If you’ve ever wondered why some people carry weight one way and others a different way, you’re actually wondering about metabolism. Everyone has a metabolism, but the way it works is different in each body. In fact, metabolic type and rate vary from person to person.
Some people have a very fast metabolism, and others have a very slow or low metabolism. Understanding your metabolism is the first step to understanding your personal fitness and ability to lose and maintain weight.
Dexafit understands how information about your body and your health can go a long way. That's why we have technology to help you take control of your health and fitness. Ultimately, our goal is to help you live a happier and healthier life.
What is Metabolism?
Metabolism, or your basal metabolic rate (BMR), is the term given to the bodily process of converting food into energy. What you eat and drink directly fuels your metabolism, which in turn, fuels your body. Metabolism is a rather complex biochemical process in which the food and liquids you consume are combined with oxygen in order to release the energy your body relies on.
Metabolism provides energy for all sorts of processes such as walking and talking. In addition, metabolism provides energy for vital activities like breathing, adjusting hormone levels, and circulating blood. Some of those less demanding activities are part of your resting metabolic rate (RMR). In short, metabolism is one of the main factors that keeps your body working properly.
Your basal metabolic rate also refers to the number of calories your body uses in order to carry out those bodily functions. Many factors can influence how your metabolism works.
These include:
· Sex: Men tend to burn more calories than women, and so often have less body fat and more muscle. Though having lean body mass is common for most men, it can also be determined subjectively, person by person.
· Age: Children have tons of energy for a reason: your metabolism works faster when you are younger. As you age, many people are likely to lose muscle and gain fat, slowing down the process of burning calories.
· Body Size and Composition: Larger people and people who have more muscle mass are prone to burn more calories, even when at rest. However, older people and larger body types whose weight is made up mainly of fat tend to have slower metabolisms. Therefore, body composition plays an important part in determining your metabolism works.
· Physical Activity: Your activity level and how much you move can greatly influence your metabolic rate. Even if it’s something as simple as taking a stroll down the block, moving helps keep your metabolism healthy!
What are the Metabolic Types?
Metabolic types refer to the way that a person's body processes food and produces energy.
From a body type and lifestyle perspective, they can be divided into three main types:
Carbohydrate-dominant: These individuals rely heavily on carbohydrates for energy and tend to process them quickly for short bursts of energy.
Protein-dominant: These individuals rely more on proteins for energy and tend to process them slowly for sustained energy over time.
Fat-dominant: These individuals rely mostly on fats for energy and tend to process them slowly for sustained energy over time.
From a scientific point of view, the three main types of metabolism that occur in the human body are: anabolic metabolism, catabolic metabolism, and intermediary metabolism.
Anabolic metabolism involves the synthesis of molecules from simpler components, such as building proteins from amino acids.
Catabolic metabolism is the opposite process, where larger molecules are broken down into smaller ones, such as converting glycogen into glucose for energy.
Intermediary metabolism is the process of converting molecules from one form to another, such as converting pyruvate into acetyl-CoA.
How Does Metabolism Affect Weight Loss?
Weight loss and weight gain are more complicated than just being tied to your metabolism. There are many factors influencing it such as your genetics, your diet, hormonal controls, and your lifestyle.
Lifestyle includes everything from how you manage stress and exercise to whether or not you’re getting enough sleep and what you eat. Weight gain occurs when something is wrong in your environment and your metabolism isn't efficient at allocating its resources.
Some people can link their size directly to their metabolism. You’ve likely seen a rather thin person who eats whatever they like, doesn’t exercise, and never gains a pound. Then there's a larger person who carefully watches what they eat, exercises religiously, and still has trouble shedding weight.
Theses cases, however common they may seem, are not typically the norm. If you want to lose weight, you need to determine the complex symphony in your body that's responsible for your metabolism. If there are lifestyle factors that are slowing down your metabolism, a Dexafit specialist can also help you hone in on these causes.
What is a Metabolic Test?
You might be wondering, “How do I know my metabolic type?”. You can attempt to do this yourself by tracking your diet, energy levels, sleep patterns, and exercise habits over a period of time. However, you should also consider having a metabolic test to get an accurate starting point and to measure your results over time.
A metabolic test is performed in order to estimate your BMR or basal metabolic rate. Rather basic and simple, the test commonly involves having the patient breathe into a tube for up to 10 minutes. This is supposed to help calculate the amount of oxygen that was inhaled to the amount of carbon dioxide that was exhaled.
If your body uses more oxygen, you’ll tend to have a higher BMR. The test result will also determine whether or not you fall within normal range based on your age and sex.
What is a Comprehensive Metabolic Panel?
Your comprehensive metabolic panel refers to a combination of tests that will help your healthcare provider assess all the important functions going on in your body. A Basic Metabolic Panel is often performed in order to assess the health and functionality of the following:
· Acid/Base balance of your blood
· Electrolyte Level
· Blood Filtration
· Blood Sugar Levels
These help detect serious health problems that may affect the heart, lungs, kidney function,, and even your pancreas. Fortunately, a metabolic panel is often performed through a simple blood test. During the blood test, factors such as your sodium, glucose, creatinine, albumin, calcium, and more are tested. Therefore, the comprehensive metabolic panel is way more informative than a simple BMR calculator.
Where Can You Get a Metabolic Test?
Your healthcare provider is likely the first place you’ll go to receive a metabolic test, but it’s not the only option. Dexafit also offers a highly accurate metabolic test that helps you learn your baseline health and fitness level using the best clinical-grade technologies.
Once your results are in, we work with you to find a health plan that works for you and towards your fitness goals. Whether you want to improve energy and sleep, lose weight, become a better athlete, or identify and track health risks, we have a plan for you. After some time, you can take another test to determine how it's all working. From there, your Dexafit specialist can help you explore other ways to help your metabolism.
Dexafit cares about you and your health. We want to help you discover and learn more about how your body converts food and drink into energy. We believe that body awareness leads to a better, healthier live, and we want to help you achieve this. Visit us at our site to learn more.
