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Metabolism and Weight Loss

Dear Women Over 40,

When it comes to weight loss, metabolism is a key player. After all, your metabolism is really what dictates how many calories you can eat without gaining weight so knowing how to work with it is critical to your weight loss goals.

Before you can understand how to “work with” your metabolism, you need to know how your metabolism works. This integral body process is basically in charge of taking everything you eat and converting it to energy. During this process, the energy can be used right away or stored in your fat cells just in case you need it later and no food is available.

In today’s society, where there is a McDonald's on every corner, food is readily available, but it wasn’t that long ago that man actually had to hunt his own food. Unfortunately, no one told your metabolism that this is no longer the case and it still functions in this primitive manner. So, not only is it programmed to store excess calories, it is also programmed to run at a reduced rate when a steady supply of food is not forthcoming in order to save on energy.

You see,back in the days of primitive man, you really never knew when your next meal would be so this decrease in metabolism could really come in handy.Unfortunately, this creates a problem for the modern dieter because when you go for any length of time without eating or severely reduce your caloric intake, your metabolism kicks into “conservation” mode and you actually burn less calories, thus making the whole weight loss thing a lot harder.

So what’s a dieter to do?

One of the most important things you can do to help yourself lose weight more easily is to keep your metabolism stoked at all times. This means eating nutritious foods in several small meals. Try 5 or 6 smaller meals a day instead of 3 and in between include some healthy snacks such as fruits and vegetables.

Another thing you can do is spend more time lifting weights or doing those machines at the gym that build muscle. It takes a lot more calories to power muscle than it does fat so the more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn at every activity - even when you are sleeping. Having more muscle will, in effect, speed up your metabolism.

While revving up your metabolism can go a long way to help you achieve your weight loss goals, remember that excess weight is really a matter of consuming more food (calories) than you need for your daily activities. So, eating less calories and expending more energy through exercise should really be the main component to your weight loss regimen.

Women Over 40 Health

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