I’m sure you’ve probably been to a wedding or bar mitzvah, and stood at the reception watching with amazement as someone who is as skinny as a beanpole downs three pieces of cake. You say to yourself, “If I did that, my clothes wouldn’t fit anymore.” What’s the difference between that person and yourself? It’s your metabolism.

Essentially, metabolism is an all-encompassing word that relates to the breakdown of food and its transformation into energy. Some substances are broken down to yield energy for vital processes, while other substances necessary for life are synthesized. In practical terms, the rate at which we are processing our energy source (food) has a great effect on our body mass, and how we feel and look. Although we all know that exercise, particularly aerobic exercise, uses calories and helps us to lose weight, it is less well known that certain types of exercises can, over the long term, raise our metabolic rate and help us keep our caloric burn a little higher all the time, even at rest.

Your Resting Metabolic Rate

Everyone is born with a rate of metabolism. This is known as the resting metabolic rate (RMR) or basal metabolic rate (BMR). Your RMR is the minimum number of calories your body needs to support its basic physiological functions, including breathing, circulating blood, and all of the numerous biochemical reactions required to keep you alive. Your RMR is generally 50 to 60 percent of your total daily caloric expenditure. In addition to this, a second component of energy expenditure is called TEF, or the thermic effect of food. When you have a meal or snack, calories are needed to digest and store the nutrients. This accounts for up to 10 percent of caloric expenditure. The rest of your calories are burned off with activity and exercise. The average person is burning about one calorie per minute at rest. Needless to say, this varies greatly among people, depending on size and build. Imagine adding 0.2 calories per minute to your resting metabolic rate. That could increase the amount of calories you burn by approximately 288 more per day. That is slightly more than 2,000 per week. At 8,000 calories per month, you will be losing an extra 2 pounds (1 kilo) per month or 24 pounds (about 11 kilos) per year. Keep in mind that this is all at rest!

Next week, we will look at the ways in which building muscle can help accomplish this feat.

For previous columns, click HERE.

Alan Freishtat is an A.C.E. CERTIFIED PERSONAL TRAINER and a LIFESTYLE FITNESS COACH with over 10 years of professional experience. He is the co-director of the Jerusalem-based weight loss center Lose It! together with Linda Holtz M.S. and is available for private consultations, assessments and personalized workout programs. Alan also lectures and gives seminars and workshops. He can be reached at 02-651-8502 or 050-555-7175, or by email at [email protected].

(Alan Freishtat – YWN)