Lose Weight by Understanding Your Metabolism

We've all heard the simple diet formula for your metabolism:

"Take in fewer calories than you use and you'll lose weight." "Take in more and you'll gain it."

It's a simplified view of a very complex subject, your metabolism. I'd like to take a moment and help you understand what your metabolism really is, and how it works.

There are three major components of your metabolism:

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

This is the energy expended when you are lying at complete rest, in the morning, after sleep. Think of it as being pretty close to just sitting there and watching television.

You're probably thinking that BMR has to be a small piece of the puzzle, but it's not. BMR is by far the largest piece of the metabolic pie, accounting for 60 to 70 percent of total calories expended each day.

How is that possible? While you're sitting there, just a few of the many metabolic jobs occurring under the BMR umbrella are lung function, immune response, blood circulation, and tissue repair.

Three-quarters of variability in BMR is predicted by lean body mass. This includes bones and organs, which we can't change, and muscles, which we can. But as we get older, the challenge to build or even just maintain our current muscle mass becomes more difficult.

Thermic Effect of Food (TEF)

A second major component of your metabolism is one that most people have never heard of: TEF, the caloric "handling cost" of digesting, using, and storing food energy. Depending on your genes and dietary preferences, TEF can range from 10 to 15 percent of total daily metabolism. The next time you swallow a 1,000-calorie meal, in other words, you can console yourself with the fact that your body is actually netting only 850 to 900.

It takes a lot of metabolic work to convert raw food into forms of energy our bodies can actually use. In a simplified overview, the process begins when the digestive system breaks down nourishment into its constituent building blocks. Complex carbohydrates are reduced to simple sugars, fats to fatty acids, and proteins to amino acids.

Physical Activity

Your metabolism's third major component, and it's most variable, is physical activity. This includes planned exercise, as well as the voluntary and unconscious movements we perform in the course of our day. Generally speaking, activity of any sort makes up 15 to 30 percent of your metabolism.

There are, of course, exceptions. Manual laborers, as well as people that exercise frequently, can see their percentages skyrocket. Take Lance Armstrong and his fellow Tour de France riders, who have been shown to burn as many as 9,000 calories per day throughout the 3-week race. If you do the math that means they can burn almost 189,000 calories in that timeframe.

So now that you understand what your metabolism is, how can you work with it?

You can start by exercising, specifically weight lifting. Adding muscle to your body will raise your BMR.

Then focus on your diet. Every time you eat something ask yourself "How hard does my body have to work to digest this?" Think 1 carrot vs. 1 breadstick.

Finally, move around. Instead of taking the elevator one flight down, take the stairs. Instead of circling the parking lot for twenty minutes looking for a close spot, park in the back and walk the extra distance. Your goal is to try and burn as many calories as you can everyday.

Other things to consider.

1) Don't MISS meals

Your body responds by slowing your metabolism in order to hold on to existing energy stores. What's more, if the food shortage continues, you'll begin burning fat and muscle tissue, which will further lower your metabolic rate.

Instead of eating less, eat better and exercise more.

2) Just Say No

It's one of the ironies of antidepressants: They can boost a person's spirits while depressing his metabolism. This can also be the case with many other medications. So if you're taking something and gaining weight, ask your doctor about a possible switch.

Just please don't blame the prescription for making you eat the double-cheeseburger and larger fries.

3) Quitting Smoking.

Smoking is horrible for every part of you except your metabolism, which it tends to increase. This is probably a good result from a bad habit. The likely reason: Your body is forced to expend extra energy trying to detoxify itself from the chemicals. Unfortunately, this is a big part of why people gain weight after quitting. To help offset the metabolic dip, exercise and chew a combination of Nicorette and Jolt gums. Research in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that people who chewed nicotine gum (2 milligrams) spiked with 100 mg caffeine experienced a 10 percent increase in metabolism.