The Legend of the Slow Metabolism

Many people who are overweight like to attribute their obesity to having a slow metabolism. While this sounds good in a pseudo-scientific way, it is really just a myth. While you can increase your base metabolism through exercise and proper diet the vast majority of human kind has the same average metabolism and the differences between various people is not enough to make a dramatic difference in weight gain.

While there are instances of people having slower than normal metabolisms this is usually due to some sort of medical condition such as hypothyroidism or other malady of the endocrine system. A malfunction of the body’s endocrine system can lead to any number of symptoms and problems because the hormones that regulate the functioning of body systems are not in balance. Some of the signs and symptoms of a thyroid or adrenal gland problem include weight gain, fatigue, depression, and even heart palpitations. In most cases proper medical treatment by a doctor and prescription drugs can return the body to its natural hormone balance. 

Most people who blame their weight gain on having a slow metabolism are either confused or misinformed why they are gaining weight. 

The simple fact is that if one takes in more calories then one burns then the body stores these extra calories as fat. The only way to burn these excess calories is through exercise, both resistance and aerobic, and a change in diet. Let’s face it, anyone who eats 2000 more calories per day then they use is going to have a weight gain problem. Using “slow metabolism” as an excuse just doesn’t add up. There is no one on this planet that has a resting metabolism that can burn an excess of 2000 calories per day. 

With exercise and proper diet one can increase their resting metabolism but only regular exercise will burn those excess calories. Those who believe that a body at rest can burn a large amount of calories simply do not understand how the body’s metabolism works nor why the idea of a slow metabolism as it relates to weight gain is a myth.