YOUR METABOLISM

By David MaretHouse - Master fitness trainer, owner of MaretHouse Fitness, and co-owner of JD Max Fitness

Your metabolism is defined as the process by which your body uses and coverts what you eat and drink into energy.  Your body uses this energy for a multitude of functions, such as but not limited to brain function, digestion, breathing, contracting smooth and skeletal muscles, and regulating your body’s temperature.  

Your BMR (basal metabolic rate) is defined as how many calories your body burns a day to maintain your current body’s weight at rest.  This is also called your RMR (resting metabolic rate) or EEE (estimated energy expenditure).  This number of calories burned can be as much as 75% of your daily caloric burn when factoring in daily activity.

Your metabolism is primarily dictated by genetic factors.  A person your exact same age, weight, height, and gender can have a BMR with as much as a 700 daily caloric burn difference or more.  

Now obviously most people like to eat, and the greater your metabolic rate, the more you can eat.  So, lets explore some factors that can help increase your metabolic rate and help you reach your fitness goals.  

Muscle is very metabolic.  One pound of muscle burns an average of 35-50 calories a day.  One pound of fat burns an average of 7-10 calories a day.  So, the more muscle you carry, the more calories your burn, even at rest.  Your muscles are like engines in a car, and the more you engage them, the more fuel (calories) you will burn.  To get the greatest caloric burn, you have to engage your largest muscles, such as your legs muscles, chest muscles, and back muscles.  Eating frequently can also increase your metabolic rate.  By eating every three to four hours, you not only are keeping your body fueled and primed, but you are also digesting and processing consumed food which takes fuel (calories) to do.  The more small meals you eat, the more often you are digesting that food, and the more calories you are burning throughout the day.  Eating only 3 times a day or less can dramatically slow your metabolism and work against your fitness goal obtainment.

Now that you understand your metabolism and how it works, get to it!  Exercise often, eat frequently, and watch your body transform!