METABOLISM, what is it?

Am I fat because I have a slow metabolism?

Am I thin because I have a fast metabolism?

Let’s have a look.

Firstly, metabolism is the process of turning the calories we put into our body — from food and drink — into the energy we need.

Your body needs a certain amount of energy each day just to function — this is known as your Basal Metabolic Rate (Metabolism).

Energy is needed for all the internal work your body does to keep you going, such as your keeping your heart beating, growing, breathing, repairing cells etc.

Everybody’s Basal Metabolic Rate will be slightly different, meaning we all need a different amount of calories each day for these functions, but each will account for around 60-75 per cent of our daily calorie intake.

For example, someone with a higher muscle mass percentage will require more calories as they will burn more fuel, an older person will require less as when we get older our muscle tends to decrease and fat accounts for more of our weight, which slows down our calorie burning.

The remaining percentage of calories used will be combined between digesting food and physical activity.

Obviously these will be the most variable.

When we exercise our metabolism speeds up, allowing us to burn more calories (fat).

The harder you exercise, the faster your metabolism will run.

If you exercise regularly (three to four times per week) then your body will become more efficient at increasing your metabolism and using fat as fuel.

Initially, when we exercise, fuel will be taken from our muscles then later taken from our fat stores.

As your body gets used to the idea that you exercise on a regular basis and so need that extra energy regularly, it will become more efficient at getting it for you (burning fat).

So, while it is true that your metabolism affects your weight, we cannot blame a fast or slow metabolism for how we look or our body weight, unless we have a medical condition that affects this.

The fact of the matter is, we need to consume the right amount of good healthy calories for our body type and increase our exercise if we want to increase our metabolism to shift any extra body fat we carry.