Metabolism 101

She has such a fast metabolism. She can eat anything and not gain and ounce. He has a slow metabolism. If he just looks at food he gains weight. We talk about metabolism all the time. We know it impacts our weight, but what is it and how does it work?

Metabolism is the general term applied to all the chemical reactions which occur in our bodies. These chemical reactions provide all we need to allow our cells to grow and reproduce, and carry out all the functions necessary to keep us alive.

Metabolism is typically divided into two categories--Catabolism and Anabolism.

Catabolism is responsible for breaking things down and providing you with energy. A good example is fat being broken down into energy. Another example of catabolism is breaking down your muscle tissue (protein) to provide energy.

Anabolism is responsible for building things up and using energy. A good example of this is your body using amino acids to make proteins which become part of your muscles.

Balance is Key to Health

The balance between catabolism and anabolism is critical for our health. If they are out of balance your health will deteriorate.

If your body is in an excessive state of catabolism, (breaking down, without building up) say, in your bones, you end up with osteoporosis. If this occurs in your muscles, you end up with sarcopenia, a loss of muscle mass which decreases your ability to perform basic activities like walking, feeding yourself and bathing yourself. You definitely do not want unbalanced catabolism.

If your body is in a state of excessive anabolism (building up rather than breaking down) you end up with the runaway replication of cells we call cancer. You dont want that either. You want a balance between the two.

Homeostasis-Staying the Same

Our bodies are always doing their best to keep anabolism and catabolism balanced. It takes a lot of consistent effort to change your body. For instance, if you consistently eat more calories than you need and make a habit of not moving much, you will unbalance your metabolism toward building up fat stores and you end up overweight, unhealthy and out of shape.

If you consistently eat fewer calories than you need, and make a habit of exercising a lot, you unbalance your metabolism toward breaking down (catabolism). Taken to an extreme, this leads to anorexia, being severely underweight and unhealthy.

Health, wellness, and vitality is in the balance. Go too far in either direction and you will become unhealthy.

So, now you can see weight loss or gain is all about unbalancing your metabolism. Our bodies dont like unbalanced metabolisms.

Unfortunately, for us modern day humans who now eat a whopping 175 pounds of sugar per person per year, our bodies are more comfortable being unbalanced toward getting fat than they are toward getting skinny.

Losing Fat

If you are overweight and you want to lose weight, you need to unbalance your metabolism toward catabolism or breaking down. The way you do that is by burning more energy, more calories, than you are taking in. The best way to do that is be eating less and moving more.

Enjoy the journey!

Derrick DeLay, B.Sc. is a NASM-Certified Personal Trainer and ACE Certified Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant. He specializes in working with people who are dissatisfied with the way they look and feel and are ready to feel healthy, vibrant and alive again. Derrick is also a fitness and wellness presenter and his peers chose him as Northwest Personal Trainings Personal Trainer of the Year in 2005. Derrick may be contacted at http://www.your-weightloss-wellness-solution.com, a free resource for weight loss and wellness success, or http://www.novasoma.com