Expert advice that will teach you how to increase your metabolism
Everyone throws the word metabolism around in a variety of different medical situations; and most of us think we know what it is and how our bodies are affected. There are some key pieces of information that we must take into consideration and one of them is that your metabolism is greatly affected by the intake (or lack of) of nutrients.
The word metabolism actually refers to quite a few biomechanical bodily reactions that happen within the human body cells. These reactions keep everything functioning and also help in the general maintenance of the body. The main core purpose of the metabolism is to synthesize substances (or break them down) and produce energy. Each person’s metabolism regulates the efficiency of the processes. In some cases, an individual’s body may have difficulty and we usually refer to that as a slow metabolism. Other people have no problems at all. Their bodies use the calories that are taken in, break them down and process quickly into energy.
Metabolic speed is dependent on three topics: the amount of calories you take into your body, the amount of calories you burn and your genetic makeup. Exercise and a high level of activity will increase the body’s energy need and keeps the metabolism at a higher level of activity to compensate for that need. The metabolic speed does typically decrease with age, but that is usually blamed on the fact that the older individual isn’t involved in the intense exercise of the younger years. Another key thing to remember is that the body fat vs. muscle ratio in your body can affect the metabolism. Muscles need more energy ergo burn higher calories and they do raise the metabolic rate.
We all know that diet can affect the metabolism. The consumption of a high level of fatty foods or those without any nutrition can add calories and fat to the body. However, on the other side of the topic, restricting caloric intake can throw the metabolism completely off by thinking it is in a survival situation. In that mode, the body stores as much of the excess calories as possible and turns it into fat.
Metabolic support can be helped by supplements. The entire B vitamin family (B1, 2, 3, pantothenic acid, B6 & 12, folic acid and biotin) are some of the best vitamins to help in the metabolic process. CoQ10 and magnesium help the body to break down food into energy. Multivitamins are the best way to ensure that you get all of your ‘B’s” as well as the other vitamins that you need.
If you are considering adding a multivitamin to your dietary regiment, do your research. The best vitamin selections will be found at your local health store. Not all supplements are alike – so talk to the store representative for recommendations. The label that is on the container will also inform you of each vitamin content as well as where it is manufactured.
Always consult with your physician or dietician before making any major changes to your dietary regiment.
The information supplied in this article is not to be considered as medical advice and is for educational purposes only.
Has all of your green tea drinking been in vain?
Drink green tea. Build more muscle. Eat chili peppers. The list of ways you can increase your metabolic rate are endless.
But when it comes to reaching your weight-loss goals, how much of a difference do those tactics really make? Not as much as any weight-loss warrior would like, says Tim Church, M.D., M.P.H, Ph.D., professor of preventative medicine at Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University.
That’s because your metabolism largely comes down to two factors: your genetics and your size. If your mom and dad had slow metabolisms, you probably will, too. There’s not much you can do to change that, says Church.
Meanwhile, the larger you are, the faster your metabolism actually is. “Someone who is morbidly obese burns an enormous amount of calories every day,” says Church. On the flip side, the smaller you are, the slower your metabolism is. After all, it takes less fuel (i.e., calories) to run a tiny person than it does to run a large person. It’s a cruel twist for any woman trying to lose weight and get in shape.
Still, while you can’t exchange your metabolism for that of a much luckier woman, a few calories here and a few calories there do add up. For instance, research shows that drinking two to four cups of green tea per day may raise your metabolism by 50 calories per day. That’s a lot of tea and not a ton of calories, but, hey, that equals a good five pounds lost in a single year.
Meanwhile, in study published in The American Journal of Clinical, people who consumed capsinoids (compounds in chili peppers) every day for 12 weeks didn’t enjoy a significant increase in resting metabolism, but their rates of fat oxidation and their levels of belly fat did decrease. And according to research from the University of Utah, for every three percent of your body weight in water you lose (for example, if you weigh 140 pounds and lose 4.2 pounds of water weight), your resting metabolism drops by two percent. Again, not huge, but it makes a difference over the long term.
What’s more, exercise, or more specifically, strength training, can help support a healthy metabolism. After all, pound per pound, muscle burns more calories than fat. However, the difference might not be as big as you think: four calories, to be precise. A pound of fat burns two calories per day, and a pound of fat burns six. To put that into perspective, losing two pounds of fat and replacing it with two pounds of muscle will increase your resting metabolic rate by only eight calories per day.
However, the biggest calorie-burning benefit of exercise isn’t muscle—it’s getting moving. “The key to burning more calories is always going to be more active,” says Church. “In the end, weight loss comes down to pure hard work. People don’t like to hear it, but it’s true.”
Metabolism is a process in which food is converted to energy. The rate of metabolism depends on various factors like genes, age and body weight. One of the best techniques to boost metabolism is exercise. Metabolism boosting exercises are attaining popularity due to its role in assisting weight loss. If you really want to lose your weight, then you must increase your metabolism rate. Experts suggest that with some effective health tips, you can increase your metabolism rate.
Increasing metabolism is very important for all those who are aiming at weight loss. According to science, metabolism is a chemical process that needs energy. Men tend to have faster metabolism rate due to more muscle mass and heavier bones than women.
Many people suggest that there are certain foods and drinks that will increase metabolism. But, there is no proof or evidence for this. Metabolism boosting exercises are considered as the best option.
If you are more active, you will have a faster metabolism process. This will help you get a healthy and toned body with less effort. Firing up your metabolism is no more a difficult task. Here, we can have a discussion on some of the easy metabolism boosting exercises.
Cycling:
Cycling will help to increase metabolism. It is an effective method to utilize energy. It burns extra calories by boosting metabolism effectively. This will help to lose weight in a healthy manner.
Walking:
Walking for minimum half an hour daily will help to increase metabolism. As we grow older, the metabolism becomes slow. Walking is a good booster of metabolism.
Swimming:
One of the best known ways to increase metabolism is swimming. Swimming requires more calories and it involves most of the muscles in the action. It is the easiest metabolism boosting exercise.
Jogging:
Another technique to develop or fasten your metabolism is jogging or running. When you run or jog for around 45 minutes a day, you can burn out enough calories. Along with this, you can increase the metabolism of your body.
Going to gym regularly and doing some work outs are also effective ways to increase metabolism. This will also help to strengthen the muscle. An expert instructor can design your workout plan to make it the best.
Dancing:
Dancing is another form of activity that helps to increase metabolism. There are different forms of dance that enhance your metabolism.
If you are concerned about your increasing weight and want to shed the extra pounds you can do so by speeding up your metabolism. If your metabolic rate is high you can burn your calories and in the process lose more weight.
You may be surprised to know that if you keep your metabolism high you will lose your weight even while you sleep. It is your metabolism that decides the amount of fat you burn and the speed with which you burn your calories.
Given below are some guidelines on how to speed up your metabolism.
Eating foods high in protein will help you to speed up your metabolism. According to evidences, approximately 25% of calories in protein rich foods can be burnt. Include some carbs and a smaller portion of good fats in your diet.
Another factor that can help you in speeding up your metabolism is the inclusion of spices in your daily diet. You must spice up your meals because spices such as chilli are believed to boost metabolism by about 50% for about 3 hours after the consumption of meals. Spices and peppers increase your heart beat and thus speed up your metabolic rate.
Keep the portion of your meal small and eat often. The basic idea behind doing so is that about 10% of the calories you eat are spent towards digestion and absorption of the foods you eat. Hence, eating smaller meals 6 times a day will enable you to burn more calories.
Apart from providing you several other benefits, green tea also speeds up your metabolism significantly. Green tea is loaded with antioxidants, which boosts your metabolism. For best results you should drink at least 4 cups of green tea every day.
Another simple way to speed up your metabolism is to drink cold water. If you drink at least 8 glasses of iced cold water per day your body will have to work harder in order to warm up the cold water resulting in burning more calories.
Increasing your body muscle by getting physically active will aid in speeding up your metabolism. For best result you should do a combination of resistance training and aerobic. Exercising in the morning on empty stomach for about half an hour is more effective in speeding up your metabolism.
Taking CLA supplements and having a sauna are also helpful in speeding up your metabolism.