The Relation between Weight Loss and Metabolism
June 12, 2009 by Gail Grannum
Filed under Metabolism
Anyone who is on a weight loss program cannot afford to ignore his/her metabolism. Metabolism is the process through which food is converted into energy. This process occurs in the cells of our muscles and organs and helps in burning calories. And this is why a good understanding of our metabolism can help us in weight loss. Let’s take a closer look at the relation between weight loss and metabolism.
The process of metabolism
Fats, proteins, and carbohydrates are broken down in our digestive system to be used by the body. They are then transported to the cells of the body through the blood stream, where they are metabolized. During this metabolism process, the calories released are combined with oxygen and released in the form of energy to help your body function. When considering the role of metabolism in weight loss, it is this burning of calories which plays an important role.
Weight loss and metabolism
It is a well known fact that weight gain occurs due to consuming more calories than what your body burns. For maintaining your weight, you need to calculate your daily caloric intake. This can be calculated by calculating the amount of calories expended on the three essential components of metabolism. So, your daily caloric intake should be equal to the calories expended on your basal metabolism (calories required for the basic functioning of your body), your physical activity, and the digestion of food. For weight loss, you need to reduce your caloric intake and/or increase the amount of calories that you expend.
Besides this, an increase in metabolism helps in weight loss. If you increase your physical activity and exercise regularly, your weight loss routine can be a success.
By increasing the frequency, duration, and intensity of your physical activity, you boost your metabolism and burn more calories. Strength training and aerobics activity build muscle tissue. An increase in the lean muscle tissue means increase in metabolism. This will again lead to faster burning of calories.
Your eating habits also play an important role in increasing your metabolism and promoting weight loss. Contrary to popular beliefs, skipping meals actually slows down your metabolism. If your body doesn’t get its regular calories, it will go into starvation mode and your metabolism will slow down. You will lose muscle tissue and excess energy will actually be stored as fat. Therefore, the right thing to do to increase your metabolism is to eat 5-6 smaller meals throughout the day. Combined with drinking the necessary 8 glasses of water a day, it will help in raising your metabolism and induce weight loss.
As you can see a weight loss routine is aimed at faster burning of calories and your metabolism is the process that is actually responsible for burning them. Calculating your daily caloric intake and taking steps to boost your metabolism can help you in losing weight in a healthy way.
Related Posts
Popularity: 37% [?]
