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What is Metabolism
Addressing Weight Gain Issues Connected to the Metabolism & Thyroid
Written by Diet Bites
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Simply put, what is Metabolism?
If you know what mpg (miles per gallon) means, then you already know what Metabolism means.
Metabolism is simply the amount of calories that our bodies burn per day, just like the amount of miles we get per gallon of gas in our car.
Think of your Metabolism in this manner:
Vehicle = Your Body
Gas = Food
Oil = Vitamins & Nutrients Necessary for Optimum Nutrition
Water = Water that you intake daily
Ticket = Weight gain (oh no!!)
What is your Base Metabolic Rate (BMR) mean? Think of your car again...
Even when your car is idling it must have gas to run. In fact, without gas your car won't even start. 'Gas' represents our food intake.
'Food Intake' can also be thought of as 'energy'. Whenever we blink our eyes, turn our heads, lift our arms, smile or cry - we expend 'energy'. Even passing gas expends energy.
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And what creates energy? That's right - FOOD!
Does your car use as much gas when it idles as when you are driving? No - of course not. Our bodies work the same way. When we are inactive, we use far less 'gas' but we still need 'gas' or fuel to run. And unlike our cars and trucks, our bodies are constantly running internally. Our motors never click off; if they did - we'd surely die.
How fast is my Metabolism? Think of your car again...
A small car may get many miles per gallon whereas a larger car will get far less. Kids expend a tremendous amount of energy because they are growing and are generally very active. The speed of your Metabolism is influenced by many things such as:
Age; the older the individual then the slower the metabolic rate. We can do many things to increase the metabolic rate - such as boosting our activity levels but at some point, old age catches up with us. We have to face facts: none of us are going to get out of this old world alive. But we can think positive and eat a healthy diet, enjoying life as long as possible - and more importantly, the highest quality of life.
Activity level; this is another reason why the ageing body's metabolic rate slows, at times to a snail's pace. When our activity level goes down, then so does our metabolic rate. Think of a car again. What happens when you punch the gas pedal? More fuel is shot into the engine and the car takes off at a face pace. It takes more fuel to put the car in the fast lane.
Even statistics show us that driving a car at 55 MPH saves on fuel. A slower rate of driving equals a slower rate of fuel usage.
Whether you are male or female will weigh heavily on the metabolic rate. The more muscle the individual has, the faster the metabolic rate. Men were created with more muscle than women. Having more lean muscle tissue contributes to a 10% - 15% faster metabolism rate than females.
Which leads us to this point. It's just not having muscles - but also the amount of muscles of the individual. Muscle takes more energy by the body (calories) to maintain than fat.
The old genes have a big influence on our metabolic rate, which is unfortunate for many of us. It's why skinny Sally can eat a cow and why Plump Polly can just look at a meatball and gain ten pounds.
If you would like to read more information on the metabolism, look to the links below.
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What the Bonneville Metabolism Means | What the Ferrari Metabolism Means | The Metabolic Matrix | Things That Will Boost Your Metabolism
Things That Will Slow Down Your Metabolism | The Downside of a Slow Metabolism