If you know someone that has been trying to lose weight and get into shape, you have probably heard words such as, “I just eat one meal a day to lose weight” or “I’m afraid if I eat, I’ll gain weight” but sadly, this misnomer is why so many people are in the “battle of the bulge”. People all over the world still believe that eating breakfast, or even three meals a day will cause them to gain weight.

In truth, as long as they are eating the right types and quantity of foods and having a training routine that in line with their goals, then three normal meals or six small meals a day will actually work better with their metabolism than eating the wrong quantities or not eating often enough. 

According to the most recent NHS health survey, around two-thirds of the English population aged 16 or over are overweight or obese. Now more than ever, we need to understand how metabolism works in relation to losing weight. Why risk having a heart attack, a stroke, developing cancer, or diabetes when all you have to do is make a few minor changes and live a healthy life? 

First, a person’s metabolic rate is determined by the number and size of respiring cells that compromise the body’s tissue, and the intensity of the metabolism in these cells. These two factors combined are what make up the physiological foundation of the amount of energy (calories) in which a body uses. 

 Keep in mind that energy cannot be created or destroyed, just changed. As we know, potential energy comes from the foods we eat. When talking about weight loss, there are three components of balanced energy, which include calorie intake, calories stored, and calories expended. The way it works is that if the amount of calories taken in equals the amount of calories being expended (burned), then there is balance and the body’s weight is stable.

On the other hand, if the balance becomes positive, caused by more food being eaten than is burned and therefore, excessive energy can be stored as body fat. It is important to remember that you can be eating a diet considered low-fat and still gain weight. The reason is that most dietary fat can be stored while the body is burning carbohydrates for energy.

Our body’s most preferred source of energy is glucose, known as glycogen which is carbs basically. Carbs can only be stored in the liver and muscle for later use or it can be use immediately. The problem is our muscle can liver can only hold so much glycogen. Unlike our car, we have a second strategy for long-term energy needs—we have a practically unlimited ability to store carbs as fat. The carbs that won’t fit in the tank can be stored as fat. Fat is a much longer-term energy strategy. Therefore, when a person gains weight, the increased level of fat becomes stored energy until the calorie balance is negative. For that to happen, the amount of calories burned needs to exceed the number of calories being consumed. 

 Metabolism is the rate at which the body uses energy to support the basic functions essential to sustain life. This metabolism is comprised of three parts, which include:

• Physical activity (20%) including:
•      Non-exercises Thermogenesis, also called NEAT (15%)
•      Exercises activity thermogenesis – EAT (5%)
• Thermic Effect of Food, also called TEF (10%)
• Basal Metabolic Rate (70-75%). 

Physical activity is the amount of energy your body burns up during normal, daily activities to include housework, recreation, work, exercise, and so on. Obviously, someone that is physically active will burn more energy than a sedentary person will.

Thermic Effect of Food (TEF) accounts for the energy used in digesting and absorbing nutrients, which would vary depending on the meal’s composition. When a person overeats, TEF is increased because more food must be digested. Here is where metabolism becomes very interesting and what causes so much confusion. 

One pound is equal to 3,500 calories, so let us say a person consumes 3,500 more calories than normal. That individual would not gain one pound because the TEF is accounted for but if 3,500 calories were cut trying to lose weight, then TEF decreases since there would be fewer nutrients to process. The result is that energy expenditure would decrease, meaning that the individual would lose less than one pound in weight. In other words, by cutting out too much food, TEF cannot work as it was designed to do. Now keep in mind that you cannot go around eating a bunch of junk food. After all, the calories you do consume need to be healthy foods but what this does mean is that when you do not eat, you are actually working against your body in fighting weight gain, not the other way around. 

 Finally, the Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) refers to the number of calories the body needs to run its essential functions, as well as chemical reactions while in a rested state. This aspect of metabolism accounts for the greatest number of calories burned every day. What happens is that if lean mass should be lost because of increased protein metabolism, then BMR decreases. Typically, you would see this happen when a person goes on a very strict diet. In this situation, the body is forced into a negative nitrogen balance, which means a greater amount of protein is lost than what is replaced because of less protein/energy intake. When this imbalance occurs, there is a gradual loss of lean mass, which then lowers BMR. 

What happens many times is that dieters will limit the amount of lean mass loss with intense exercise for the muscles to develop a need to maintain more protein. When this happens, the body is forced to use more energy from stored fats. 

Prolonged dieting will cause metabolic adaptations which are mentioned above. In the fat loss phase, it will make it harder to lose more fat if this happens. This is typically what people say when they hit a ‘plateau’ which is actually caused by metabolic adaptations. 

If you want to put your metabolism to work for you, some simple steps can be taken: 

1.  Focus on building muscle

By adding a few extra pounds of lean muscle, the metabolic rate can be increased. A higher percentage of this energy comes from lean muscle mass than fat (1 pound of muscle requires six calories a day compared to 1 pound of fat which burns four calories a day). Remember that lean mass can burn as much as 20 times more calories than fat mass. Having more muscle mass also help you to store more glycogen in the right place. Regular exercise is one of the best ways to boost metabolism. 

2.  Eat more frequently with protein every meal. 

The body spends more energy breaking down proteins compared to carbohydrates and fats. This causes an increase in metabolism, referred to as the thermic effect of food. High protein intake has been shown to significantly boost metabolism and increase the number of calories you burn. In addition, protein also provides satiety, and prevents hunger pangs and overeating in subsequent meals.

3.  Start strength training and stop being in that chronic deficit state 

While you need to eat healthy foods, studies prove that what matters most is how much of a person’s body weight is attributed to fat. Remember, excess fat is what links to major health problems. Therefore, it is important that you maintain a healthy weight but more crucial that you monitor the fat-to-muscle ratio. 

For example, a woman standing 5’5″ might weigh only 125 pounds but have a 32% body fat ratio, which is not good. This individual worked hard to diet, while staying involved with aerobics. However, much of what she lost was not fat, but muscle. Even though this weight would be considered ideal for her height, her body fat to muscle ratio is too high. 

An excellent way to optimise your fat-to-muscle ratio is by getting involved with weight training in addition to nutrition and cardio. 

Remember, you are in control and need to make the decision to do something good for yourself. Therefore, now is the time to take that control, optimise your health and healthy lifestyle.