Metabolism Confusion

A lot of the questions my students are asking have to do with metabolism. Unfortunately, most of them are also based on faulty assumptions and myths. In this post, I am going to try to clear some of these up.

One of the questions I received was: Why is it harder for some people to lose weight and easier for others? This is a common question that many people have, whether or not they verbalize it. When people talk about metaobolism, I think they are referring to some genetic, unchangeable characteristic that determines how quickly your body uses energy; something similar to eye color or shoe size. While there may be some genes having to do with the way fat is stored and used(which are beyond the scope of my knowledge), I believe that MOST of the differences in ability to lose weight between people do not have anything to do with the rate at which calories are burned. Here's what does matter:

- Weight: Believe it or not, the heavier you are, the more calories you burn! Why? Because you have more cells that need those calories. It's simple mathematics. If you drive 2 cars, you need twice as much gas as you would if you drove 1 car the same distance. Similarly, if you have 2,000 fat cells, those cells require twice as many calories as 1,000 cells.

- Muscle mass: Like weight in general, muscle needs calories to exist. But, muscle needs more calories than fat cells, so someone who gains 10 lbs of muscle will burn more calories than someone who gains 10 lbs of fat. This is also why men tend to lose weight more easily than women. They have more testosterone, and therefore more muscle, which means they burn more calories.

- Age: Although calorie needs do decrease with age, it is primarily the result of other changes which can be avoided. As we get older we tend to be less active, which of course will decrease the calories we burn. Furthermore, inactivity will decrease our muscle mass, which will also lead to reduced calorie needs. Changes in hormones also tend to make it more difficult to maintain muscle. But it does not have to be this way. The simple way to combat this is to be more [hysically active and work at building muscle with resistance exercise.

- Height: This is related to weight. It is unfair and unfortunately, not something we can change. Because a healthy BMI is based on a weight-to-height ratio, taller people are supposed to be heavier. It makes sense. Two hundred pounds would look very different on a 7 foot tall person than someone who is only 5 feet tall. Plus, taller people also have more bones and other tissues which all need energy. So, if you are tall- lucky you! You get to eat more calories and still maintain a healthy weight. If you are short- well, you just aren't so lucky. You can't eat the same amount as your taller peers and get away with it.

These factors will affect how many calories your body needs on a day-to-day basis. But there are other things that will affect your calorie balance (calories in vs. calories out). They are pretty obvious:

- How much you eat: Although some of those "fast metabolism" braggarts may swear that they eat fast food five times a day, I am skeptical of these claims. It may be that the people who are "naturally thin" or who lose weight easily are simply not eating that much. They may think they are eating more calories than they actually are. And what about those painfully thin celebrities who credit their metabolisms for their slim figures? It's BULLSHIT plain and simple. They just don't want to admit they are anorexic/bulimic/cokeheads/etc.


- How physically active you are: Again, even non-exercisers may be more active than they think. Research has shown that some people can fidget away extra calories unconsciously. So, people who think they have a fast metabolism may just be fidgeters.

Finally, fat distribution can also play a role in how easy it is for a person to lose weight. Fat that is stored in the lower body (hips, butt, thighs) is harder to lose, whereas fat stored in the abdomen is mobilized more quickly. But, the flip side of this is that lower body fat is much less dangerous to your health (and less unsightly, in my opinion) than upper body fat. This is another reason why men tend to lose weight faster than women. They tend to store more upper body fat.

So, if you want to give your metabolism a boost, forget about weight loss drugs and try muscle-building exercise!