet
Metabolism
Metabolism is a biochemical process that combines nutrients
with oxygen to release the energy your body requires in daily
life.
Metabolism has two phases. The anabolic
("constructive") phase converts compounds from nutrients into
substances the body can use. The catabolic
("destructive") phase reconverts these substances into more
basic compounds that provide the energy release that keeps
the body functioning.
Metabolism is measured in calories. How many calories you burn
in a day depends on several factors, including:
-
A person's basal metabolic rate
(BMR)
-
Level of physical activity
-
The body's muscle to fat ratio
Many things can affect metabolic
rate, including fevers, menstrual periods, digesting food and
hormones such as insulin.
Basal Metabolic Rate
The basal metabolic rate (BMR) is a term used to describe how
many calories the body burns 'at rest', simply to keep the
brain and body functioning and heart beating. The BMR usually
accounts for at least half of all calories burned during the
day.
Most of your calories are 'burned' by muscle tissue. Fat is
basically metabolic 'dead weight'. The more lean muscle mass
you have in your body and the less body fat you have, the more
calories the body tends to burn. This is the primary reason
why anyone looking to loose weight should not only exercise
frequently, but also include weight training as part of their
exercise plan. As well, loosing muscle mass (which often
happens when dieting) hampers the body's ability to loose fat.
The ability of lean muscle mass to cause an increase in the
body's ability to burn fat is the reason why men, who
generally have more muscle mass than women, tend to gain
weight slower than women and loose weight faster than women.
Metabolism and Dieting
Experts agree that dieting, particularly "yo-yo" dieting, are
generally
counterproductive to long term weight loss. There are two main
reasons for this. When the body is starved for calories, the
body's fat storage enzymes learn to become more efficient.
This is the result of evolution and our body's ability to
withstand famine.
Training your body to store fat more efficiently is exactly
what anyone looking to
loose weight wants to avoid. As well, most dieters,
particularly those who loose a
large amount of weight in very little time, actually loose
that weight in water and
lean muscle mass loss. Frequently, diets suggest ingesting so
few calories that the body doesn't get the energy it needs
and the dieter ends up feeling sluggish and without energy to
burn. The end result is a loss of lean muscle mass - the body's
number one ally in the fight against fat.
The message is clear when considering metabolism and it's
relation to weight loss. Do not starve your body. Instead,
keep the energy flowing and burn it off in exercise, including
exercise that builds lean body muscle.
Some interesting facts about metabolism
-
as we age, our BMR decreases
approximately 2% each decade
-
about 10% of daily calories are
burned during digestion
-
over 50% of daily calories are
burned by the body just to function
-
15-40% of calories are burned
through physical activity (the amount depends on how much a
person exercises)
The Mayo Clinic's Health Living
Centers provides excellent advice and research about
diet and nutrition. Excellent resources about
diets and
nutrition are offered by the Nutrition.gov website. |
