Metabolism and Weight

In my wellness work, I’ve helped hundreds of people lose weight. It’s a complicated process, one that 60% of our population could benefit from. Women in particular say they have a hard time losing weight, and they find it gets harder to shed pounds as they age. Some of these difficulties may relate to their metabolism.

Metabolism is defined as “all the energy and material transformations that occur within living cells” (1) or more simply as the rate at which the body burns calories. Because losing weight requires that we burn more calories than we consume, metabolism often blamed for excessive weight gain or difficulty shedding pounds. While it’s true that hypothyroidism or underactive thyroid can slow metabolism and cause weight gain, the result is an increase of only about 10-15 pounds.

Many things influence metabolism, including genetics, age, eating habits, muscle-to-fat ratio, and activity level. These last three items are what I focus my clients’ attention on, as they have some control over these factors. If you’d like to increase your body’s ability to burn calories, take these measures:

• Engage in strength training at least twice/week to increase muscle mass. Muscle burns more calories than fat does, which explains why men tend to lose weight more easily than women do. Men have more muscle as a percentage than women have.

• Eat breakfast within two hours of rising to start up the energy-burning furnace. And eat small, healthy snacks between meals to keep your metabolism up. Think of your metabolism like a fire: keeping wood you on the fire enables it to keep burning. When you go too long without eating, the metabolism slows down to conserve energy. That means fewer calories are being burned.

• Be sure to eat enough protein. Resting metabolism increases after consuming protein because it takes more energy to digest protein. Healthy protein choices include lean meats; fish; low fat cheese; eggs, nuts and peanut butter in moderation; beans (legumes, not green beans); tofu and fat free or 1% milk. For recipes high in protein, check this page on my website.

Keep in mind the effects of diet on fat loss and don’t cut back on your calories too much. When calories are severely restricted without adding exercise, only 50% of the weight lost is fat. The remainder is lean tissue such as muscle. With moderate calorie restriction (500 – 1000 calories decreased per day), 75% of the weight lost is fat. The way to maximize fat loss, up to 97%, is to add exercise to a moderate reduction of calories.(2)

1. W. Hoeger and S. Hoeger, Principles and Labs for Fitness and Wellness, Wadsworth Group 2002, p.121
2. Ibid, pg. 203

The Power of Positive Habits

Did you know that habits are incredibly powerful tools for personal growth and success? Habits affect virtually every aspect of your life. Your weight and health are determined by your eating habits. Your relationships with people are determined by your social habits. Your success at work is determined by your work habits and your sleeping habits dictate how well you sleep. You have sexual habits and even have buying habits. Your character, health, career success, and virtually every aspect of your life are indeed determined by your habits.

The dictionary defines a habit as an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary. The most important words in this definition are acquired and almost involuntary. You may not realize it, but it really is east to acquire positive habits to change your life. Consider the phrase almost involuntary. This means the habit is so powerful in your mind that it is almost unstoppable!

What is a positive habit? A positive habit is simply a habit that produces the positive benefits, actions and attitudes you want to acquire and make a part of your life. Why is there such great power in positive habits to effect change? Because habits, by their very nature, are automatic. After a period of time they can become permanent. The power of positive habits can bring you success, happiness, and a healthy weight.

So how do you go about adding new positive habits to your life? It's really quite easy. You simply begin repeating an action, attitude or thought process every day for at least 21 days. Research has shown that an action that is repeated for a minimum of 21 days is likely to become a permanent habit. But be careful – from my experience it takes much less than 21 days to lose a good habit, like walking the dog. When life gets challenging and I can’t do the daily good things I usually do for myself, such as going to the gym, I make it a point to go at least once a week. This way the habit is maintained and it’s much easier to get back on schedule when things settle down.

Remember that positive habits have positive benefits, and you will reap those benefits for as long as you maintain that habit. So think about one positive habit you'd like to acquire, and begin today to put it into action!