Metabolism:10 Effective Ways To Boost It For Weight Loss

Metabolism:

Metabolism is a key factor when you want to lose weight.

So it is described as a process, where the body breaks down the eaten food and transforms it into energy.

The speed at which our body performs metabolism is known as metabolic rate. So it is the rate at which our body burns calories.

Metabolism and 4 main categories of metabolic rate:

1. Basal metabolic rate (BMR):

The metabolic rate needed to perform the basic life-sustaining functions is known as BMR.

BMR is the calorie needs of the body when the body is completely at rest, or bedridden. ( For more details refer the  article on BMR)

2. Resting metabolic rate (RMR):

Resting metabolic rate (RMR) is slightly different from BMR.

RMR includes your BMR plus calories burned while eating food and doing light in-house activities.

This may include moving in the house, going to the bathroom, etc.

3. Thermic effect of food:

The number of calories burned by the body in processing and digesting food is known as the thermic effect of food.

4.Thermic effect of exercise:

The number of calories your body burns due to exercise.

How does a fast metabolism help you lose weight faster?

The Process varies from person to person. Those with slow metabolism tends to burn low calories.

So the leftover calories are stored in the body as fat.

Therefore slow metabolism, is a big hindrance to losing weight.

On the contrary peoples with fast metabolism burns calories at a faster rate. Therefore they are less likely to accumulate fat in their body.

Reasons for discrepancies in metabolism:

The process varies from one person to another person due to multiple reasons.

1. Genetic reason and metabolism:

The Process is partly genetic and outside the person’s control. Some people are lucky that they inherited the genes that promote a faster metabolism.

So they can eat more than others without gaining weight. But people with slow metabolism gain weight without eating much.

2.Lifestyle habits and metabolism:

 

The Process also varies from one person to another person due to different life style habits.

These habits comprise of both eating habits as well as habits related to physical activity.

Consumption of processed foods and beverages may also lead to slowing down the process

This is due to the fact that these products are high in added sugar, fat, salt, etc, and low in protein

Besides this dieting and taking very low calories also cause it to slow down.

 Living a sedentary lifestyle (little or no exercise) is also a cause of slow metabolism.

Besides this Lack of proper sleep also slow it down.

3.Medical reasons for slow metabolism:

Certain medical conditions like hypothyroidism can also slow down your metabolism.

4.Age:

Metabolism tends to slow down with age. This is mainly due to muscle loss, less activity, and the aging of internal components.

All these factors regulate your metabolic rate.

So this is the reason that people usually gain weight with age.

How to Lose weight by boosting metabolism: 10 Easy ways

1. Reduce you’re sitting time:

Studies have shown that too much sitting is bad for health.

Even if you exercise 1 hour daily but spend the rest 23 hours sitting or lying down. Your metabolism will definitely slow down.

This is because when you sit longer than 20 minutes. your body gets into a relaxed non-energy burning state.

So if you have a sitting job, break up the length of time you spend sitting on the chair.

This can be done by standing up for short periods in between.

2. Eat more protein :

Eating more protein is the master-key to success if you want to lose weight faster. This acts in multiple ways:

I. Protein increases metabolism by increasing the thermic effect of food. Protein diet boosts it by 15-30%.

Thus more calories are burned in processing and digesting the food.

II. Protein reduces appetite by reducing the level of ghrelin hormones in the body.

(More details about protein sources and appetite can be found in :

(How to reduce Hunger :10 Healthful ways)

3. Build Muscles:

Building muscles helps in boosting metabolism. So higher the number of muscles in the body, the faster will be the process.

This helps the body to lose weight by burning calories, even at rest.

Muscles can be built by the following activities :

Lifting weight: Lifting weight is the oldest and most common way of building muscles.  So this will help you in boosting metabolism.

Yoga: Although yoga might not be the quickest way to build muscles. But when performed correctly certain yoga poses help in building muscles.

Below is the list of yoga poses that helps to lose weight by boosting metabolism

• Surya Namaskar Set (12 pose)
• Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose)
• Virabhadrasana 1 (Warrior 1 Pose
• Trikonasana (Triangle Pose)
•  Sethu Bandhasana (Bridge Pose)
• Bakasana (Crow Pose)
•  Salamba Sirsasana (Headstand)

4. Select the right vegetables :

 

Broccoli has vital nutrients that help you to lose weight by boosting your metabolism. (1) (2)

It is also having antioxidants and is thus anti-aging powerhouse.

Studies have shown that broccoli also prevents mental decline associated with aging.

Apart from this cabbage and green leafy vegetables also boost the process.

Garlic is also a known metabolism booster. So it also helps you to lose weight faster.

 5. Select the right Spices:

 Mustard is the most important spice for boosting metabolism. (Study)

Studies also show that 1 teaspoon of mustard seeds (about 5 calories) can speed up the metabolism.

This increase is up to 25 percent, for several hours after taking a meal.

Ginger powder, cayenne pepper also helps to boost your metabolism and lose weight faster.

6. Eat iron-rich and zinc-rich foods:

 

Although iron and zinc play a different role in the proper functioning of the body.

But both are required for the proper functioning of the thyroid gland. (study)

1. Food sources of Iron:

  Spinach

 Beans & Lentils.

  Tofu

Whole grain

Shellfish

Iron-rich foods should be taken with sources of vitamin C for improved absorption.

2 Food sources of Zinc:

    Whole grain

    Milk products

    Nuts (cashews and almonds)

    Chickpeas

    Poultry products

Apart from assisting in the proper functioning of the thyroid gland, Zinc also reduces appetite levels.

7. Take Legumes in your meal

Legumes are also rich sources of protein and iron.

Examples are peas, lentils, peanut, chickpeas etc.

Therefore including them regularly in your meal will increase your metabolism. This helps you to lose weight faster. (study)

8    Get Proper Sleep :

Lack of proper sleep adversely affects your metabolism.

Besides this it also increases your appetite.

This is due to the increase in levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin. (1), (2)

9.Give up sugary beverages:

You should give up sugary beverages and replace them with water.

This not only reduces calorie intake but also temporarily increases metabolism.

This helps you to lose weight faster. (study)

Studies have shown that 0.5 liters of water increase RMR by 10- 30 percent for about an hour.

10. Do high-intensity workout every day:

Mixing your exercise routine with some high -intensity workout boosts up your metabolism. Thus it also helps you to lose weight faster.

Regular high-intensity workout helps you to burn calories from your body.

Besides this it also helps in increasing the metabolic rate even after you finish doing it.

Conclusion:

Metabolism plays an important role in determining body weight.

Making small changes in your lifestyle habits boosts the process to a greater extent. This helps you to lose weight without starving yourself.

But ultimately your weight loss goal will depend on creating a calorie deficit.

Therefore you have to burn more calories than your calorie intake.

So a balanced diet is also necessary along with a good metabolism to meet your weight loss goal.

 

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