How to Speed Up Metabolism and Lose Weight for Good
How to Speed Up Your Metabolism: A Guide to Maintaining a Healthy Metabolism
Learn everything you need to know to control your metabolism.
What is Metabolism?
Every cell in your body needs energy to function, whether it's delivering nutrients to your brain, pumping oxygen from your lungs to your muscles, or producing white blood cells that fight infection deep in your bone marrow. This energy comes from the calories in the food you eat. Metabolism is the system in your body that converts these calories into energy.
Many factors influence the individual metabolism of each person. One of the most important roles is played by genetics. We are born with an internal speedometer that regulates our basal metabolic rate (BMR), which is the speed at which your body uses energy when you are at rest. BMR accounts for about 60% of all the energy that an average person expends in a day. The rest of the energy goes to digestion, physical activity, even minimal activities such as taking a shower, chopping vegetables, or scrolling through your Instagram feed.
Scientists still can't agree on what really affects human metabolism. However, even if the metabolism level is determined primarily by genetics, it is not fixed and can be changed. Moreover, it is constantly changing, throughout the day, year, and periods of life
What Hinders Proper Metabolism and How Metabolism Changes with Age
According to researchers, BMR slows down by 2-3% every decade of life lived, starting at age 20. Changes in body composition are a key factor for changes in metabolism. With age, muscle mass decreases. Women, on average, lose 10-15% of their muscle mass between the ages of 20 and 50, and this decline accelerates thereafter, according to research from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Metabolism slows down when we are sedentary and prefer inactivity to activity. Inactivity is the main cause of muscle loss. Muscles left to their own devices are replaced by fat. From a metabolic standpoint, muscles burn fat in the body much faster than fat tissue does. Muscles burn calories, while fat stores them.
With age, the body requires less energy. A recent study at a Canadian university, which involved over 800 adults, found that older women had a lower BMR than younger women. Researchers suggested that the decrease may be related to a decrease in the metabolic demand of organs such as the heart, liver, brain, and kidneys, caused by a decrease in cellular mass of the organs.
Hormonal changes also lead to a slowdown in metabolism. Metabolism can also be slowed by natural changes in hormone levels, such as estrogen and testosterone. Changes associated with menopause can lead to an increase in the percentage of body fat and a general slowdown in metabolism.
How to Improve Metabolism: Diet and Exercise
It is possible to maintain metabolism in top shape at any age and with any genetic starting points. The secret is to stay active and apply mindfulness lifestyle strategies: stick to a schedule, get enough sleep, and eat a healthy diet.
Get regular exercise
Exercise sounds daunting and even scary for many. In fact, it's enough to simply perform regular exercises that are right for you. When you walk, run, or lift weights, you increase the energy demands placed on the body by internal organs. Activity increases metabolism for several hours after you have finished it. Every load, even minimal, matters for metabolism. In addition to the 30 minutes of daily exercise recommended by all health organizations, make small changes to your daily routine and habits. For example, park farther from work to walk more. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. And if you live in a private home or have a dacha near the city, make it a habit to work in the garden outdoors. This will not only help to accelerate metabolism, but also have a positive impact on the psychological state. According to researchers at the Mayo Clinic, even minor changes in daily activity can increase your metabolism by 20-25%.
Lift weights, if there are no contraindications due to health
Strength training helps to compensate for age-related muscle loss. During exercise, muscle tissue is stressed; after that, molecular activity is restored, which increases metabolism. A woman who trains three times a week for six months can build muscle mass enough to burn an additional 10 to 32 calories per day. For maximum metabolic effect, focus on exercises that engage large muscle groups, such as squats and lunges for the legs, exercises for the back muscles.
Practice portion control
Controlling food portions helps to control the excess energy that enters the body - calories. Buy food scales and a measuring cup to really understand what a healthy portion is. You can use your hand to measure portions. For example, in a healthy diet, a clenched fist equals a serving of fruit, a palm cupped equals a serving of cereal or grains, two cupped handfuls equal a serving of leafy green vegetables such as spinach or mixed salad, and an open palm equals a serving of meat.
Eat less, but more often
Some experts recommend eating small meals frequently throughout the day: five or six small meals per day. Intermittent fasting helps to normalize blood sugar levels. Avoid spikes in blood sugar levels, as happens when we eat three times a day with large intervals. You can use various online services to determine the correct calorie intake for your age, gender, and size. However, we recommend consulting a dietitian. After examination and weighing on special scales, the specialist will be able to determine the individual calorie intake for your body. Then you can break down the required daily calories from three usual meals into five smaller portions. For example, a woman who needs 1800 calories per day will aim for five meals containing approximately 350 calories each.
Eat more protein foods
Protein intake is a proven way to boost metabolism. The thermic effect of food is the amount of calories that your body burns in the process of digesting food. Approximately 10-15% of the calories you consume are used to process the foods you eat. Although protein contains the same number of calories per gram as carbohydrates, researchers at Harvard University found that the thermic effect per gram of protein is 20% higher than that of a gram of carbohydrates. Therefore, frequent consumption of protein foods increases the speed of metabolism during protein digestion. The body spends more energy on its processing.
Get enough sleep and rest
Metabolism works around the clock. Researchers at Columbia University in New York City found that people who slept 6 or fewer hours per night were 23% more likely to be overweight than those who slept 7 to 9 hours. This may be due to two hormones - leptin, which suppresses appetite, and ghrelin, which, on the contrary, increases appetite and participates in the regulation of body weight. Lack of sleep lowers leptin levels and raises ghrelin levels. Stick to a sleep schedule. Try to get at least 8 hours of sleep per night.
Laugh and do more things that bring you joy
Laughter can slightly boost metabolism. It turns out that 10 to 15 minutes of laughter a day can increase the body's energy expenditure. In one recent study, scientists placed subjects in a "metabolic chamber" (a small room where heat output is measured to calculate a person's metabolic rate) and showed them funny video clips. Scientists found that the subjects' metabolic rate increased by 10-40 calories. This is a small increase, but every calorie counts for a healthy metabolism.
Tone up your metabolism: phased acceleration of metabolism
Below is a diet plan from Hayley Pomroy, a renowned nutritionist and health consultant with an academic background in animal science.
The diet claims that eating certain foods at certain times speeds up metabolism, leading to weight loss.
Phase 1 (Monday-Tuesday)
This phase relieves stress and convinces your body that it is no longer trying to store fat.
During these two days, you should eat high-glycemic, high-carb foods with moderate amounts of protein. Fats should be avoided.
This should reduce stress and anxiety, prepare your body for weight loss, and stimulate the adrenal glands to produce less of the stress hormone cortisol.
You can eat fruits with a high glycemic index, such as pears, mangoes, pineapples, and melons, as well as whole-grain products with a high carbohydrate content, such as oatmeal, brown rice, and brown rice pasta.
This phase also suggests foods rich in vitamins B and C, such as lean beef, lentils, oranges, turkey, and kiwi. It is believed that they stimulate the thyroid gland to more efficiently burn fat, protein, and carbohydrates and turn sugar into energy, rather than storing it as fat.
Phase 2 (Wednesday-Thursday)
During this phase, fat stores begin to burn and muscle mass begins to build. For two days, the diet should be high in protein, low-carb vegetables, and low in fat.
You need to eat foods high in protein that help build muscle: beef, turkey, fish and chicken.
This phase also includes vegetables: white cabbage, broccoli, spinach, cucumbers and lettuce. These vegetables alkalize and presumably lower the acidity of your blood, stimulating the liver to release fat cells. Cabbage, and similar vegetables, deliver enzymes and phytonutrients to your body that are needed to break down protein-rich foods.
It is recommended that during the second stage of the diet to connect sports, namely strength training with dumbbells.
Phase 3 (Friday through Sunday)
This phase is designed to accelerate metabolism and burn fat. During these three days, it is recommended to add plenty of healthy fats and snacks while consuming moderate amounts of protein and carbohydrates.
Foods during this phase include olive or grapeseed oil, eggs, nuts, seeds, coconut, avocado and olives.
Foods such as seaweed, coconut oil, shrimp and lobster should also be included as the diet claims that they stimulate the metabolism by activating the thyroid gland.
At this stage of the diet, relaxing activities are recommended. For example, yoga, meditation or massage. This will reduce the level of stress hormones.
We emphasize your attention that all recommendations in the article are presented for introductory purposes. For the best results and safety for your health, before choosing a particular diet or sport, consult a doctor and undergo the necessary examinations.
Have a fast metabolism.