Metabolic adaptation in weight loss

Metabolic Adaptation in Weight Loss – Literature Review
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Abstract
As more people adopt healthy lifestyles and accept practices that reduce body weights, more concern is placed on metabolic adaptations that result from such weight loss practices. The current literature review paper analyses various concepts entailed in substantial literature regarding the metabolic adaptation in weight loss. Metabolic adaptation refers to changes in metabolic rate in situations when caloric deficit occurs. The author obtained several vital research outcomes from selected peer-reviewed articles, and therefore, compared the research outcome to enhance the reader’s understanding of the metabolic adaptions during weight loss. It is realized from the literature review that the rates at which metabolic change and adaptation occur are positively correlated to the amount of caloric deficit and that more studies are required on the topic to educate the public and scholars in general on the metabolic adaptation processes during weight loss.
Metabolic Adaptation in Weight Loss – Literature Review
Introduction
Metabolic adaptation is a commonly used phrase among the fitness community to mean changes in the metabolic rate in situations when caloric deficit occurs. In most literature, metabolic adaptation is wrongly classified as metabolic damage (Hintze et al. 2019). Caloric deficit refers to a situation in which the number of calories obtained from the eaten foods is meager, and therefore, cannot fully support the metabolic rates (Hintze et al. 2019). Metabolic rates refer to the amount of daily energy spent to breakdown the calories (Trexler, Smith-Ryan & Norton, 2014). The current literature review paper analyses various concepts entailed in substantial literature regarding the metabolic adaptation in weight loss. It is not a summary of the diverse concepts entailed in various literature, but a detailed literary analysis piece that compares and contrasts various concepts entailed in the contacted peer-reviewed literature. The literature review shows that the rates at which metabolic change and adaptation occur are positively correlated to the amount of caloric deficit and that more studies are required on the topic to educate the public and scholars in general on the metabolic adaptation processes during weight loss.
Body and Summary
Trexler, Smith-Ryan, and Norton (2014) indicate that even though most athletes work hard towards achieving better physical statures, and fit bodies, there are metabolic adaptations that come along with that. As mentioned in their article, continued weight loss leads to decreased basal metabolic rates (BMR) among athletes. This, therefore, means that reduced calorie intake, as observed in most of the athlete's daily diets, leads to reduced activities of the mitochondria (the body cells commonly termed as powerhouses of energy due to their abilities to breakdown ATP into energy) (Trexler, Smith-Ryan & Norton, 2014). One of the metabolic adaptation processes discussed in this piece is changes in the circulating hormones. The scholars argued that extreme reduction in the amount of food eaten, and all other life practices that promote hunger influenced the flow of hormones in the body (Trexler, Smith-Ryan & Norton, 2014). One such hormone is called thyroid hormones that are often linked to increased metabolic rates. An individual would, therefore, experience several challenges in the body, such as reduced hormones performances in the endocrine system. It is, therefore, crucial for the athletes, and any other individual who adopts the fitness practices to focus on the possible challenges that might arise from the extreme reduction in the number of food calories in the body.
Additionally, Trexler, Smith-Ryan, and Norton (2014) mentioned that fitness practices lead to massive changes in the proton leak and energy consumption in the body. The scholars state that in normal conditions, the mitochondria should have an adequate amount of ATP to work efficiently. Therefore, the athletes who meet the minimum calorie thresholds in their meals are less likely to experience the metabolic adaptations (Trexler, Smith-Ryan & Norton, 2014). However, the majority of the athletes tend to minimize such food quantities with an aim to achieving a slim body, not knowing that they might be depriving their bodies of getting the required amount of energy. Trexler, Smith-Ryan, and Norton (2014) additionally state that energy restrictions are capable of leading to weight gain after a particular period. As such, everyone, including the athletes who aim at enhancing their strength to mass ration, should understand the various metabolic changes that occur due to their new restricted eating habits and extreme exercise practices (Trexler, Smith-Ryan & Norton, 2014). This is, therefore, a crucial literary source that would act as an essential foundation upon which future researches regarding the weight loss and metabolic adaptions among athletes are based. It has several crucial concepts that would fill the research gaps in subsequent similar researches.
Bescós et al. (2009), on the other hand, conducted a study where they found out that enriching diets with L-arginine or other supplements at higher levels did not enhance the physiological processes during exercises. The scholars mentioned that most athletes consume supplements to boost their energy and to acquire the required weight levels, but few do not know the effects of overdosing such supplements in the body (Bescós et al., 2009). According to them, excessive consumption of food enriched with L-arginine did not enhance the physiological parameters during the athletic exercise. The scholars additionally mentioned that in most cases, the athletes experience reduced metabolic reactions such as less energy production because of the calorie deficit (Bescós et al., 2009). As a result, the body is forced to utilized the available adipose tissues to give the required amount of energy. Such practice, according to the researchers, is, however, temporal and cannot, therefore, provide a sustainable amount of energy to the body for a long time.
The study conducted by Bescós et al. (2009) additionally showed that consumption of food enriched with L-arginine disrupted the concentration of amino acids in most of the human body tissues. It is evident that as this occurs, the body experienced enhanced glucose tolerance in the body, whereby, they adjust to react on the few amounts of glucose that would be available during fasting or when the amount of foods eaten by the athletes is activity reduced (Bescós et al., 2009). An individual might, therefore, develop a different metabolic process altogether whether the body readjusts to the available amount of glucose obtained from their daily meals. Bescós et al. (2009) stated that the athletes should, therefore, be aware of the possible metabolic adaptations that occur when they eat meals enhanced with supplements. Additionally, they caution on excessive use of these supplements as they would lead to little improvements in the overall physiological improvements in the body. It is, therefore, a crucial literary source that educates on the metabolic adaptations that occur during weight loss and as a result of excessive consumption of supplements in the body.
A research conducted by Ferraro et al. (2014) is different from that done by Bescós et al. (2009) based on their study objectives. Ferraro et al. (2014) showed that extreme exercises aimed at attaining weight losses induced remodeling of the Skeleton muscles, and additionally, lead to changes in the metabolic reactions in the body. In this study, the researches wanted to know what exactly happened to the skeleton muscles when a person was exposed to extreme exercise (Ferraro et al., 2014). The results from the study indicated that exercises modified the myofiber metabolism. The mitochondrial biogenesis would, therefore, be stimulated by such exercises. Such practices, however, require the consumption of foods that are rich in energy, so eliminating most of these foods in the diet might lead to the underproduction of required energy through oxidative metabolism (Ferraro et al., 2014). It is, therefore, a crucial literary source that could help in future studies regarding the association between the exercises and the skeleton-muscles inducements in the body. As mentioned by Ferraro et al. (2014), understanding such associations is made difficult because, during research, it is impossible to conduct researches at different modalities. A new study is, therefore, required to fill such study gaps and give new study results on the same topic.
Westerterp (2013), on the other hand, conducted a study which focused on the metabolic adaptation implications among population group who overfed and underfed respectively. From this study, it was noted that metabolic adaptations were less likely to occur as compared in scenarios when people overfed. The study, therefore, showed that such study results had several implications (Westerterp, 2013). First, the result explained the reason for the rise in illnesses such as obesity in many citizens. The study additionally mentioned that there were vast differences in the energy balances between people who overfed or underfed. Westerterp (2013) states that it is okay to maintain a reasonable amount of body weight and that this does not necessarily mean that people should under-eat to gain such body masses. Instead, it is high time for the athletes and the public in general who are interested in maintaining a healthy weight to understand the right food combinations and quantities to feed (Westerterp, 2013). It is, therefore, wrong to adopt unhealthy eating habits such as complete neglect of particular food due to fear of gaining much weight (Westerterp, 2013). Overall, this study shows that adaptive thermogenesis occurs when a person underfeeds in an attempt to maintain a low body mass. It is, therefore, a crucial study that would help in future researches on the effects of adaptive thermogenesis among the public who consider reduced diets intakes as a way of achieving a weight loss.
Melanson et al. (2013) conducted a study to determine the reasons why some people lose more weight right after taking part in exercise, while others recorded a...