Hey!

This is Dr. Dirk Johns, back with another interesting informative conversation. I’ve been receiving a lot of queries at New England Fat Loss about weight loss, metabolism, and ways to improve metabolism. Many people had the same questions, so I decided to pick a set of the most common questions to answer.

Let’s go through each of them and see if I can address your concerns.

• What Is Metabolism?

  A very basic question, however, still an important one. Metabolism is a regulator for our bodies’ Energy needs. We need energy at all times to breath, digest food, heal, and more. When we eat or consume fluids, our bodies combine these substances with various enzymes and break them down into the energy we need. While exercising, our bodies break down food more quickly and convert it into energy to match our increased energy needs. This whole process is called metabolism.

• What Processes Can Burn the Most Calories?

  The more energy you need, the more you will burn calories. You may be surprised to learn that the energy spent to carry out basic tasks like breathing, digesting food, and pumping blood is far more than the energy required for exercising. Thus, if your metabolism is healthy, you can burn more calories while doing your daily activities.The food you eat also has a substantial role in your body’s metabolic processes. In fact, it takes approximately 10-13% of the energy you get from food just to break it down, absorb it, move it throughout the body, and store it away for later use.Finally, physical activities, including walking, running, mowing the lawn, or playing your favorite game, account for another 30-35% of your energy requirements. This is also a major factor that contributes to weight loss or gain.

• Does Metabolism Vary from Person-to-Person?

  While your metabolic rate doesn’t change much from day-to-day, there are multiple things that cause it to be different from person-to-person.

  • Body Physique:

    People with a bulkier body and a higher percentage of muscle tend to burn more calories. They require more energy to breath, pump blood, etc.

  • Age:

    Calories burn at a slower rate as you age. This is largely the result of muscle being replaced with fat.

  • Gender:

    Men have a higher ratio of muscle-to-fat than women. As a result, they burn calories at a higher rate, even at rest.

  Every individual has a different metabolism and hence different body needs. The fitness and diet videos you see online are not necessarily designed for all body type. This is why it’s always good to consult a weight loss professional.

• How Does My Metabolism Affect My Weight?

  Day in and day out, I hear about variations in metabolism being responsible for weight gain or loss. While it may be easy to blame weight gain on metabolism, our eating habits and how much physical activity we do daily is equally important. To avoid this, you should try to balance the number of calories you eat each day. Otherwise, you’ll inevitably put on more pounds.

• What Can I Do to Burn More Calories and Lose Weight?

  Most people, by default, get involved in heavy exercise and diets to lose weight. However, you don’t have to have a gym membership or starve yourself for real results. An easy way to increase the number of calories you burn is to make small changes in your usual daily activities.

There are a few different ways to burn more calories. At New England Fat Loss, we would like to show you some of those possibilities. Our certified wellness coaches can design a personalized weight loss plan for you depending on your body type.

I hope I’ve answered most of your questions. However, if you have more questions on weight loss, metabolism, or any other question related to our weight loss program, feel free to reach out to me. You can drop an email, contact on phone or meet me at New England Fat Loss. I’ll be happy to guide you toward achieving your weight loss goals!

The post Answers to Your Metabolic Weight Loss Questions, by Dr. Dirk Johns appeared first on Dr. Dirk Johns - Weight Loss Professional at New England Fat Loss.