If you know someone that has been trying to lose weight and get
into shape, you have probably heard words such as, “I just eat
one meal a day to lose weight” or “I’m afraid if I eat, I’ll
gain weight” but sadly, this misnomer is why so many people are
in the “battle of the bulge”. People all over the world still
believe that eating breakfast, or even three meals a day will
cause them to gain weight. In truth, as long as they are eating
the right types of foods and exercising, then three normal meals
or six small meals a day will actually work better with their
metabolism than eating the wrong quantities or not eating often
enough.
With more than half of Americans over the age of 20 now being
considered “overweight”, now more than ever, we need to
understand how metabolism works in relation to losing weight.
Why risk having a heart attack, a stroke, developing cancer, or
diabetes when all you have to do is make a few minor changes and
live a healthy life? First, a person’s metabolic rate is
determined by the number and size of respiring cells that
compromise the body’s tissue, and the intensity of the
metabolism in these cells. These two factors combined are what
makeup the physiological foundation of the amount of energy
(calories) in which a body uses.
Keep in mind that energy cannot be created or destroyed, just
changed. As we know, potential energy comes from the foods we
eat. When talking about weight loss, there are three components
of balanced energy, which include calorie intake, calories
stored, and calories expended. The way it works is that if the
amount of calories taken in equals the amount of calories being
expended (burned), then there is balance and the body’s weight
is stable.
On the other hand, if the balance becomes positive, caused by
more food being eaten than is burned, energy is destroyed or in
better terms, stored as body fat. It is important to remember
that you can be eating a diet considered low-fat and still gain
weight. The reason is that most dietary fat is stored while the
body is burning carbohydrates and proteins for energy. The
problem is the when a person gains weight, the increased level
of fat becomes stored energy until the calorie balance is
negative. For that to happen, the amount of calories burned
needs to exceed the number of calories being consumed, no matter
what the macronutrient content.
Metabolism is the rate at which the body uses energy to support
the basic functions essential to sustain life. This metabolism
is comprised of three parts, which include physical activity
(20%), Thermic Effect of Food, also called TEF (10%), and
Resting Metabolism Rate or REM (70%). Physical activity is the
amount of energy your body burns up during normal, daily
activities to include housework, recreation, work, exercise, and
so on. Obviously, someone that is physically active will burn
more energy than a sedentary person will. TEF accounts for the
energy used in digesting and absorbing nutrients, which would
vary depending on the meal’s composition. When a person
overeats, TEF is increased because more food must be digested.
Here is where metabolism becomes very interesting and what
causes so much confusion.
One pound is equal to 3,500 calories, so let us say a person
consumes 3,500 more calories than normal. That individual would
not gain one pound because the TED is accounted for but if 3,500
calories were cut trying to lose weight, then TEF decreases
since there would be fewer nutrients to process. The result is
that with energy expenditure would decrease, meaning that the
individual would lose less than one pound in weight. In other
words, by cutting out too much food, TEF cannot work as it was
designed to do. Now keep in mind that you cannot go around
eating a bunch of junk food. After all, the calories you do
consume need to be healthy foods but what this does mean is that
when you do not eat, you are actually working against your body
in fighting weight gain, not the other way around.
Finally, the RMR refers to the number of calories the body needs
to run its essential functions, as well as chemical reactions
while in a rested state. This aspect of metabolism accounts for
the greatest number of calories burned every day. What happens
is that if lean weight should be lost because of increased
protein metabolism, then RMR decreases. Typically, you would see
this happen when a person goes on a very strict diet. In this
situation, the body is forced into a negative nitrogen balance,
which means a greater amount of protein is lost than what is
replaced because of less protein/energy intake. When this
imbalance occurs, there is a gradual loss of lean weight, which
then lowers RMR.
What happens many times is that dieters will limit the amount of
lean weight loss with intense exercise for the muscles to
develop a need to maintain more protein. When this happens, the
body is forced to use more energy from stored fats. If you want
to put your metabolism to work for you, some simple steps can be
taken:
* By adding a few extra pounds of lean muscle, the metabolic
rate can be increased by up to 200% each day * Remember that
lean weight can burn as much as 20 times more calories than fat
weight * Regular exercise is one of the best ways to boost
metabolism * By eating smaller meals and more often, you can
boost your metabolism rate
While you need to eat healthy foods, studies prove that what
matters most is how much of a person’s body weight is attributed
to fat. Remember, excess fat is what links to major health
problems. Therefore, it is important that you maintain a healthy
weight but more crucial that you monitor the fat-to-muscle
ratio.
For example, a woman standing 5′5″ might weigh only 125 pounds
but have a 27% body fat ratio, which is not good. This
individual worked hard to diet, while staying involved with
aerobics. However, much of what she lost was not fat, but
muscle. Even though this weight would be considered ideal for
her height, her body fat to muscle ratio is too high.
An excellent way to optimize your fat-to-muscle ratio is by
getting involved with weight training in addition to the
nutrition and cardio. As you will see with the tools provided at
www.comptracker.com,
you can analyze the thickness of the subcutaneous fat at various
areas of the body. The benefit is that you know exactly what
your ratios are so you can achieve a healthy fat-to-muscle ratio
as well as body weight.
Remember, you are in control and need to make the decision to do
something good for yourself. Therefore, now is the time to take
that control and fight to live a lean and healthy lifestyle.
About the author:
Fitness Consultant Anthony Ellis has helped thousands of
individuals lose fat and build more muscle. To read more about
his fat loss recommendations please check out his site at
http://www.fatlosstips.com
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