Metabolism and Weight

Dr. Nicholas Kaloudis

Metabolism occurs in the cells of all life. In humans, these chemical reactions sustain life, allowing us to grow, reproduce and maintain our health in response to our environment. Metabolism involves a complex network of hormones and enzymes that not only convert food into fuel, but also affect how efficiently that fuel is burned.

One might write off low energy and fatigue as just part of the natural aging process. However, aging itself is only a manifestation of metabolic and hormonal changes your body undergoes as the years pass. The process of metabolism establishes the rate at which we burn our calories and ultimately how quickly we gain weight or how easily we lose it.

Metabolism is the process by which your body converts what you eat and drink into energy. The number of calories your body uses to carry out its basic functions is known as your BMR(basal metabolic rate). Several factors determine your individual BMR, including body size and composition, gender and age. Your BMR accounts for about 75% of the calories you burn every day. In addition, food processing and physical activity are a part of the calorie burn. Digesting, absorbing, transporting and storing food takes about 10% of the calories used each day. Physical activity and exercise account for the rest of the calories your body burns.

It may be tempting to blame your metabolism for weight gain. But because metabolism is a natural process, your body generally balances it to meet your individual needs. That’s why if you try so called starvation needs, your body compensates by slowing down these bodily processes and conserving calories for survival. Only in rare cases do you get excessive weight gain from a medical problem that slows metabolism. Weight gain is most commonly the result of eating more calories than you burn. SO to lose weight, you simply need to eat fewer calories, increase the number of calories you burn through physical activity, or both.

Once you understand that, you are ready to set your weight loss goal and make a plan for reaching it. Remember, you don’t have do it alone. Visit your endocrinologist and together with NEW non-surgical weight loss modalities including medications, which when combined with lifestyle modifications have great effects in shedding those excess pounds.

But don’t forget the bottom line: The key to successful weight loss is a commitment to making permanent changes in your diet and exercise habits.