Your brain can slow your metabolism down
Your metabolism is like the engine of a car, the amount of fuel used depends on the amount of driving around. Like a car burns fuel while stopped with the engine running, your body burns fuel while you are resting (sitting or lying). This is called your Resting Metabolic Rate and is on average 60-75% of the total calories your body burns per day. This is essentially the minimum amount of fuel that your body needs to keep your heart pumping, your brain and nervous system working and all other vital processes needed to keep you alive.
Your brain controls your weight
Your body likes stability and creates “set points” to what it considers normal. Like a thermostat, your body regulates your metabolism and your hunger according to your “set point” to keep your weight stable. When food was scarce, our ancestor’s survival depended on conserving energy. When food was available again, the body would store fat for the next shortage.
Fast weight loss slows your metabolism down
Running low on fuel is not usually a problem in developed countries where availability of food is large. Our problems are of a different kind. The body’s normal function is to store any excess calories not used for energy. We would love to think that our brains could tell whether we need to lose weight or not, but it can’t. Unfortunately, we do not have a mechanism that regulates excess fat stores. Longer periods with excess body weight creates a new “set point” which your body now considers “normal”. If you lose a lot of weight fast, your brain reacts as if you were starving. Weather you started off fat or thin, your body’s response is the same. Your brain will slow your metabolism down if it believes you are running low on fuel. Low calorie diets may initially help with weight loss, however at some stage your metabolism will be affected. The problem becomes more obvious when you finish the diet and go back to your normal daily calorie intake, but now with a slower metabolism. Most people end up regaining their weight or often gain more than what they started with. Long term yo-yo dieting can cause extreme reduction to your metabolic rate and fat burning ability.
Developing a slow metabolism is extremely frustrating for people as they tend to spend a lot of time guessing what to do and in the process continue to slow their metabolism even further. Knowing how much fuel your body needs and what exercise is suited for your metabolism is essential to help change your body’s “set point” and increase your metabolism again.
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