In an effort to lose weight, people often confuse cause and effect: excess weight and slow metabolism. Before interfering with metabolism, you need to figure out what comes first.
Metabolism is a collection of all biochemical reactions that take place in the body to maintain vital functions. In other words, metabolism is metabolism: their breakdown (catabolism) and the synthesis of new, necessary ones (anabolism).
When entering the digestive tract, almost all substances undergo catabolism: they break down into their constituent parts (amino acids, fatty acids, simple carbohydrates and water) with the release of energy.
After absorption, these simple substances enter the cells, where, in the process of anabolism, new proteins, fats and carbohydrates , which are necessary for the body at the moment, are built from them, like from bricks .
The body stores some of the nutrients in the form of adipose tissue and glycogen in the liver and muscles. This reserve is used to generate energy for movement, warming and other metabolic processes. Normally, the processes of decay and synthesis in the body are balanced.
In various diseases and conditions, the balance between
catabolism and anabolism can be disturbed. Thus, in febrile states accompanying influenza, ARI and other infectious diseases greatly enhanced catabolism, the body loses energy, plastic material, depleting reserves of fat and glycogen. In severe cases, such a violation can lead to death. Decay processes prevail in the elderly , with chronic stress, starvation.
What determines the metabolic rate?
Metabolism is regulated by the nervous and endocrine systems. In healthy people, despite some constitutional and hereditary characteristics, the metabolic rate is within normal limits.
During wakefulness, short-term stress (physical activity, excitement, exams), the metabolic rate increases, allowing the body to cope with its task and overcome difficulties. At rest, the metabolic rate slows down. Chronic stress also leads to a decrease in the metabolic rate , which is associated with the depletion of protective forces, a breakdown of compensatory mechanisms. All metabolic processes slow down during starvation, when the body switches to an economical mode.
Other factors affecting metabolism:
- Weight and muscle-to-fat ratio. The accumulation of fat leads to a slowdown in metabolism, the growth and development of muscle mass requires an acceleration of energy metabolism.
- Metabolism is faster in men, depending on the amount of the male sex hormone testosterone.
- With age, metabolism generally slows down.
- Lifestyle is an important regulating factor in metabolism. The higher the activity, the greater the energy and plastic needs of the body, the higher the rate of metabolic processes.
In children, people leading an active lifestyle, pregnant
women, as well as during recovery from illness, surgery, on the contrary, anabolic processes prevail. The body builds up muscle and bone tissue, stores nutrients for future use, repairs damage, heals wounds, and more. This period requires increased nutrition.
How to speed up your metabolism and lose weight?
You should not get carried away in your desire to speed up the metabolism at any cost. Indeed, according to one of the hypotheses of aging, it is the metabolic rate that determines the period allotted to each of us.
Usually, the cause of excess weight is an unhealthy diet and a sedentary lifestyle, and metabolic disorders are already a consequence of these reasons. Only in the case of serious diseases (hypothyroidism, metabolic syndrome, Itsenko-Cushing’s syndrome and others) metabolic disorders require correction. The task of a healthy person is to maintain their metabolism at the proper level, preventing its disturbances. For this:
- Eat rationally. Eating food speeds up your metabolism. Therefore, it is advisable to switch to 3-4 meals a day, if there are no other medical indications.
- Lead an active lifestyle, do not neglect morning exercises. Give your body small shakes in the form of a daily run or visit to the pool. Building muscle mass also helps speed up your metabolism. It is easier for people with well-developed muscles to lose weight.
- Avoid negative emotions, long worries and worries. The constant release of stress hormones into the bloodstream not only slows down the metabolism and leads to the accumulation of fat, but also has a detrimental effect on the cardiovascular system. And short-term emotional stress, on the contrary, strengthens the immune system, accelerates energy metabolism, and contributes to weight loss.