When people talk about losing weight, they lay more emphasis on metabolism. Is there any connection between metabolism and weight loss? This article will know the role of the body’s metabolism in weight loss and why it is necessary to have a fast metabolic rate to maintain a healthy weight.
Certainly, metabolism is central to how your body burns calories. How your body burns calories is different from other individuals. Metabolism is the chemical process that affects and influences your body’s organs to function. It is the physical and chemical processes inside your body that affect the life and functioning of your body.
A healthy weight is essential. A good metabolism aids in healthy weight maintenance. So regardless of your food intake, you will not gain excessive weight. Your weight depends on three factors, namely:
- The number of calories you consume. If you consume foods that are rich in calories, you are likely to have excess weight.
- The number of calories your body burns through workouts and exercises.
- Your metabolism.
Metabolism is necessary to sustain life. It involves all the various physical & chemical processes such as breathing, smiling, laughing, eating, respiration, tissue repair, digestion, and other activities. As you know, all these processes require energy to happen, and this energy is calculated in calories.
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There are some average calorie requirements based on an individual’s body weight & activity level. However, the metabolic rate of individuals is different. You need to have enough energy to perform exercises to manage body weight or maintain a healthy weight. Therefore, it becomes essential for you to know your unique daily caloric requirements.
These different requirements are simplified into:
Resting Metabolic Rate:
Unless you are a bodybuilder, a professional athlete, or a sportsman who trains regularly, over 70% of the calories you burn every day are used to maintain the essential life processes (breathing, tissue repair, digestion, etc.). RMR refers to your resting metabolic rate, and it is the amount or number of calories your body needs to stay active and alive.
Activity Calorie Requirements:
Even if you don’t sit on your couch or stay in a fixed position all day, you may burn additional calories through body activity, movement, and exercise. For many people, this makes up about 30% of their total daily calorie expenditure.
What Factors Determines The Resting Metabolic Rate?
The following factors generally determine the metabolism and daily caloric requirements:
1. Age: Age is a determining factor that affects metabolism in people. People have a faster metabolism during their youth ages, but their metabolic rate tends to drop by 5% every decade after they cross 40 years.
2. Genetics: Some people are blessed naturally with a good metabolism. Some people have a higher and faster metabolism than others.
3. Gender/Sex: Naturally, men will burn more calories than women. For some reasons like pregnancy, women may experience a slower metabolic rate.
4. Height: Taller people tend to have a higher metabolism than shorter people.
5. Body Composition: Individuals with more muscle mass or people with more body weight tend to have a higher resting metabolism than thin people. The reason is that muscle cells need a lot of energy, so people with more muscles over fat will have a fast metabolic rate.
6. Body Activity: Even if you are not doing intensive workout exercises, it is essential that perform some simple body activity like moving from one place to another. The more you move your body, the higher your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR).
7. Environment: Extreme temperatures can influence RMR. For instance, most athletes burn more calories when they exercise in colder periods.
How To Calculate Resting Metabolic Rate
Using a calorie calculator can give you an estimate of your resting metabolic rate and activity calories daily. Some athletes who want to get a more precise and accurate measurement with indirect calorimetry may consider using a metabolic analyzer. However, some of the estimates for the Resting Metabolic Rate have proven to be very close to the results gotten with more specific testing.
Exercise Metabolic Rate
Every individual has a different resting metabolic rate, so do we have extra exercise metabolic rates. In addition, we have different energy levels during some forms of exercise, so our body responds differently when performing workouts at various intensities and duration.
For everyone who wants to conserve energy and those who want to burn more calories, everyone must know their body’s exercise metabolic rate. When you know your Exercise Metabolic Rate (EMR), you can customize your training program and routine to enhance energy levels, conserve energy, lose weight, avoid over training and prevent chronic injuries.
How To Calculate Exercise Metabolic Rate
Several exercise metabolic tests calculate VCO2 (volume of carbon dioxide exhaled), VO2, and heart rate during numerous exercise activities. The results from these tests help an athlete figure out optimal pacing for an event or optimal calorie burning for fat loss.
The metabolic tests are shared at local health clubs and fitness training clinics. If you are interested in knowing your EMR, you can have a metabolic exercise test at your local fitness center or sports clinic.
Even if you have all the data, details, and information about your metabolism at rest and during exercise, the best way you can burn calories and get in shape is by doing proper training and using an effective fat burner. PhenGold is one of the effective fat-burning supplements on the market. See this PhenGold review to know how it works.
Many people have considered workouts as a way to cut down excess body fat. But, unfortunately, they lack enough energy for strength-building tasks such as weightlifting, push-ups, sit-ups, and heavy gardening. If you must lose weight, having a fast metabolism should be your priority.
Without a doubt, if you can improve your metabolism, you will find it easy to shed weight. In addition, if you have struggled to remove unwanted fat over the years, boosting your metabolism will reduce the hassles and complications associated with weight loss.
Read more: 10 Ways to Boost Your Metabolism