I mean, I get that having a fast metabolism means that you get fat harder and vice versa, but what does it exactly mean? And what are the upsides and downsides of each?
In: Biology
These are usually bollocks. What really does happen is some people have more desire to eat than others, then they came up with this metabolism thing. In reality people mostly have the same metabolism, but some eat more and some eat less. Or they do different amounts of exercise.
Differences in metabolism is highly exaggerated. Daily activity and especially your NEAT are much better indicators.
You can read more here: [https://examine.com/nutrition/is-my-slow-metabolism-stalling-my-weight-loss/](https://examine.com/nutrition/is-my-slow-metabolism-stalling-my-weight-loss/)
Basically some people burn more calories just keeping their body ticking over than others do, a little bit like how some cars burn more fuel than others sitting at the traffic lights waiting for them to change.
It means certain people burn more energy maintaining everyday body functions than others and thus need more food to avoid loosing weight. It’s usually massively exaggerated though even the most extreme conditions it accounts for only a ~10% difference from the norm and someone suffering such a condition would be very aware of it and very sick.
>having a fast metabolism means that you get fat harder and vice versa
That’s actually a [common misconception](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_common_misconceptions#Nutrition,_food,_and_drink).
>There is no evidence that obesity is related to slower resting metabolism. Resting metabolic rate does not vary much between people. Weight gain and loss are directly attributable to diet and activity. Overweight people tend to underestimate the amount of food they eat, and underweight people tend to overestimate.[376]
Nothing since it’s not a thing. People just dont understand their bodies or want an excuse for while they’re overweight
This usually refers to the number of calories your body naturally burns each day with no activity included. These are the calories needed simply needed to keep your body running to survive.
Some factors that influence this number are body size and muscle mass. The larger you are the more calories it takes to maintain your body. Muscles require more calories to maintain than fat.
For normal people, this difference is within a couple hundred calories per day (about 1 soda worth). So generally this is too small of a factor to account for weight gain differences between two people. The reality is people don’t adequately log their calorie intake and calorie output.
This is an interesting topic.. A “fast metabolism” is often associated with the physiological phenomenon of “mitochondrial uncoupling”. This is a process where the mitochondria produce more energy than they need or can effectively use, producing more waste heat and an effusion of metabolic byproducts, but generally fewer of the metabolically harmful, degeneration-inducing ROS(reactive oxygen species). Think of it like a fire. A hot fire burns clean. It produces less soot. This process of mitochondrial uncoupling is, in some circumstances, associated with increased lifespan.
it mostly means someone is working out hard and has built enough muscle mass to consume more calories.
really it’s a fallacy, and doesn’t have much bearing in science.
Not an expert, but ill give my two cents about it.
Recently started calorie counting, to try and lose weight, and i was amazed how much i fucked up on my cheat day( im eating healthy 6 days of the week, and one day and going all out on eating and drinking).
Started my died late March and manage to go from 98kg to 90kg so far, altough i only started calorie counting in June.
Diet and exercise work wonders.
This month, i went to a nutricionist and did some exams. She told me all my stats look good, apart from visceral fat (the fat located around your abdomen) and my metabolism.
She told me that despite me having a good percentage of muscle mass, my metabolism is slow due to the percentage of visceral fat, and it should increase as soon as i lose a bit more fat.
She also told me people with faster metabolism tend to burn more calories even when resting and also having a good percentage of muscle mass increases your calorie burn. Its kinda interesting, because despite not dieting in any way for the past couple of years, my body weight never went above 99kg, despite eating and drinking like a fucking elephant all the time. My work is kinda physically demanding (i work at the warehouse of a home depot, so im lifting heavy stuff all the time and walking a lot).
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