Today, let’s talk about basic metabolism and weight loss.
Friends who lose weight often ask about basic metabolism. From the problem itself, we can see that people have a deep misunderstanding about basic metabolism. If we do not stay away from these misunderstandings, we really cannot lose weight well.
Is what Basic Metabolism?
Basic metabolism refers to the energy consumption needed to maintain the most basic life activities of the human body, such as body temperature, respiration, heartbeat, blood circulation, etc.
It accounts for 60% ~ 75% of the daily energy consumption and is the largest energy consumption.
This gives friends who lose weight a beautiful vision. Everyone hopes that the basic metabolism will not drop or even improve, making it easier to lose weight.
Will losing weight reduce basic metabolism?
Yes.
The basic metabolism of anyone who loses weight will drop, because the basic metabolism is positively correlated with body weight. If body weight drops, the basic metabolism will drop.
For example, in a reality show in the United States, 14 contestants lost 58.3 ± 24.9 kg of body weight and 610 ± 483 kcal/day in 7.5 months.
Even if the base number is small, the basal metabolism will drop if the base number is reduced by 10 to 20 kg, but it is unfair to attribute the [whirring rebound after reduction] entirely to the decrease of basal metabolism.
Weight loss is less, and basic metabolism is also less. The reason for the rebound may be more that the loss is too fast, leading to hormone level disorder and overeating.
Therefore, friends who are not easy to lose weight may not have low basic metabolism. If they are really worried, take a test.
Is it accurate to measure basic metabolism with body fat scale?
No, no.
In addition to the body weight scale, the body fat meter in the gym is not accurate, because their results are estimates calculated based on data such as height, weight and age.
How can the test be accurate?
Clinically, indirect calorimetry is used. This requires the measurement of the night before eating light and digestible food, but also to reduce the mental burden, sleep for more than 8 hours, can’t do physical and mental labor after getting up in the morning, don’t wash, don’t eat breakfast, lie down on the examination bed to start the measurement, the room temperature when the measurement is generally about 20 ℃.
Therefore, don’t let the data on the body fat scale frighten yourself. The basic metabolism is not low, and professional measurement and evaluation are required to know.
Can you only eat enough energy for basic metabolism when losing weight?
No.
In addition to basic metabolism, daily energy consumption also includes physical activity and food thermal effect, of which food thermal effect is the amount of heat needed to digest and absorb food itself.
Take young manual workers (white-collar women are basically) as an example. The average daily energy requirement is 1800 kilocalories. If you only eat enough basic metabolism, the maximum is 1350 kilocalories.
Even if you are completely inactive, you will still have an energy deficit of 450 kilocalories compared with 1800 kilocalories, which will definitely lead to hunger (if you basically exceed 300 kilocalories, you will be hungry). It is difficult to persist in starving every day and lose weight successfully.
Can muscle training improve basic metabolism?
Thin human tissues (including muscle, heart, liver and kidney, etc.) are metabolically active tissues, and their energy consumption accounts for 70% ~ 80% of the basic metabolic energy consumption.
It seems that muscle training can indeed improve basic metabolism, but how much can it improve?
Michael Colgan, a consultant to many U.S. Olympic athletes, believes that after hard training, the maximum muscle gain can be 3.6 kilograms, or 8 pounds, per year.
During the rest, one pound of muscle consumes only 6 kilocalories per day. If you can maintain the 8 pounds of muscle worked hard, you can consume 48 kilocalories more every day. But if you can’t keep your mouth shut, a walnut or half an apple has more than 48 kilocalories of energy.
So don’t expect to improve basic metabolism by practicing muscles.
However, this does not mean that muscle training is meaningless. Muscle training itself consumes energy, which is conducive to weight loss and can also make the body more compact and beautiful.
Are there any foods that improve basic metabolism?
Foods such as water, coffee, tea and chili may help you consume more calories when you eat them. But in the long run, it will not improve your basic metabolism.
As long as the basic metabolism is within the normal range, there is really no need to think about it. As long as the combination is more reasonable than the original diet structure, you can reduce energy intake and lose weight healthily while eating full.