Mastering Metabolism for Effective Long-Term Weight Loss
The basic concept behind gaining or losing weight is the balance between how much energy is consumed, and how much is expended. Simply put, if you eat more calories than you use, then you’ll gain weight, and if you eat fewer calories than you use (or in other words, if you burn more calories than you eat), you’ll lose weight. An extra soft drink may be “only” 138 calories, but do this every day for a year, and it adds up quickly!
So is the key to losing weight and fat simply to eat as little as possible?
Not exactly!
It’s very important to understand how important metabolism is in long-term weight loss. There are different ways to calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), such as online calculators, or even better - body composition analyzers such as the FTG-588 that can provide a more accurate estimate, because of the high correlation metabolism has with muscle mass (more muscle mass generally means higher metabolism)
Simply put, BMR is how much energy your body burns when doing absolutely nothing (not eating, not thinking, not walking around...). By multiplying this number with your activity level, you can then get a reasonably accurate estimate of how much energy you actually use each day, depending on how active you are!
| Activity type | Example occupation | Total Energy Expenditure |
|---|---|---|
| Sedentary, long hours sitting, minimal exercise | Office worker | BMR x 1.2 |
| 1-3 days low intensity exercise/week | Housekeeper | BMR x 1.375 |
| 3-5 days moderate intensity exercise/week | Nurses, waitstaff | BMR x 1.55 |
| 6-7 days high intensity exercise/week | Farmers, physical jobs | BMR x 1.725 |
| Job entailing constant physical labor | Athletes | BMR x 1.9 |
By using your BMR to calculate your Total Energy Expenditure, you now know how many calories you need to eat each day, depending on if your goal is weight loss or gain!