1. How would you explain metabolism to a friend who is struggling to lose weight? What advice could you provide to help them to improve their metabolism and chance of successful weight loss?’ 2. Report on your set task. Write about the experiences of the two people you talked to about being on a calorie restricted diet. You will need to include some personal information to give the background as to the reasons why they decided on go on the weight management/loss plan. You should include their age, gender, weight at the start, general health, their reasons for going on the diet plan, the target weight they set out to achieve (i.e. their target weight or target weight loss total), how successful they were and things they would change in the future. Do not submit their name or any information which may give their identity.
Answer to the question 1:
Metabolism can be described as the process through which our body converts what we eat and drink into energy that is used in doing the daily activities (Pedersen et al., 2015). In this complex biochemical process, calories received from food and beverages are combined with the oxygen in order to release energy, which is required by our body to conduct daily function.
One of the key ways to boost metabolic rate is to increase the level of physical activities, as good workout helps us burning more glucose and fat to produce energy for the functioning the body (Arad et al., 2015). Diet plays an important role in controlling metabolism rate. Some of the foods that can be taken to boost metabolism include caffeine, green coffee, green tea. It is also important for an over-weight person to avoid taking sugar drinks to improve metabolism, leading to losing body weight. Drinking cold water can boost metabolism, as the body uses extra energy to heat the water to body temperature.
Answer to Question 2:
1st person’s calorie restricted diet:
The 1st person aged 54 years went on the calorie-restricted diet when he weighed 196 pounds. The health condition of the person was largely affected by his gained weight. The height of the person is 5’6”. Since the body weight of the person was continuously gaining, she started facing difficulties in conducting daily activities. Moreover, the person also went through sleep apnea due to her gained body weight.
The main reason why the particular person went through a calorie-restricted diet for a certain period is to lose excess weight in order to live a healthy life and carry out daily activities effectively. The person was on a 1600-calorie diet plan to lose around 20 pounds weight within 10 weeks. The diet chart was made to reduce 2 pounds weight weekly.
1600-Calorie Diet plan followed by person 1
Breakfast (340 calories)
A.M Snack (180 calories)
Lunch (420 calories)
P.M. Snack (160 calories)
Dinner (500 calories)
By following the above diet plan for 10 weeks, the person lost 18 pounds, which was a good achievement. The person identified that some changes in the diet plan could have helped her lose more weight. In future, the person has decided to increase daily calorie intake from 1600 calories/day to 1800 calories/day. Moreover, she has decided to increase the calorie intake of breakfast and reduce the amount of calorie on dinner. Consuming additional calorie on dinner tends to increase body weight, as there is no activity level after dinner. After reducing 18 pounds of body weight, the daily activity level of the person has improved radically.
2nd person’s calorie restricted diet:
The 2nd person went on a calorie-restricted diet plan to the overcome adverse impact of type-2 diabetes. The person, aged 50 years old, started a calorie-restricted diet when he was around 250 pounds. According to the healthcare professional, the person maintained a healthy and balanced diet for 20 weeks. The diet chart included a lot of fruits, vegetables, pulses, wholegrain, seafood and nuts. Generally, for a 5’10” tall man, the body weight should be 180 pounds. However, in this case, the person weighted 250 pounds, which is 70 pounds excess body weight. The reason why this man had calorie-restricted diet was to lose excessive body weight and manage type-2 diabetes. The goal was to lose 70 pounds with the help of calorie-restricted diet program, which lasts for 35 weeks.
1500-calorie diet plan followed by person 2
Breakfast (450 calories)
A.M Snack (150 calories)
Lunch (400 calories)
P.M Snack (200 calories)
Dinner (300 calories)
This diet plan helped the person to lose 60 pounds within 35 weeks. In future, the person has decided that he will include more vegetables in his diet plan in order to manage type-2-diabetes. However, this diet has helped him control his diabetes to a large extent.