Now, I live in a home with 5 other people and I had to come to terms with the fact that I cannot eat like other people. I do not have the same metabolism as my family members and cannot just eat whatever and however much I want. My metabolism seriously works at a snail’s pace. I just don’t burn my calories as effectively as other people. So this means that I need to eat smaller meals and need to constantly watch what I put into my mouth. Desserts, rich foods, fatty foods and carbohydrates needed to be closely monitored. Snacking was something that needed to come to a halt as well.
Once I accepted that, I was finally able to look at my food intake, my habits, cravings, and reasons for eating objectively. This helped me to make sure that I was using my food as fuel for my body and not just enjoying my food because it tasted good. So for example, when my kids were having ice cream after dinner I had to make sure that I either enjoyed a lower calorie alternative (frozen fruit bar, piece of dark chocolate or just skipping dessert altogether).
What Exactly is Metabolism?
“Metabolism is the process by which your body converts what you eat and drink into energy. During this complex process, calories in foods & beverages are combined with oxygen to release the energy your body needs to function.
Even when you are at rest, your body needs energy for all of it’s hidden functions, like breathing, circulating blood, adjusting hormone levels, and growing and repairing cells. The number of calories your body uses to carry out these basic functions is known as your body’s basal metabolic rate (what you might call metabolism),” according to the Mayo Clinic (check out this article for more detailed information).
There are several factors that determine your metabolism. One is your body size or composition. People that are larger or have more muscle mass tend to burn more calories. Second is your gender. Men tend to have more muscle and less body fat than women of the same age. Lastly, your age also is important for metabolism. The older a person is generally means that person has less muscle and more fat which leads to less calorie burning.
According to the Mayo Clinic’s article there are two other important functions in the body that affect weight loss (or gain). One is Thermogenesis (or food processing) which includes: digesting, absorbing, transporting and storing the food you consume and requires calories. The other is Physical Activity or exercise and that can include: running, walking, grocery shopping, gardening, mowing the lawn, or any other movement that accounts for the rest of the calories that you burn throughout the day.
How Does My Metabolism Affect My Health?
I decided to do some research about my own metabolism to find out more about it. I found Dr. Jade Teta’s website (www.metabolicrenewal.com) where he has a quiz to help a person to better understand their own metabolism. Of course, I wound up with the slowest metabolic type. He specifically works with women to help them with weight loss and to improve their overall health. And he has lots of free and paid classes on his websites (**I am not affiliated in any way with his websites or classes).
I also found another helpful site by Kalli Soelberg (also known as The Metabolism Coach). She has a program that works with your own metabolism and there were so many people in the Facebook group that were getting amazing results. She provides you with Five Free Metabolism Cards that give you some great information about what to eat (when eating out), Disruptors, Sneaky Sugars and Metabolic Boosters. She has a great story and has inspired many people. Unfortunately, it just seemed complicated to me so I decided not to sign up for it.
Since I learned that I had a slower Metabolism, I had to figure out a way to work with it and not against it. I had to pay close attention to the calories that I took into my body on a daily basis and my physical activity.
Coming Up With a Plan
As I mentioned in a previous post about My Covid Weight Loss Journey, I needed to change the way that I was eating. It seemed that the most logical idea was to lower my daily caloric intake, since that worked for me in the past. However, what was an optimal daily caloric intake? When I was on the Jenny Craig plan back in 2002, my plan started at 1500 calories per day and then was lowered to 1200 per day. Since I was now exercising regularly I decided to start with a daily intake of 12oo or below to start. I figured that I could always change things along the way if I needed to do so.
rtperez72 
