What is metabolism? If you are even remotely like me, then you thought it was a part of your body. I didn’t think it was a specific organ or anything, but I thought it was a system. Like the circulatory system. I thought there was something like a metabolic system. Turns out, nope. It’s not a thing at all. That’s why the question was worded that way in the title without a “the”. It’s a process. It’s something your whole body does, right down to each individual cell. 🤯
What is Metabolism?
Metabolism is what happens when your body uses the energy you have provided it through your food or even from your stored fat. When it metabolizes something, it converts it into energy that, along with oxygen – fuels the various processes of your body, from the beating of your heart to the raising of your hand to feed yourself. I honestly had no idea that’s what it was.
I mean, to be fair, that’s a pretty simplified description of what metabolism is. It’s quite a complex process that I won’t be diving into because the odds are that I won’t explain it accurately, and I’m not interested in spreading misinformation. Here’s part one of a video that I found helpful to explain it (don’t worry, it’s short).
To further understand what’s going on as your body metabolizes food and stored fat for energy, here’s part two of that video.
As you can see, it’s right down to the very cells of your body. Your metabolism isn’t just something that decides whether or not you can lose weight. It’s the way your body powers itself.
Factors Affecting Metabolic Rate
Metabolism is affected by a range of different factors. This is why some people say that they have a fast one while others are frustrated with their slow one. According to the Mayo Clinic, some of the factors that can help to decide whether you experience a faster or slower metabolic rate include the following:
- Your body size – If you’re a big or tall person, your body will burn more calories overall to maintain that size.
- Your body composition – Certain body components burn more calories than others. For instance, if you are very muscular, you will have a higher metabolic rate than someone of a similar size who does not have as much muscle because those tissues blast through calories even when you’re inactive.
- Your sex – Men typically have a faster metabolism than women, likely because of many factors including the fact that men usually have more muscle and less fat than women of the same weight and age.
- Your age – Though recent research blew my mind, showing that the metabolic rate doesn’t slow down as you age throughout the majority of your adult life (I’m serious!), our lifestyles do tend to change as we get older, causing us to lose muscle. As I previously said, muscle is a serious calorie burner. When we have less muscle, we don’t have the metabolism we once did. So, keep active!
