WEIGHT LOSS AND BODY METABOLISM

It’s not unusual to hear people blame their weight gain on a slow metabolism.

They’ve cut down on calories and take regular exercise yet they’re still not losing weight. The only other possible diagnosis, they expertly conclude, is a slow metabolism.

But what is a slow metabolism? How does it affect your weight and can you do anything to speed it up?

People with fast metabolism are said to be blessed with inner combustion that makes you wonder where all the food goes.

Metabolism: Converting Food into Energy

Metabolism is the process by which your body converts what you eat and drink into energy. During this complex biochemical process, calories in food and beverages are combined with oxygen to release the energy your body needs to function.

Even when you're at rest, your body needs energy for all its "hidden" functions, such as breathing, circulating blood, adjusting hormone levels, and growing and repairing cells.

The number of calories your body uses to carry out these basic functions is known as your basal metabolic rate (BMR) — what you might call metabolism. Several factors determine your individual basal metabolic rate, including:

Your Body Size and Composition. The bodies of people who are larger or have more muscle burn more calories, even at rest.

Your Sex. Men usually have less body fat and more muscle than do women of the same age and weight, burning more calories.

Your Age. As you get older, the amount of muscle tends to decrease and fat accounts for more of your weight, slowing down calorie burning.

Energy needs for your body's basic functions stay fairly consistent and aren't easily changed. Your basal metabolic rate accounts for about 70 percent of the calories you burn every day.

In addition to your basal metabolic rate, two other factors determine how many calories your body burns each day:

Food Processing (thermogenesis). Digesting, absorbing, transporting and storing the food you consume also takes calories. This accounts for 100 to 800 of the calories used each day. For the most part, your body's energy requirement to process food stays relatively steady and isn't easily changed.

Physical activity. Physical activity and exercise — such as playing tennis, walking to the store, chasing after the dog and any other movement — account for the rest of the calories your body burns up each day. Physical activity is by far the most variable of the factors that determine how many calories you burn each day.

It may be tempting to blame your metabolism for weight gain. But because metabolism is a natural process, your body has many mechanisms that regulate it to meet your individual needs. Only in rare cases do you get excessive weight gain from a medical problem that slows metabolism, such as Cushing's syndrome or having an underactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism).

Unfortunately, weight gain is complicated. It is likely a combination of genetic makeup, hormonal controls, diet composition, and the impact of environment on your lifestyle, including sleep, physical activity and stress. All of these factors result in an imbalance in the energy equation. You gain weight when you eat more calories than you burn — or burn fewer calories than you eat.

While it is true that some people seem to be able to lose weight more quickly and more easily than others, everyone will lose weight when they burn up more calories than they eat. Therefore, to lose weight, you need to create an energy deficit by eating fewer calories or increasing the number of calories you burn through physical activity or both.

Hope you found this is useful.

~just because #YourBodyMatters.

To Your Health & Wellness,

AdeDolamu

BB: 21D51EFE

E: thebodymatters@flp.com

 

 

5 WAYS TO FIGHT CHILDHOOD OBESITY

For the first time in the last century the new generation of children is expected to have more illnesses and die earlier than their parents. Why? Because of childhood obesity. The worst part is that childhood obesity is an avoidable disease. Childhood obesity is a lifestyle disease. In other words, it’s people’s lifestyles that cause the disease. And by changing lifestyles (even just a little bit) childhood obesity can be a disease of the past. But how? And what can you do as a parent to help your child not grow up to be another statistic?

 

1.) Remember, you’re in control of the shopping. A lot of parents feel pressured by their children to bring home treats, chips, soda and other unhealthy foods their children like. And if they don’t bring home these sugary treats, their children put them on a guilt trip about how there’s nothing good to eat. Remember, you’re the one in control of the shopping. They may want you to bring home the sugary treats but this gives you a good opportunity to teach your children about what is healthy and what is not and why you bought what you did. 

   

      2.) Buy more healthy foods. Because you’re in charge of the shopping, it’s your responsibility as a parent to provide healthy foods for your children. They might moan and groan that there’s nothing good in the house to eat but don’t worry, they won’t starve themselves. Soon they’ll start trying some of the healthy foods you’re bringing home and even find some they like.   

    

      3.) Limit snacking. One of the major causes of childhood obesity is too much snacking. Snacks are OK but studies are finding that children who are obese snack multiple times during the day on top of meals. As a parent, you can provide snacks for them between meals that will get them by until the next meal time. Then if you catch them going to the fridge you can rest assured that they’ve had enough to last them until meal time. Therefore you can tell them to get out of the fridge and not have to worry that they’re going hungry. If you’re worried that they’re snacking while you’re gone, you don’t have to worry too much as long as you’ve followed number three above and bought healthy foods. If you only have healthy foods around, you know that what they are snacking on is healthy.

      4.) Eat the same foods your children do. If you’re worried that your child is becoming or is obese and he or she gets a special dinner instead of what the rest of the family is eating, this child will likely feel resentful, targeted, embarrassed and not want to stick with the healthy diet. The same happens if you tell your child he can’t have sugary snacks while you’re pounding down a sleeve of Oreo’s. If you want your child to stick to a healthy diet, you have to eat the same foods he does.

      5.) Get out and play with them. Everyone knows that diet and exercise is necessary for a healthy lifestyle and to help avoid obesity. For children, the best form of exercise is play. It’s the best because it’s the one type of exercise they’ll like the most and will be likely to do more often. Encourage your children to go outside and play and make sure to limit their screen time to two hours a day as recommended by the Pediatrician Association. They may get bored with no TV but they’re kids, they won’t stay bored for long. After a few minutes of complaining how bored they are they’ll find something to do.

These five tips are great ways that you can help your child keep from getting obese. These are also great tips if your child currently is obese. The best part is that following these tips and helping your child avoid obesity will help make sure they live longer and have fewer diseases. This is a gift from you as a parent that they’ll cherish their whole (longer) life.

(Source: familyshare.com)

When your child is just starting school, you may imagine that worries about her body size and shape will come with the territory later, in her teen years. But it turns out that your young child may already be worried. Kids as young as 5, 6, and 7 years old can be worried about their weight, according to experts, and this can affect their self-esteem and cause them to become anxious, withdrawn, depressed or /and use negative language about their bodies. 

But you can turn it all around as a Parent. The key is in your hand. Make the right choices today.

 

~ just because #YourBodyMatters

To your health & wellness,

AdeDolamu

BB: 21D51EFE

Buy: www.thebodymatters.flp.com