Gaining or losing weight does not have any direct connection with the metabolism of your body. Your weight is determined by the total calories consumption against the total calories burned. Weight loss takes place when you consume fewer calories.

Metabolism refers to the ability of the body to convert food into energy. During the metabolic stage, calories combine with oxygen in order to emit the energy your body requires to function effectively.

The amount of calories your body is required to burn each day is known as total energy expenditure. It consists of the following three factors:
* Although your body is at rest, it demands energy for basic needs such as fuel for organs, blood circulation, breathing, hormone level adjustment, and cell repair and growth. The basal metabolic rate (BMR) refers to the calories consumed to perform these functions. It represents 2/3 to 3/4 of daily calories burned on a daily basis.

* Calories are likewise required for performing other tasks such as digestion, transfer, and storage of food. It makes up 10 percent of daily calories consumed. Majority of the body’s energy needs for food processing remains steady and constant.

* Physical tasks such as sports, walking to the store, chasing dogs, and any other activity makes up the remaining calories used. You regulate the amount of calories being burned depending on the duration, intensity, and frequency of your activities.

At first, there is logic to believe that a considerable gain in weight or being overweight has something to do with low metabolism or with a condition known as underactive thyroid gland or hypothyroidism. The truth of the matter is that it is quite unusual for excess weight to be associated with low metabolism.

Majority of people who are not overweight do not have an underlying condition called hypothyroidism. But with a medical diagnosis it is possible to determine whether weight has something to do with a medical condition.

It is more likely for weight gain to consume more calories than what your body burns. In order to lose weight, you need to generate an energy deficit by consuming lesser calories and increasing the amount of calories burned by performing physical activity, or both if possible.

If you have identical physical and functional characteristics, it would be easier to calculate for the standard energy needs. However, there are several factors that have an impact on calorie requirements:
* For proper functioning of the body, you need to have more calories for bigger body mass compared to a smaller body composition. Likewise, muscles require more burning of calories than fat. Thus, more muscles in association with fat means a higher metabolic rate.

* As you become older, the number of muscles decrease and fat makes up most of your weight. At the same time, your metabolism rate naturally slows down. These developments contribute to the reduction of your calorie needs.
* On the aspect of sex, men usually have less body fat and muscles compared to women with a similar age and weight. This is the reason for a higher basal metabolic rate in men than women. This also explains why they burn more calories.

When considering weight loss, you need to bear in mind the factors mentioned above. Making drastic changes in your diet will not do the trick but will make you susceptible to complications in your body.