While you may have inherited a slow metabolism, you can change it. Research indicates that you can change how your body burns calories.
Even older people can elevate their metabolism and effectively lose weight. The following information will inspire you to do the same.
1. Get in the Habit of Eating Regularly
If you want to kick-start your metabolism or keep it elevated, you need to follow a regular eating schedule. In fact, every time you eat, you rev up your metabolism.
Eating boosts the metabolism for about three hours after a meal so the food and nutrients can be digested and absorbed. You don’t want to skip a meal, as the body goes into starvation mode. In turn, the metabolism slows.
Therefore, to keep your metabolism fueled, you need to space out your meals during the day. By taking this approach, more calories will be burned through digestion. However, that does not mean you can mindlessly munch on snacks.
If you’re not cognizant of what you eat, you can put on extra weight. Eating regularly means following a healthy meal plan and keeping your calories in check. Even an elevated metabolism cannot burn the extra calories you may consume if you get into the habit of munching.
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2. Start Eating Your Food Thoroughly and Slowly
When you eat quickly and do not chew your food, but swallow it almost whole, it can affect nutrient absorption and slow the rate of calories burned.
For example, research indicates that people who eat a meal in about ten minutes burn around 30 calories. By comparison, when the same meal is eaten for about 40 minutes, about 80 calories are burned.
When you slow down your eating, you give your brain a chance to receive the “I’m full” directive from the abdomen, which also helps make you feel satisfied for a longer period. Besides, when you eat slower, you will consume fewer calories.
Why should you rush through your meal?
Instead, give each meal your full attention. Sit in an area free of distraction when you eat. That means eliminating any use of a smartphone, TV, or computer during a meal or snack.
3. Do Not Follow a Crash Diet Plan
Crash diets are just as they sound – a dietary accident. When you crash diet, your metabolism slows in response. Therefore, you burn calories much more slowly.
That is why crash dieting is typically not advised.
When you severely cut your supply of food, you not only break down fat but muscles. When you break down muscles, you naturally slow the metabolic rate as well as the calories burned.
After a crash diet, when you return to regular eating, you also piles on the pounds at a faster rate. Your slower metabolism is making you store fat instead of using it as an energy source.
Therefore, it’s better to follow a low-carb high-fat diet plan – one that nutritionally reduces a person’s calorie intake and allows for regular exercise.
By taking this approach, you will get rid of excess fat and strengthen your muscles at the same time.
4. Stop Depending Solely on Fat-Burning Foods
While certain foods, such as chilies, are known for their fat-burning qualities, or the amount of fuel required to digest food, they should not solely be relied upon when dieting.
However, you can rely on supplementation to increase fat burning or thermogenesis. Products, such as the substance phentermine, are formulated to rev up fat burning while following a regular eating plan.
The supplements (such as PhenQ and Phen24) can be used to support calorie burning and weight loss. That way, you will not eat certain “fat-burning” foods in excess. You can just follow a routine diet plan.
Include protein-rich foods, such as fish, lean meat, poultry, and eggs, at each of your meals. If you follow this approach, you can lose weight with more satisfactory results.
5. Build Up Your Muscle and Increase Your Aerobic Capacity
Increasing your metabolism is easy when you regularly practice muscle-building exercises.
These exercises can be supported with aerobic activities, such as running, brisk walking, or cycling.
Moreover, aerobic exercise triggers an after-burn – one where the body continues to burn calories for several hours.
Exercise experts suggest strength training for building lean muscle and enhancing the metabolic rate.
The more muscle you possess, the higher your BMR, or basal metabolic rate. The BMR represents the minimum amount of energy you need to maintain physical functioning.
Backing Up Your Efforts by Determining Your BMR
Indeed, knowing your BMR is crucial to losing weight. Therefore, to lose weight, you should lower your caloric intake below your daily caloric requirement. This is determined by knowing your BMR and level of activity.[1]
For example, if you reduce your calorie intake by 500 calories per day, you should be able to lose a pound each week.
You can adapt your exercises accordingly.
Again, the BRM is the number of calories or fuel a body needs to function at rest for 24 hours. While you cannot automatically alter your BMR, knowing the number and how it is determined can help you develop a faster metabolism and a weight loss plan.
You can use calculators online that will quickly reveal your BMR or the number of calories you burn while resting. Therefore, the BMR enables you to see the number of calories you will burn if you do nothing at all for 24 hours.
A BMR will not show the number of calories burned from daily exercises or activities.
Equations Used in Determining the BMR
While the Harris-Benedict equation method is typically used to calculate the BMR, it is better to use a calculator that uses the Mifflin-St. Jeor equations for projecting the rate.
When you insert information for your BMR online, you will need to include your current weight, your height, your age, and sex. The calculator will then determine your BMR score.
For example, if your current weight is 130 pounds, your height is 5 foot 5 inches, your age is 30, and you are a female, you BMR is 1,311. If you are ten years older, the BMR is 1,261.
Therefore, generally, as you age, the BMR figure tends to decrease, which explains why weight loss can be difficult for older people. You just do not burn as many calories as you age.
That’s why you can boost your weight loss and speed up your metabolism by knowing how to use your BMR. The BMR will assist you in finding out how much fuel is needed to perform life-sustaining functions. These functions include digestion, breathing, circulation, and brain activity.
Using your LBM to Calculate Your BRM
While the BMR is calculated, as noted, using different formulas, these equations may not be adequate if you fall outside the average expectations for gender or age.
For example, if you are heavily involved in sports, or are an athlete, the BRM number you calculate online may not be entirely accurate.
If you are an exception to average expectations, you can also use your lean body mass number to calculate your BMR. You can figure this out using the J.J. Cunningham equation. [2]
By taking this approach, you will realize two advantages:
- The amount you receive will not give you the average number expected of your gender or age group.
- As you increase your lean body mass (LBM), your daily caloric needs will likewise increase, which the Cunningham equation takes into account.
Making TDEE Calculations
Once you have determined your BMR, you are ready to make some further calculations.
Because the BMR does not take into account the fuel you need for regular daily activities, you will need to convert your BMR number to your total daily energy expenditure, or TDEE.
You do this by multiplying the BMR by your estimated energy level. The conversions are as follows:
- Sedentary (little or no exercise, such as a desk job) – The TDEE is your BMR x 1.2
- Lightly active (light exercise 1 to 3 times weekly) – The TDEE is your BMR x 1.375
- Moderate activity (exercise 3 to 5 times weekly) – The TDEE is your BMR x 1.55
- Very active (exercise 6 to 7 times weekly) – The TDEE is your BMR x 1.725
- Extremely ten (heavy exercise and physical job) – The TDEE is your BMR x 1.9
Therefore, to lose weight and speed up the metabolism, you must think about reducing fat and gaining a lean body mass (LBM).
Consequently, you have two goals to realize when you are changing the composition of your body and speeding up your metabolism. In turn, your diet must be designed to help you reduce fat and gain LBM. That means your diet and exercise plans should not conflict with each other.
As a result, any number of calories that is less than your TDEE number will lead to weight loss.
Therefore, based on this premise, the safest way to reduce fat and calories is to reduce your caloric intake by about 200 to 300 calories per day. Be consistent in your approach.
To begin the process, eliminate any high-calorie treats, such as chocolate, chips, soda, or alcohol. This simple step alone may be enough for you to speed up your metabolism and lose weight.
If you do not eat much in processed foods but still need to make cuts, it is better to get rid of the carbs over the proteins. Carbs can be eaten as long as they include vegetables or one or two fruits per day.
Use your BMR and TDEE to implement the above tips and boost your metabolism – a practice that will lead to a healthier and more dependable loss of weight.
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