- By Henry Stark
- Around Town
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The thirty-five day period from Thanksgiving to New Year's is my favorite time of the year. That's when I rationalize that I can eat and drink as much as I want and it's OK because everyone else is doing it too. However when I look at overweight and obese people I realize that I don't want to be one of them. I'm aware that all that turkey stuffing, sugared cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and eggnog has to go somewhere. In my case, they make a b-line for my stomach and my butt. Since I have self-respect, I use January and February to work on looking and feeling like I did at the beginning of November.In order to lose weight, I need to consider my metabolism. Metabolism is simply the rate my body converts what I eat and drink into either energy or stored fat. I love to play tennis, take brisk walks, cross-country ski, and swim laps. And I think I'm pretty good at watching my diet. I know that after our 30s our metabolism slows down, with the result that if I maintain the same diet and perform activities at the same rate as I did when I was younger, I'm doomed to gain weight.
So, I wondered, can I change the rate of my metabolism even though I'm into my 70s?
The answer is yes. The good news is that no matter how old we are we can change the rate our bodies convert food.
Each of us requires a different amount of calories to maintain our weight. Heavy people burn more fat than light, men more than women, and young more than old. So if you're an overweight, young man you naturally will be using more calories than if you're a thin, older woman.
I'm happy to tell you that we're all burning calories even when we don't seem to be doing anything. This is referred to as the resting metabolic rate. When we're in bed sleeping or in a chair reading, our bodies still need energy. Right now, as I'm sitting at my desk typing this article, I‘m breathing, my blood is pumping, and my cells are being repaired. You may be surprised to know that our resting metabolic rate accounts for two-thirds to three-quarters of our calorie burn each day.
Have you noticed that your muscles have gradually been replaced by fat? Unfortunately fat burns calories at a slower rate than muscle. This explains why our resting metabolic rate decreases about ten percent each decade of our life after our 30s.
Physical activity helps a lot. In fact, it's responsible for about 15-30% of our calorie burn. Deliberate exercise can be the major part of that although simply standing, walking, and even scratching our head also counts. It's helpful to park your car farther away from your destination and walk, stand rather than sit when you're talking on the telephone, and use the stairs rather than the elevator. The more you can convert your fat into muscle, the more calories you burn. That's why fitness gurus recommend Pilate's, yoga, and strength training exercises in addition to aerobics and cardiovascular exercise.
Finally, there's the thermic effect of food. This means that as you chew, digest, absorb, transport and store what you consume, the energy required helps you to burn about five to ten percent of your calories.
We're less than one month away from the start of the new year, so why don't you join me in making a resolution to consume less calories and exercise more. Let's start, right now, by converting the fat we've acquired over the Thanksgiving weekend into muscle and we'll look and feel a whole lot better.
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