Have you ever heard someone who has slow metabolism that even if they didn't almost eat anything, they still gain weight? Or, have you ever met someone that eats anything they want without having to gain weight because of their fast metabolism?
According to the US National Institutes of Health, metabolism refers to the process inside the body that uses energy. Even so, the term metabolism tends to be used when it comes to weight, especially when the topic is about the capability to lose or maintain body weight.
What is metabolism?
Metabolism is a series of chain reactions in an organism that creates and breaks down energy needed in life. Metabolism is responsible to transform nutrition from the food we consume to become energy for us to breathe, move, digest, circulate blood, and repair damaged tissue and cells.
But, the term "metabolism" is frequently used to describe the basal metabolic rate. Basal metabolic rate is the number of calories burned when a person took some rest or when the body is currently inactive. The higher the metabolic rate, the more calories burned when inactive. There are many factors that could affect metabolic rates such as age, diet, gender, physique, and health conditions. Basal metabolic rate is also influenced by genetic factors.
Now according to the US National Strength and Conditioning Association, basal metabolic rate accounts for 65-70% of the total daily caloric expenditure.
Does diet affect metabolism?
Our body weight fluctuates from day to day. In fact, even a little bit of calorie excess every day could trigger weight gain. Likewise, even a little bit of calorie deficit every day could also trigger weight loss.
Weight loss could decrease the metabolic rate and the calories burned when inactive. On the other hand, sufficient endurance training and protein consumption could maintain muscle mass without fat during weight loss, which will maintain the metabolic rate.
This happens because even if digesting food could burn calories, the calories needed to digest protein is more extensive than to digest carbs and fat. Raising protein intake can make metabolism 15-30% faster. Rich-protein diet can also boost muscle mass gain without fat which could increase basal metabolic rate.
According to the US National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, more muscle mass in our body means more calories burned, even when we are resting. When we are sleeping, every ounce of muscle will burn six calories per day, while one ounce of fat will only burn two calories per day.
Regardless of how fast our metabolic rate is, our body is designed to save excess energies into fat cells. So, if we consume more calories from foods or drinks than we burned, we will gain weight. On the contrary, if we consume less calories from foods or drinks than we burned, we will lose weight. Our body is also programmed to feel the lack of food intake as hunger. This could make the basal metabolic rate slower so we burn calories less.
Metabolism is partly genetic and largely out of a person's control. Some people inherit genes that promote a faster metabolism and can eat more than other people without gaining weight, while others are less fortunate and end up with a slow metabolism. While it's not really possible to "reset" your metabolism, there are many ways you can naturally increase your metabolic rate, including changes to your diet, exercise routine, and sleep schedule.
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Source:
Church, K. & Fetters, K. A. (2020). 7 Essential Facts About Metabolism and Weight Loss. EverydayHealth. [online]. https://www.everydayhealth.com/news/essential-facts-about-your-metabolism-weight-loss
Harvard Health Publishing. (2021). Does metabolism matter in weight loss? Harvard Medical School. [online]. https://www.health.harvard.edu/diet-and-weight-loss/does-metabolism-matter-in-weight-loss
West, H. & Tinsley, G. (2022). How to Speed Up Your Metabolism: 9 Easy Ways Backed by Science. Healthline. [online]. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-ways-to-boost-metabolism