When it comes to weight loss, many people feel that their metabolism isn’t really working at the speed it should.
Truth be told, we tend to overestimate calories burned in exercise and underestimate calories that we intake.
Let’s look at metabolism, the energy that we intake through food and the energy that we burn through exercise. When you ingest food, this will either be burned as energy or stored as fat. The energy you burn is also part of the equation. This involves our body’s natural functioning processes for life as well as our activities of daily living. Weight loss occurs when more energy is expended than taken in. Calories are units that measure the energy we intake and expend. Your body’s metabolic rate details how many calories your body uses during the day. You have to find the perfect balance of what your body takes in and puts out. It can feel like you are the man on the tightrope, perfecting the art of balancing while walking on a tensioned wire between two. It is merely a balancing act. Knowing your metabolic rate will help you to balance what you eat and what you burn. A Resting Metabolic Rate test determines what your body burns at rest. You may consider this test if you want an accurate measure of how your body burns calories and how many calories you need.
In addition to understanding how many calories your body needs, weight loss also involves managing correct portion sizes, meal planning, setting realistic health goals, and understanding why you eat.
This is Sheila Harrell with the Church Health Center.
If you have a question for Life Matters, send it tohealth@wkno.org.