What to Do If You Are Gaining Weight Despite Eating Less Than Normal
One of the important causes of weight gain or the inability to lose weight is metabolic rate. Metabolism is the sum of all reactions that occur to meet the body's basic needs and provide the necessary energy; it is a dynamic process whose rate can change and be measured depending on vital factors.
Metabolic rate is the amount of energy required to sustain vital activities such as organ function and maintenance of body temperature while in a state of complete rest. A low metabolic rate can prevent weight loss, or even cause weight gain, despite eating little or dieting. If you are gaining weight despite eating less than normal, having your metabolic rate measured should be on your list of things to do.
Various formulas for basal metabolic rate can be found online or in books. These calculations are prepared taking into account a person's age, sex, height, and body weight. On the other hand, determining daily energy requirements based solely on a person's work status or occupation can also be misleading. This is because a person who works a light job may have a very active life outside of work, which increases their energy needs. Body composition, that is, muscle mass, has a very significant effect on metabolic rate. For this reason, since two people of the same age, sex, height, and body weight will differ in their level of physical activity, their metabolic rates cannot be the same. However, standard formulas cannot give an accurate result because they ignore this difference.
WHAT IS THE MOST ACCURATE WAY TO MEASURE METABOLIC RATE
The Metabolic Rate Test, whose accuracy has been proven by many clinical studies, is a test that measures a person's resting metabolic rate in the easiest, most precise, and fastest way, and shows how much energy a person needs while at rest. This measurement is a very important starting tool in a sound, effective weight-loss and exercise program. Considered the gold standard compared to some of the mathematical calculations used to measure basal metabolic rate, this test, based on oxygen consumption, can clearly measure the energy a person expends over 24 hours while at rest.
FACTORS AFFECTING METABOLIC RATE
Age, genetic makeup, sex, and race are unchangeable factors that affect metabolism, while diet, nutrition, and lifestyle are factors that can be changed. Let's examine a few factors that affect metabolic rate together:
Sex: Women have both fewer muscles and weaker muscle mass compared to men. This means women expend less energy and have a slower metabolism than men. As body fat tissue increases, metabolic rate decreases; as muscle tissue increases, it rises. This is because muscle tissue is more metabolically active than fat tissue and expends more energy. In people with more muscle tissue, such as laborers and athletes, metabolic rate can be higher than in those doing light work.
Genetics: Unfortunately, people with a hereditary metabolic disorder in their family also tend to have a slower metabolic rate.
Diet and prolonged fasting: Especially in overweight people, constantly losing and regaining weight through dieting, as well as prolonged fasting and semi-starvation, also lowers metabolic rate. In people who consume less food than normal for a long period, metabolic rate decreases by about 30%, and in cases of extreme and continuous fasting, it decreases by as much as 60%. It is suggested that during extreme and continuous fasting, the body becomes accustomed to using less energy for metabolism, thereby trying to survive by expending less energy.
Illnesses: One of the main consequences of an underactive thyroid gland is a slowing of metabolism. The body's secretion of cortisone or insulin can also slow metabolic rate. Metabolic rate rises especially in feverish illnesses due to the increase in cellular functions. Each 1°C increase in body temperature above 37°C raises metabolism by an average of 12.5%.
Stress: An important topic is the effect of stress on metabolism. Stress is a significant factor that increases cortisone release, and continuous cortisone release is one of the important factors that significantly reduces metabolic rate. Weight gain under stress without overeating is a very common occurrence. In such a case, what needs to be tackled is not the metabolic rate or eating pattern, but the stress itself.
Carbohydrates and proteins: While consumption of pasta, sugar, sweets, and pastry products—in short, refined carbohydrates—during the day negatively affects metabolic rate, a higher proportion of protein in the diet's composition increases metabolic rate.
Temperature: Metabolism works faster on days when the air temperature is high, and more slowly in the winter season.
Age: Metabolic rate is at its highest during infancy, the period of fastest growth, and subsequently during childhood. As age advances, metabolic rate decreases. The period during which metabolism works fastest is between the ages of 15 and 30. After age 30, metabolic rate, which begins to decline, speeds up again in women when they enter menopause. Metabolic rate also begins to increase during puberty and pregnancy.
Hormones: Thyroxine, a hormone secreted by the thyroid gland, affects basal metabolism. If this hormone is oversecreted, metabolic rate rises; if undersecreted, it falls. Adrenaline, secreted by the adrenal gland, also has an accelerating effect on metabolism.
Pregnancy and Breastfeeding: After the first months of pregnancy, particularly in the last trimester, there can be an increase in metabolic rate. This is thought to be due to the rapid growth of the baby and maternal tissues in the final months.
Sleep: There is no significant change in metabolism during the first hours of sleep. After the first hours, metabolism begins to decline, and by the end of 5-6 hours of sleep, it can drop by as much as 10%.
CONSEQUENCES OF A LOW METABOLIC RATE
The most common consequence of a low metabolic rate is the inability to lose the desired weight despite eating little or dieting, or, if no precautions are taken, even weight gain. If weight is lost through a balanced diet and exercise program calculated according to metabolic rate, the slowing of your metabolic rate can be prevented. This also makes it possible to predict how much weight loss can be expected during the diet, sparing you from disappointment.
Obesity: In its simplest definition, this is when body weight is greater than it should be. This condition arises as a result of an increase in the proportion of fat tissue in the body. Obesity can be determined through methods such as clinical examination, comparing height and weight measurements to standard measurements, and measuring skinfold thickness. Standard values related to body mass index (BMI) are often used to assess whether a person is obese. Metabolic rate is unique to the individual—that is, it is like a fingerprint.
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Hüseyin Nazlıkul