Table of Contents
What Is Metabolism?
Metabolism is the process by which your body converts what you eat and drink into energy. During this complex process, calories in food and beverages are combined with oxygen to release the energy your body needs to function. Even when you’re at rest, your body needs energy for all its “hidden” functions, such as breathing, circulating blood, adjusting hormone levels, and growing and repairing cells. The number of calories your body uses to carry out these basic functions is known as your basal metabolic rate — what you might call metabolism.
Metabolism also plays an important role in how the body processes nutrients and regulates energy. Conditions such as diabetes can affect how the body manages blood sugar and energy, making metabolic health an important part of overall well-being.
Several Factors Determine Your Individual Basal Metabolism
- Your body size and composition. People who are larger or have more muscle burn more calories, even at rest.
- Your sex. Men usually have less body fat and more muscle than women of the same age and weight, which means men generally burn more calories.
- Your age. As you get older, the amount of muscle tends to decrease and fat accounts for more of your weight, which can slow calorie burning.
Energy needs for your body’s basic functions stay fairly consistent and aren’t easily changed. In addition to your basal metabolic rate, two other factors determine how many calories your body burns each day:
- Food processing (thermogenesis). Digesting, absorbing, transporting, and storing the food you consume also takes calories. About 10 percent of the calories from the carbohydrates and protein you eat are used during the digestion and absorption of food and nutrients.
- Physical activity. Physical activity and exercise — such as playing tennis, walking to the store, chasing after the dog, and any other movement — account for the rest of the calories your body burns each day. Physical activity is by far the most variable of the factors that determine how many calories you burn each day.
Scientists call the activity you do all day that isn’t deliberate exercise non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT). This activity includes walking from room to room, activities such as gardening, and even fidgeting. NEAT can account for a significant amount of daily energy expenditure.
Metabolic Weight Loss
It’s part truth and part myth that metabolism is the key to weight. The rising tide of obesity cannot be blamed entirely on an inherited tendency to have a slow metabolism. Genes do not change that quickly. Environmental factors — particularly changes in diet and insufficient physical activity — are much more likely to contribute. Age can be a factor, too, although new evidence suggests metabolism reaches a peak earlier in life and slows down later than previously thought.
The reality is that for most people, excess weight is not all due to bad luck, thyroid trouble, or some other unexplained, uncontrollable external factor. For most of us, calories in and calories out have a strong influence on changes in weight over a lifetime.
Regardless of whether your metabolism is fast or slow, our bodies are designed to store excess energy in fat cells. So, if you eat and drink more calories (energy “intake”) than your body expends (energy “output”), you will gain weight. On the other hand, if you eat and drink fewer calories than are burned through everyday activities, including exercise, rest, and sleep, you’ll lose weight.
Our bodies are also programmed to respond to a lack of food as a form of starvation. In response, the BMR can slow down, which means fewer calories may be burned over time. That’s one reason why losing weight is often difficult.
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can also support cardiovascular health. Following habits such as eating a balanced diet, staying physically active, and maintaining a healthy weight can contribute to preventing heart disease.
Metabolic Weight Loss Coach
The fact is, life always happens. The important thing is whether you allow it to stop you from changing your habits or hinder you from beginning new ones. It would help if you had an outside perspective to help you remain focused and motivated when losing weight. And that’s where a weight loss coach can come in.
Without someone who is advising and holding you accountable, it’s natural to go off track — or completely stop your diet or exercise plan. A weight loss coach can help you maintain focus on your goals.
Below Are Five Things a Weight Loss Coach Can Do for You:
1. Evaluate Your Weight Loss Needs Objectively
A coach will look at your health from an outside perspective and help you establish an objective target. Many times, clients at a weight loss clinic begin with an arbitrary number in mind. They may have an outdated idea that weight is weight, but that’s not necessarily true. Relying on the scale alone can work against you, keeping you from achieving your goals.
2. Create the Ideal Weight Loss Plan for You
A weight loss coach will design a weight loss plan that suits your individual needs. It will help strike the right balance between exercise and proper nutrition to fit your body’s metabolism and your lifestyle.
While many body types can find success on similar diets, there are additional considerations for maintaining a healthy weight. A nutritionist or healthcare professional can begin with a consultation to learn more about you, your history, goals, lifestyle, and more to help you select an appropriate plan.
Nothing is worse than being on a diet and not getting results, disliking the foods, or engaging in workouts you dread. A coach can help get you started on the right track and eliminate wasted time, effort, and money.
3. Help You Remain Focused on Your Weight Loss Goal
A coach can get you back on track if you deviate from your diet, have a schedule change that prevents you from completing your planned workouts, or encounter challenging social situations.
Sometimes, life presents us with situations we can’t easily handle. We may use these experiences as excuses to deviate from our goals or as reasons for perceived failures. Your coach can help you be more objective about your individual needs and challenges.
This can help you learn how to overcome hurdles and regain focus moving forward, even if you get off track.
4. Motivate You When You Are Not Feeling Motivated
Initially, when starting a diet, clients may be highly motivated about their goals and eager to get started. Without support, they may begin to lose interest in their original purpose, and their motivation can wane. After a few days or weeks, some people may stop following their program altogether.
This can happen to even the most committed people. There are many reasons for this, but a weight loss coach can provide encouragement and help you get back on track when you are least motivated.
Remember, you are not the first person to experience a lack of motivation when losing weight. By helping you remain focused and objective about your needs, a coach can encourage you to keep going.
For people who are also managing blood sugar with medications such as metformin, understanding signs that metformin is working can provide useful information about treatment progress. Any medication-related concerns should be discussed with a healthcare professional.
5. Keep You Honest & Hold You Accountable
It is easy to regress to old habits when there’s no one to keep you honest and accountable. You cannot expect your partners or friends to do that for you in the same way you can while relying on a coach.
Like you, your friends and family have their own issues to manage and address. That aside, who wants additional pressure in a personal relationship?
Conclusion
When it comes to weight, metabolism is important and does have a genetic component. Clearly, you can change how you balance the calories you take in against the calories you burn through activity, which can affect your weight.
With experienced coaches tracking your progress and reminding you where you are and where you want to be, you may find it easier to work toward your weight loss and fitness goals. While many people may resist the added cost of a weight loss coach, it is worth considering the value of having professional support when working toward long-term health and weight-management goals.
