Understanding the Basal Metabolic Rate (June 17th, 2010)
You’ve probably heard of the basal metabolic rate, or BMR, but do you really understand what is? The basal metabolic rate is the minimum amount of calories that are needed to sustain the life of a resting individual. If you are a person with weight loss on your mind you should understand that this can be a key factor in losing excess weight and keeping the weight off.
You can also look at your BMR as being the number of energy calories that are used by your body if you were to stay in bed sleeping all day. The basal metabolic rate may be responsible for burning close to 70% of the total calories used, but this can vary a bit due to a variety of factors.
The body burns calories constantly whether you are moving or not. Calories are burned as normal bodily functions take place such as blood pumping through the body, maintaining the body temperature, and breathing. The body burns even more calories than these because of BMR.
The Main Factors That Affect BMR
When we are young, our BMR is rather high, but as we start to age, the body’s BMR will begin to steadily decrease. When we grow older the body has less lean muscle mass, result in a slower basal metabolic rate. If the body has a lot of fatty tissue the BMR will be slower, but if there is a lot of lean tissue the BMR will be higher. Unfortunately, a person is not able to increase their BMR by doing regular exercise. Additionally, height is a factor. A person that is tall and thin will have a higher basal metabolic rate than a person that is shorter and fatter. Women who are pregnant will have an increased BMR.
Short Term Factors That Affect BMR
There are a few factors that can increase a persons basal metabolic rate. Things like increased levels of stress hormones, illness that is accompanied by fever, or a change in the environmental temperature. A lower BMR can also be the result of malnutrition, starvation, or fasting. A lower BMR can be the result of following nothing other than a diet plan. If you just diet by reducing the number of calories you consume you will not be as successful as if you were to diet and increase your exercise. You can offset the negative effects of dieting to the BMR by increasing the amount of exercise you do.
Thyroxin Controls the Body’s BMR
There is a small gland located just under the Adam’s apple in the neck that is called the thyroid. The thyroid gland produces a hormone called Thyroxin. Thyroxin is the key BMR regulator and controls the metabolism in the body.
When a persons thyroid is not working as it should they are usually diagnosed with a thyroid disorder. A thyroid disorder can affect your cholesterol level, heart rate, memory, menstrual cycle, skin health, muscle strength, energy level, and body weight.
If there is excessive thyroxin circulating through the body the BMR can double. This condition is known as thyrotoxicosis. If there is not enough thyroxin produced, the BMR can decrease by 30 to 40 percent of normal. This condition is known as myxoedema.
This article is by Phil Sims. Phil is an expert personal trainer with almost 10 years experience. He offers home and gym based Personal Training in Leamington Spa, Warwick, Kenilworth, Stratford & Coventry.
Notice: This is a guest posted created by Phil Sims for FitnessUncovered. The entry above is the sole expression of the author.
Multipower Whey Protein Iso Complex review (June 14th, 2010)
Multipower sent FitnessUncovered their new Whey Protein Iso Complex so we can review the product on behalf of our readers. You can check out the other Multipower reviews by visiting the supplement articles. The following review is independent and honest, yet it is subjective as with any review so we encourage you to seek other reviews before purchasing Multipower Whey Protein Iso Complex.
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Multipower Super Amino Liquid review (June 1st, 2010)
The following review is for the Multipower Super Amino Liquid, an amino acid supplement which is part of the Multipower Muscle range. FitnessUncovered has reviewed several of Multipower’s products, so be sure to check out our supplement articles where you can locate them all. Multipower has sent us the majority of their range to review on behalf of our readers; the reviews are independent and honest, but we would advise to always seek other reviews and opinions before you decide to purchase a product.
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So how important is sleep anyway? (May 26th, 2010)
Is not getting enough sleep stopping your weight loss goals?
Disrupting your sleep/wake cycle will stress your body and increase your chances of gaining weight and putting a stop to your weigh loss because of hormone imbalances.
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Multipower Red Kick energy drink review (May 19th, 2010)
Today I have sampled Multipower Red Kick energy drink on behalf of the FitnessUncovered readers. Please do seek out other reviews and options before buying this product; I have tried to be as honest as possible regarding this product but all reviews are subjective in nature.
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