You are a mystery – to yourself, sure – but also to most everyone around you. You eat like a bear that has just come out of hibernation. The word ‘diet’ never crosses your lips because you are one of the rare individuals who have never needed one. That’s why you’re a wonder to the majority of us when we find a person who eats tons of food, but stays slim.
Why is it that body shapes vary?
When we’re born, our genes are the primary deciding factor in how we will look. Hormones that affect growth patterns are also important. But the most important determinants in why we weigh what we do is the quality of the food we eat, and our metabolic rate. Our age, gender, muscle mass and amount of daily exercise determine our metabolic rate.
When comparing males to females it is true that males have a higher metabolic rate. Part of the reason for that is testosterone. Testosterone is very much responsible for growing of muscles. And males are naturally born with more muscles than females. Muscles are heavier and raise the metabolic rate, so males generally have a higher metabolism than females.
Typically the younger you are the higher your metabolic rate is. Infants and children have a higher metabolism than do adults. As one gets older they tend to have more active growth hormones.
When do females increase their metabolic rates?
The metabolic rate for women does go up during pregnancy, and even more so if they are breast feeding.
Then interestingly their metabolic rates go way down during menopause. For women to maintain a good metabolism as they get older daily exercise is highly recommended. The best exercise would be strength training, since it increases both the muscle mass and the metabolic rate simultaneously.
What is the best time for exercising, early, middle of the day or evening?
Research studies have not shown any difference on when during the day one exercises. The most important thing to do is exercise on a regular basis 4-6 times weekly, and switch the workouts around. Do one or two different aerobic exercises for 6-8 weeks, then try two new ones. You should keep doing the strength training throughout. In the end exercising is what is important, so find something you love and you will be more likely to stick with it.
You should now have a better idea how your metabolism affects your body weight, regardless of your size. Hopefully you are inspired to take steps necessary to create the metabolism you need to get you to your ideal weight.
