Your metabolic rate is the ‘setting’ at which your body burns energy (calories); it’s the complex way in which your body uses the energy it needs for the basic process of living or physical activity. The question is, can you crank up the setting and make your body burn calories faster? The short answer is yes! But you have to work at it...
My metabolism is so slow!
If you’re carrying excess weight, a slow metabolism isn’t necessarily responsible. In fact, research shows that people who are overweight actually use more energy than leaner counterparts simply because larger bodies need more energy to function, just as a bigger car uses more fuel to run than a smaller one. But, after taking differences of body size into account, both bigger people and leaner people tend to have similar metabolic rates.
When you lose weight, your metabolism and energy needs change, too. When, for example, you have 5kg less of you to carry around, your body doesn't have to work as hard as it did before. This is why The Club constantly recalculates how many calories you need to keep losing weight as your weight changes.
Your metabolism is very individual to you and is influenced by lots of factors such as:
- your sex (men generally burn more calories at rest than women because they have a higher muscle to fat ratio)
- your body muscle (the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolic rate tends to be)
- your genetics – yes, your metabolism is affected by your genes, but this is just one factor.
Your age also affects your metabolic rate, Club Dietitian Clare Collins says, "As you get older, your metabolic rate slows down. This happens for a number of reasons. The amount of musle tissue you have decreases and muscle tissue is the most metabolically active body tissue. Your total daily calorie needs fall by 5% per decade. So, if you needed 2.000 calories daily to maintain your weight when you were 30, you will only need around 1900 calories when you are 40. And, while this doesn't sound like much of a difference, unles you cut your usual daily intake, you could expect to gain up to around 5kg per year."
Really, really watch what you eat!
An important factor is ‘energy in’ and ‘energy out.’ Lots of research suggests that people tend to underestimate calories consumed and overestimate calories burned. This, rather than a sluggish metabolism, say scientists, is most likely to be the cause of weight gain or the reason why weight loss can be difficult. So, if you’re finding losing weight a slow process, use the online diary to write down absolutely everything you eat and drink and the exercise you do, too. Weigh the food for at least the first week or so and every so often to check yourself if you really want to be 100% accurate about the calories you are taking in and the calories you’re burning.
Replace fat with muscle
You can speed up your metabolism, be fitter, change shape, look and feel better and have more energy by increasing your body muscle. According to Dr Pamela Peeke, from the University of Maryland, US, muscle burns up to five times more energy than fat; half a kilo of muscle burns 35 to 50 calories a day while half a kilo of fat burns just five to 10.
Even if you haven't been active for a while, regular exercise can make your muscles (including your heart muscle) stronger and fitter. Aerobic activities, like aerobic classes, running, jogging, swimming and fast walking help to tone your muscles and burn fat. And, regular strength or resistance training builds the amount of muscle in your body using more calories and boosting your metabolism. Aim for around 30-60 minutes daily.
It all helps!
But it’s not just formal exercise that’s important. Dr James Levine from the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, US, writing in the journal Science, reported that non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) can be as important as formal exercise where calorie burning is concerned. In other words, it’s the little movements you make throughout the day that really add up.
In the study, Dr Levine and colleagues found that heavier people tended to be seated for around two and a half hours each day more than their lean counterparts, equivalent to around 350 fewer calories burned each day. Over time, this can amount to a whopping 15 kilos gained in a year! So, try to walk to work all or part of the way, enjoy a stroll with your dog, take the stairs instead of the lift, walk over to talk with colleagues, don’t ask someone to go for your skinny cappuccino – go yourself! And, generally move around more.
Eat breakfast
To breakfast is to literally break an overnight fast. A good breakfast should help to keep you satisfied and focused until it is time for the next meal or snack. So, you won’t be as tempted to reach for unhealthy snacks or overdo it at your next meal and your body’s metabolism will be kept ticking over.
Don’t starve
Don’t be tempted to starve yourself to shift the kilos fast. Over time, eating very few calories may make losing weight and keeping it off harder. That’s because when you fast or don’t eat for many hours, your metabolism slows down to compensate for the lack of food; your body will want to hoard calories and generally become more efficient at making the most of the calories it does get from food and drinks. This won’t make much difference if it happens occasionally, but if you regularly crash diet/fast and don’t exercise, you’ll slow your metabolism as your body breaks down lean muscle for energy. In the long run, you’ll find it harder to lose weight. So, don’t go below 1,200 calories a day if you're dieting without medical supervision. Stick to your daily calorie target and fitness plan and you will lose weight and you will look and feel better!
Do some snacking
Researchers from Georgia State University reporting at the 2005 annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine found that athletes who snacked three times a day burned more energy than when they didn't snack plus they ate less at their three daily meals, too. The combination of a higher metabolic rate plus eating fewer calories led to a reduction in body fat.
So, the message is clear – enjoy regular, delicious, healthy snacks to help keep your blood glucose levels steady, help you stay focussed and less likely to raid the kitchen when the hunger gets too much. Another bonus is that every time you eat, your body burns extra calories simply to digest the food you’ve eaten so your metabolism stays revved up.
Drink lots of water
As with every body function, from heart rate to digestion as well as the rate at which you burn energy water is a must so, sip water throughout the day. Sip water with meals, too, to help slow you down when you eat a meal and help you feel fuller, too.
Protein
Research shows that eating a protein-based diet helps you feel satisfied; it also reduces hunger pangs so that you eat less. Good choices include low-fat protein foods like fish, tofu, lean meats, free range poultry and low-fat dairy products.
Get some sleep!
Sleeping well could also help you stay slim according to researchers from the Western Reserve University in Ohio, US. The scientists studied 70,000 women and found that those who slept for five hours or less each night were a third more likely to gain weight compared with those who slept well; lighter sleepers were 15% more likely to become obese compared with women who slept for an average of seven hours each night.
Scientists suggest that sleep deprivation might alter the balance of hormones which control the rate at which calories are burned. Or, it could simply be that people who sleep less are more tired during the day, so they’re less active.
Pop a pill to boost your metabolism?
Adverts for pills, potions and supplements that claim to speed up metabolism and burn fat are everywhere, yet most claims aren’t proven. Some products contain stimulants like nicotine and caffeine which can have a small effect. But, the health benefits can be cancelled out by side effects like a racing heart, raised blood pressure and more. Others can be prescribed by your doctor to kick start your weight loss journey. But, the cold, hard truth is that long term, there is no substitute to enjoying a varied diet – there’s no magic pill to burn off the weight; the only burn you'll feel is in your wallet!
And the rest...
Red hot chilli peppers
Although not backed by extensive research, some people swear by chilli. Hots spices are thought to boost metabolism by increasing heart rate. So, if you enjoy it, spice up your life!
Green tea
This refreshing drink packed with protective antioxidants can boost metabolism – in a small way. Scientists from the University of Geneva, Switzerland, found that substances in green tea called catechin polyphenols boosted metabolic rate by raising thermogenesis, that rate at which calories are burned. The rise is modest, though, so enjoy green tea as a refreshing drink, but don’t expect the kilos to melt away as you sip!
Go icy!
Drinking calorie free ice cold water means your body uses calories to warm it to body temperature. But in the grand scheme of things, this isn’t a huge amount and won’t make a huge difference.