How to Improve Metabolism?
Metabolism is the amount of energy in the form of calories that the body expends to carry out all its processes. People with a fast metabolism need more calories, while those with a slow metabolism require fewer.
It's important to understand that metabolism speed can change throughout life. A lean person in their youth may gain weight as they age. Since it's not an innate property of the body, we can influence this process in the desired direction through various food manipulations.
Metabolism is divided into basal (the calories needed to sustain the brain, heart, lungs, and liver) and working (calories consumed during any physical activity).
While you can burn more calories through exercise, controlling your basal metabolism is more complex. You can't change it, but you can optimize the speed and quality of calorie burning during workouts.
Here are some factors to help determine your basal metabolism:
- Age: Metabolism slows down with age. After forty, it decreases on average by 10% every ten years.
- Genetics: People genetically differ in how they absorb nutrients from food. Two individuals can eat the same, but one may consume more calories than the other.
- Gender: Natural metabolism is slower in women than in men because men have more muscle mass, requiring more calories.
Tips to boost metabolism:
- Hydrate: Start your metabolism in the morning by drinking warm water with lemon and honey.
- Eat Breakfast:. Consuming breakfast energizes the body and kickstarts metabolic processes.
- Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Include foods rich in omega-3 in your diet to control weight and promote overall well-being.
- Learn about Probiotics and Prebiotics: While not directly affecting metabolism, they help improve gut function, potentially impacted by insufficient nutrition.
- Get Enough Sleep: Metabolism slows due to overall fatigue and the body going into emergency mode. A solid eight-hour sleep from 11:00 PM to 7:00 AM can counteract this.
- Build Muscle: Though internal organs constitute 7% of total body mass, they use up to 80% of the body's energy. Increasing muscle mass can boost energy consumption without lengthy gym sessions.