01/03/2026
🔥Unlocking the 3 Key Elements of Our Metabolism🔥
Maybe it isn't what we think it is. Strictly speaking, our metabolism is the sum of every chemical reaction ⚡️ in every one of our cells - the total energy 🔋we burn each day.
Though, when thinking about the ideal body composition or weight loss, our metabolism can be broken down into several key components.
The most significant of these, which guzzles up around 60 per cent of our daily calories, is basal metabolism where our Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the number of calories our body using on a minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour basis when at rest, simply to keep going. Basal metabolism is the energy expenditure of our basic bodily functions - from pumping materials between cells to maintaining our circulation and vital organs as well as keeping us at just the right temperature. Our brain 🧠 and liver alone account for half of our energy use at rest.
There is an urban myth 🧐that we may not have a healthy body composition because we have a slow metabolism though unless we have an underactive thyroid, generally that's not the case. Actually, the heavier we are, the greater our resting metabolic rate is compared with that of a leaner individual - our body demands more calories just to keep going.
Via Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) and some simple body measurements it's possible to calculate our personal BMR or resting calorie requirements. I find at Bridgford & Bingham Nutrition for most of us it's between 1,000 and 2,200 calories a day. It's also worth noting that our metabolic rate will decline as we lose weight – we simply have less body to run and maintain.
While our BMR provides valuable insight, it's important to realise that it's just one piece of the puzzle.
Simply our metabolism is composed of three key elements. Firstly, we have this resting or basal metabolic rate. Secondly there's the thermic effect of food - the energy required to digest and metabolise what we eat, typically about 10% of our overall energy expenditure. Finally, we have physical activity. This is the component that we can manipulate significantly, by changing how much we move.
In other words, our metabolic health doesn't have to be a battle on one front. Instead, there are several simple, science-backed lines of attack to increase our calorie expenditure.
So how we can maximise the elements to adjust our metabolic rate? There are some factors that affect metabolism that we can’t change, such as gender, though we can maximize other elements associated with our metabolic rate and look to achieve our ultimate body composition.
1️⃣ Basal Metabolic Rate:
Our basal metabolic rate (BMR) or the amount of energy we need to carry out basic bodily functions - from pumping materials between cells to maintaining our circulation and vital organs as well as keeping us at just the right temperature. Our brain and liver alone account for half of our energy use at rest. It can be affected by amongst other things:-
Body size – the heavier we are the more energy we need to function – there is simply more body to look after!
Muscle Mass – muscle requires more energy to function so the more muscle we have the greater our BMR is.
Gender – generally men burn more energy just because they tend to have a greater body size to look after and may have a greater muscle mass.
Age – as we age we may see a decline in muscle mass in which case the amount of energy required to maintain this reduced amount also reduces.
Environmental temperature – if temperature is very low or very high, our body has to work harder to maintain its normal body temperature 🌡️, which increases the BMR
Infection or illness – BMR increases because our body has to work harder to build new tissues and to create an immune response
2️⃣ Thermic Effect of Food (TEF):
Our metabolic rate rises after a meal as we require energy to chew, digest and metabolise the food we have eaten. Contributing about 10% of our energy expenditure the rise occurs soon after we start eating, and peaks 2 to 3 hours later. Different macronutrients have different thermic effects. It’s no surprise that protein has the highest thermic effect, followed by carbohydrates and then fats. We only have to compare how long it takes to chew and eat a piece of steak compared to some butter to begin to understand how much more energy the body will use to then breakdown the steak and process the protein into amino acids for our body to put to use. As well as protein-rich foods we will also use more energy chewing and digesting sources of fibre and wholefoods.
Therefore, a diet rich in protein, fibre and wholefoods can increase our metabolic rate as well as other improved health outcomes.
3️⃣ Physical Activity:
It’s certainly not new news to find that activity uses energy and therefore increases our metabolic rate. Something to bear in mind though is the long-term effects activity may have on our BMR. The more muscle we have the more energy it takes to maintain this muscle which therefore increases our BMR.
So, to conclude we can now understand the urban myth that we may not have a healthy body composition because we have a slow metabolism. Unless we have an underactive thyroid, generally that's not the case. There are though elements of our diet and lifestyle that we can adapt to increase our metabolism such as being more active, increasing our muscle mass and having a diet rich in protein, fibre and wholefoods.
If you would like to know if your thyroid and its hormones are in tip-top condition, wish to find out your personal BMR or are looking to change your Body Composition please come and see me at Bridgford & Bingham Nutrition.
Happy eating,
Nina Thomas
BSc (Hons), MSc, ANutr
Registered Associate Nutritionist & Food Scientist
Bridgford & Bingham Nutrition
21 Brickyard Lane
East Bridgford
Nottingham
NG13 8NJ
☎️07958 765337
📧www.bridgfordbinghamnutrition.co.uk
🌍 https://www.bridgfordbinghamnutrition.co.uk/
