What Is Metabolism?

I know you have heard many times, to lose weight you must keep your metabolism burning. But do you know what metabolism is?

Metabolism is a collection of chemical reactions that takes place in the body's cells. Metabolism converts the fuel in the food we eat into the energy needed to power everything we do, from moving to thinking to growing. Specific proteins in the body control the chemical reactions of metabolism, and each chemical reaction is coordinated with other body functions. In fact, thousands of metabolic reactions happen at the same time, all regulated by the body to keep our cells healthy and working.

Metabolism is a very complicated chemical process. Which is why I find it confusing and it's not surprising many people think of it in its simplest sense: as something that influences how easily our bodies gain or lose weight.

A calorie is a unit that measures how much energy a particular food provides to the body. A candy bar has more calories than an apple, so it provides the body with more energy which sometimes that can be too much of a good thing. Think about it like a car's gas tank, it stores the fuel until it is needed to start the engine. The body works the same and stores calories primarily as fat until it is needed. If you overfill a car's gas tank, it spills out onto the ground. Likewise, if a person eats too many calories, they "spill over" in the body in the form of excess fat.

There are several things you can do to keep your metabolism burning. Here are a few suggestions that works great for me.

1) Always eat breakfast. It starts your metabolism for the day.
2) Eat 3 meals a day and 2 low calorie/healthy snacks.
3) Never skip meals
4) Consume enough calories for your body type

When you skip meals or don't eat enough it signals to your brain that your body is starving so it hangs on to the stored fat for you to survive.

Until Next Time ... Enjoy your weekend.