The process through which the body transforms food into energy is called metabolism. It's a biochemical process that combines the calories in food and drink with oxygen to give the body the energy it needs. In addition to providing fuel for physical activities, metabolism directs calories to support bodily functions such as breathing, cell repair, hormone adjustment and blood circulation.
Basics
In order to develop a body trimming metabolism, first determine your basal metabolic rate (BMR). The three factors used to determine calories your body needs in its resting state are age, body size and gender. Your BMR accounts for between 60 to 75 percent of the calories you burn each day. About 10 percent of your daily caloric intake is used for digestion, called thermogenesis. Your BMR and thermogenesis remain fairly stable.
Age and Gender
Calorie burning and basal metabolic rate decline with age. You must adjust your caloric intake as you get older to stay trim. Women usually need fewer calories to stay slim because they have fewer muscles than men. Muscles require more energy than fat, even when resting, so men and people with muscular builds tend to have a higher BMR.
Process
Even when you're sleeping, your body is burning calories. Find a BMR calculator to determine your BMR. Then follow the Harris Benedict Equation that takes into account your activity levels to figure out how many calories you need to maintain your weight. For example, a 40-year-old woman who weighs 150 lbs and is lightly active at least three days a week needs about 1,953 calories per day to maintain her weight. Her BMR is about 1,420.
Diet
To lose weight and trim her figure, that same woman could continue with her current physical activity levels and reduce the amount of calories she takes in by about 500 calories per day. By maintaining her metabolic needs, she burns stored calories to provide the energy needed for her activities, and she will lose about 1 lb per week. By adding exercise and building more lean muscle, her metabolic needs will increase and she can burn more calories even when resting as well as burn additional stored calories from the extra exercise.
Warning
Starvation diets that require you to eat fewer calories than your body needs to maintain its basic functions cause your metabolism to slow down to preserve calories to survive. Eating fewer than the amount determined for your BMR typically does not result in weight loss, but instead causes your metabolism to slow down.
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