We have a general idea of what metabolism is and what it does, but here it is in a bit more details to get a better understanding of it. Metabolism is the rate at which your body consumes energy or burn calories. There is a particular type of metabolism that measures how many calories you need in order to keep your body functioning properly, called resting metabolism. Also, energy metabolism represents the body's process of braking down the nutrients and transforming them into energy ready to be consumed.

We all have different kinds of metabolism, thus why some people lose or gain weight faster than others. While the metabolism means the same thing to each and every one of us, its speed differs from one person to another and it's quite unique.

How you determine your basal metabolic rate?
The Basal Metabolic Rate is the rate at which your body burns calories while being at rest. It's really simple: just multiply your body weight by 10 and you get your BMR index. Let's say you weigh 160 pounds (72 kilos); your BMR= 160*10= 1600 kcals. This basically means you can burn up to 1600 calories a day without moving a muscle. If you eat more than that in terms of calories, your body will save the extra energy as fat cells and you'll start gaining weight.

This BMR is just a rough number that you can take into consideration when eating. Remember that your metabolism is also influenced by how much you exercise. Only a trainer or a dietitian can tell you better by measuring how many calories you burn with the help of a small device, similar to a calculator.

The absolute bitch about metabolism is that there are people with fast metabolism. This means that while you take in the same amount of calories, another person may burn it faster and easier just because that's the way nature decided they should consume energy. However, there are other factors that influence the speed of metabolism, like age, health condition, your overall life style, etc. Aerobic exercises help you speed up your metabolism.

Aging influences metabolism due to the hormonal changes, but this doesn't mean necessarily weight gain. Research shows older people can dramatically improve their metabolism by exercising. Why exercising helps burn more calories and why strength training improves this process even more? Because muscles are the "engine" that requires the most energy, thus the more muscle mass, the more fat you burn and the higher your metabolism gets.