Although I have been brief through food science and nutrition teaching in school time, Metabolism stay a big and complicated subject in me as I grow. We often say ya as years go by our metabolism decrease so I get fatter. Heard some aunties saying I get fat even I breath in without food ahhaa.
But in exactly why and how?
As almost everyone knows, Metabolism and weight are related to each other. In order to understand that you will first have to understand what metabolism exactly means.
I found a good and easy illustration of Metabolism and putting here with so I can always remind myself and info sharing to all my friends and peeps out there.
Credit to Lisa Balbach who is a professor in Kirtland Community College in Michigan, USA.
What is Metabolism?
Metabolism is the chemical reactions that occur in the cells of the human beings. This includes digestion and the transportation of various substances between the cells. It is the metabolism of the body which determines which food it will find nutritious and which ones it will find poisonous. The speed of the metabolism determines how much food is required by the body.
Metabolism is the amount of energy (calories) your body burns to maintain itself. Whether you are eating, drinking, sleeping, cleaning etc... your body is constantly burning calories to keep you going.
Metabolism is affected by your body composition. Meaning the amount of muscle you have versus the amount of fat. Muscle uses more calories to maintain itself than fat. People who are more muscular (and have a lower percentage of body fat) are said to have a higher metabolism than others that are less muscular.
For example, let's say you have two people who are the exact same height and weight. One exercises on a regular basis with weights, in addition to aerobic exercise, and has a low percentage of body fat. The other never exercises and has a higher percentage of body fat. The first person who exercises will have a higher metabolism than the second person. What this basically means is that person #1's body will use more calories to sustain itself than person #2.
Gender differences in Metabolism?
Gender: the gender of the person determines the level of metabolism in the person’s body. Men have more muscles in their body as compared to women. Women on the other hand tend to have more body fat. Thus men can easily burn more calories as compared to women.
What about body shape?
Body size and type: people who have huge bodies require more energy even during rest. Their body requires more energy to carry out the basic functions hence the calorie burning in the body of such people are higher.
How can I Increase My Metabolism?
Begin to exercise and stop dieting.
You can increase your muscle mass by doing some type of resistance work (i.e. lifting weights, using exertubes, rubberbands, dynabands, hand weights etc...). You can also decrease your level of body fat by doing some type of aerobic exercise at least 3 days a week for longer than 20 minutes. By aerobic exercise, it means an activity (such as walking, jogging, step aerobics, hi/low aerobics, biking, swimming etc...) that will increase your heartrate into the target zone and keep it there for the duration of the exercise session. You also need to eat! - Do not diet, just watch the types of foods you eat. Try to eat a diet that is lower in fat (check the labels on the foods that you buy).
I Never Gained Weight Until I Reached 30, What Happened?
After the age of 30, your body gradually begins to lose it's muscle. If your activity level stays the same and the amount of calories you eat stay the same, you will gain weight because your metabolism has slowed down (you don't have as much muscle as you did in your 20's). If you exercise with weights and do some type of aerobic activity on a regular basis, you probably won't notice much of a change in your metabolism as you age.
The energy requirement of the body remains constant, till the age of 60-70 years. After that the energy requirement decreases gradually.
How do I Know if I Have Slow Metabolism?
Symptoms of slow metabolism include fatigue, feeling cold, dry skin, constipation, a slow pulse and low blood pressure. These symptoms could be the result of a medical condition rather than low metabolism - MAKE SURE YOU SEE YOUR DOCTOR to rule out any type of medical problem.
Is there any way to Lower Metabolism?
If you eat a very low-calorie diet, your metabolism will slow down in order for your body to survive (your body thinks it is starving).
From dieting, my weight has gone up/down over the years, How has this affected my Metabolism?
If your diet has resulted in a loss of muscle and an increase in your percentage of body fat, then your metabolism has probably slowed down.
How Long is My Metabolism Increased After Exercise?
Most experts agree that weight training and aerobic exercise do increase metabolism while you are exercising and after you are done. They disagree on how long after exercise your metabolism remains increased.
When you are exercising aerobically, your focus should be on burning calories and working your cardiovascular system. Because it takes more calories to exercise, your metabolism is sped up during the activity.
When you are lifting weights or doing other resistance work, focus on the activity itself which not only burns calories but increases muscle strength, tone and endurance.
The combination of aerobic activity and weight training will result in a body that has more muscle and less fat - so the end result will be a higher metabolism.
Does Genetics Play a Role in Metabolism?
Yes it does! Everyone has a different bone structure and body type (mesomorph, ectomorph, endomorph or combination). It is not realistic to think that everyone can look like the Baywatch beauties or like Arnold Schwartzenagger. However, given your body type and genetic make-up, you can exercise (with weights and aerobically) to look the best that you can.
Now I understand why DD eats so frequently and so much but he never get fat without excerise all these years :( Maybe he is born with higher metabolic rate.
Its our fate I guess how our body is like...I am more of the metabolism slow down as age grows... :(
So able to recognise our body, I have just started the hard way from 9th Sep to count my calories with food diary and getting my ass to work. Will share again on current activity if only it works ahhaa.
Okie in case you have doubt, this meal in Shimbashi Soba is like a last meal before the diet awareness.
Hope that bring you some awareness about your own body and let's rid the fats and build more muscles together!! :D
0 comments:
Post a Comment