Take Charge of Your Health - Maintaining A Healthy Metabolism
The downside of aging is a slower metabolism and achy joints.
The upside is a knowledge of self that prevents one from behaving like a baboon.
-Dov Davidoff
Metabolism refers to the chemical reactions in the body that transform the food you eat and what you drink into energy that enables your body to function. You can also think of metabolism as the rate at which you burn calories. Even when you’re not moving or exercising, your body uses energy to perform basic functions such as breathing, digestion, keeping your heart beating, and repairing cells. This is called your resting (or basal) metabolic rate and it is influenced by heredity, your age, gender, and weight.
The more muscle mass you have, the faster your metabolism. Around age 30, our metabolism naturally begins to slow down and fewer calories are needed to keep our bodies running. Generally speaking, women tend to have slower metabolisms than men, and since they often weigh less, they require less energy and therefore fewer calories to fuel their bodies. Most people who talk about their “high or low metabolism” are trying to find ways to increase their metabolism and burn fat more quickly in order to reduce their weight.
Effective ways to help boost your metabolism and manage your weight include:
Practice consistency - Eat your meals on a consistent schedule; do not eat too much or go for long periods without eating. Eating erratically signals the body to burn calories more slowly and conserve fat. Cutting your calories too much can actually make your metabolism slow down. Generally speaking women require between 1,600 and 2,400 calories a day and men need between 2,000 and 3,000. However, these ranges are impacted by your level of physical exercise.
Workout – Your level of physical activity determines how many calories you burn. Exercise and, in particular, lifting weights help build lean muscle which has a higher metabolic rate than fat; your body has to use more energy and therefore more calories to maintain muscle. High intensity interval training (HIIT) with quick and intense busts of activity is highly effective in ramping up your fat burning capability.
Protein – Including more protein-rich foods in your diet can also help preserve your muscle mass; as examples lean and white meat, seafood, eggs, and legumes. Your body takes more time to break down protein than fat or carbohydrates, so you will be nourished longer and also feel full for longer periods of time.
Load up on B vitamins - B vitamins in foods such as bananas, potatoes, eggs, oranges, peanut butter, peas, spinach, broccoli, and whole-grain foods are essential to metabolism. They help metabolize carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, and use the stored energy found in these foods as stored energy.
Drink water - Staying hydrated is important for optimal metabolism. Drinking eight glasses of water a day aids in digestion. Coffee can also rev up your metabolism in addition to speeding up your central nervous system. Just one eight-ounce cup of coffee can boost your resting metabolic rate between 3 - 11%. Not a coffee drinker? Try green tea for the same benefits.
Get plenty of sleep – Sleep ensures that the hormones that make you feel hungry or full remain well balanced. This can help prevent overeating. Research shows that people who get seven hours of sleep each night gain more benefit in terms of weight management or weight loss than those who sleep five or fewer hours a night.
Reduce stress – Research suggests that when we are stressed, our metabolism dips. Stress affects the hormone levels which regulate appetite and may also affect the proteins in our body which are needed to break down fat. Try meditation or take a mindfulness class to de-stress.
If you wish to see long lasting changes to your metabolism, you will need to commit yourself to long term and consistent diet, exercise, sleep, and lifestyle programs.