Metabolism & Weight control

One of my clients recently came to me for consultation and asked me to help her with diet to reduce her weight. During our discussion she mentioned about her slower metabolism. She was strongly of the belief that metabolism (or it being slow) was the main cause of her gaining weight. I made a note to write to clear this on the blog. Here is my take on it

We commonly hear about slow or bad metabolism. Is there such a thing as slow metabolism? Yes/Maybe but that is usually rare. But that has nothing to do with people gaining weight. People gaining weight is directly proportional to the calories they consume. Also the fact that they do not exercise regularly makes it worse.

Here is the science behind it - Metabolism is the process whereby our body converts the food we eat into energy. In fact it is the calories we eat that is converted to energy. The more muscle you have the more calories you burn when using them. Men are more muscular so typically burn fat easily (if they chose to) compared to women who are less muscular.

Metabolism might indeed slow down as you grow older but you fight it by reducing your calorie intake and more physical activities.

If you still feel strongly that metabolism is slow please do consult your doctor.