As you begin your G-Plans journey, you’ll likely hear the term “metabolic efficiency” many times. In order to fully understand what that means, it’s important to recognize what metabolism means and how it relates to your overall health and fitness.
Helpful Terms to know:
Calorie: A unit of energy. Scientifically speaking, a calorie is the energy required to raise the temperature of 1g of water by 1 degree Celsius. For the purposes of diet, just know that the food you eat is made up of units of energy called calories.
Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR): This is used interchangeably with basal metabolic rate (BMR) and is used to express the number of calories your body burns throughout the day when your body is at rest in order to maintain basic bodily processes such as breathing, organ function, circulation and brain function.
Total Energy Expenditure (TEE): This reflects the number of calories expended throughout the day, including RMR and the energy burned during daily movement and exercise.
Energy intake: the total energy of food consumed in the form of calories made up of protein, fat and carbohydrates.
Energy balance: The difference between energy intake and total energy expenditure.
Homeostasis: the ability of the body to maintain a relatively stable environment to regulate physiological processes within a narrow range.
Metabolic Efficiency: Improving the body’s ability to use energy (calories) efficiently through proper nutrition.
What is the significance of all these terms?
Well, altering body weight requires increasing your total energy expenditure or decreasing energy intake in order to achieve the appropriate energy balance, energy deficit, or energy surplus. However, as previously discussed here, a chronic energy deficit (a negative energy balance over a long period of time) can result in a suppressed metabolic rate, meaning your body burns less calories throughout the day in an effort to conserve energy. From a scientific perspective, if metabolic demands are not met by energy intake, your body will direct energy towards processes critical for survival – such as temperature regulation, walking, and cellular function – and your body will make adaptations to your metabolic rate to maintain homeostasis.
At G-Plans, we believe it is important to increase your metabolic efficiency to a level that is optimal for your body! When you begin your G-Plans journey, you will notice that the food quantity is more than you’re used to eating. The intention is to optimize your metabolism and restore your RMR to be more conducive to weight loss. Then, by gradually reducing your energy intake and/or increasing your total energy expenditure at a level that is sustainable for your body, you can start to see the progress you desire in a way that is efficient, healthy, and will lead to significant life-long change!