Your body burns energy no matter whether you are eating, sleeping or simply being, and the rate at which it uses energy is called the metabolic rate.
It’s a common misconception that overweight people have a sluggish metabolism and therefore find it harder to shed unwanted kilos than slimmer people.
But, in fact, the opposite is true. Research has found that people who are overweight actually burn up more energy than their leaner counterparts, simply because a larger body needs more energy to function, just as a bigger car uses more fuel than a smaller one.
So, if you’re carrying excess weight, you can’t blame a slow metabolism. Being overweight is the result of consuming more calories than you burn.
What determines my metabolism?
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Gender. Men tend to have less body fat and more muscle mass than women of the same age. The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolic rate, because muscle is an active, energy-using tissue, while fat is an inert, storage material.
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Age. As you age your metabolism will slow down. The Biggest Loser Club dietitian, Clare Collins, explains: “The amount of muscle tissue you have decreases with age and, because muscle tissue is the most metabolically active body tissue you have, your total daily calorie needs fall by around five percent per decade. So, if you needed 2,000 calories daily to maintain your weight when you were 30, you’ll only need around 1,900 calories when you are 40. This may not sound like much of a difference but, unless you cut your usual daily intake, you could expect to gain around 5kg per year.”
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Weight. When you lose weight, your metabolism and energy needs change. So, for example, if there is 5kg less of you to carry around, your body won't have to work as hard as it did before. This is why The Club constantly recalculates the number of calories you need, so that you can keep on losing weight as your weight changes.
Can I burn calories faster?
The short answer is: yes! There are things you can do to boost your metabolic rate and churn through those calories faster. The good news is, many of them are simple things too.
Workout intensity
The more intensely you exercise, the higher your metabolism climbs during your workout. This means that afterwards your heart rate will be higher and you'll burn more calories.
Interval training is an effective way to raise your heart rate. It involves alternating short bursts of intense aerobic activity with moderately-paced exercise and recovery time. Working out this way means that your body continues to burn calories at a higher level for more than an hour after you finish.
A Canadian study found that interval training helped women burn 36 per cent more fat during their workouts compared with less prolonged and less intense sessions. Aerobic activities include aerobic classes, running, jogging, swimming and brisk walking.
Make more muscle
You can speed up your metabolism by building muscle. According to Dr Pamela Peeke, from the University of Maryland in the USA, muscle burns up to five times more energy than fat, so half a kilo of muscle burns 35 to 50 calories a day, while half a kilo of fat burns just five to 10. The more muscle you have, the more calories you’ll burn.
The average woman can replace a kilo of fat with the same amount of muscle in just two months by lifting weights twice a week, research suggests. “That increases metabolism by six to eight per cent and this translates to burning around 100 extra calories a day,” US fitness researcher Dr Wayne Westcott said. Aim for two 30-minute weight-training sessions a week.
Eat often
Instead of concentrating all your calories into one or two meals a day, you can boost your metabolism by spreading your eating over the whole day. English researchers found that women who divided their usual calorie intake into six mini-meals had a small, but notable, metabolic boost compared to those who ate less regularly.
Researchers from Georgia State University found similar results. They showed that athletes burned more energy when they ate snacks three times a day, compared to when they didn't snack. Plus, they ate less at their three daily meals. The combination of a higher metabolic rate and eating fewer calories led to reduced body fat.
What not to do
Whatever you do, don’t starve yourself to try and shift the kilos fast. Over time, eating too little can make it harder to lose weight and keep it off. When you fast or don’t eat for many hours, your metabolism slows down to compensate for the lack of food and breaks down lean muscle for energy. Don’t eat fewer than 1,200 calories a day without medical supervision.