Like most people you probably know someone who can eat whatever they like and never exercise, and yet stay as thin as wafer. It just doesn’t seem fair when other people only need to have the occasional snack to find they have started putting on weight. And the simple fact is it’s not fair – it’s all down to our genes, and more specifically, our metabolic rate.
People with a very high metabolic rate burn through the food they eat very quickly and so they never have to worry about putting on weight. But don’t worry too much if the rate of your metabolism isn’t fast, you just need something to get it moving, and there are plenty of ways to do that.
Metabolism runs our bodily functions and controls the way that the body distributes energy from the food we eat. It extracts nutrients from our food, regulates how quickly and how much fat we burn. If your metabolic rate slows down too much it can make it very difficult for you to lose weight.
Understanding how fast your body metabolises and knowing your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) are very important if you are committing yourself to a long-term weight loss plan. The BMR refers to the amount of energy your body needs from your food that you eat for you to function properly.
On average men need around 7,200 kilojoules per day to supply the body with enough energy to function correctly throughout the day. Women need slightly less; around 6,000 kilojoules. However, it’s important to remember that everyone’s BMR will be different so you should work out how much energy is optimal for you.
If you’d like to improve your metabolic rate you can follow a few simple steps. Any exercise you do will have the benefit of naturally increasing your metabolism. It’s also important that you don’t over-eat or even under-eat as these types of inconsistency can slow the metabolism.
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