If you understand your metabolism you can make better food choices. Choices about the best things to eat and at what times. You can learn how to avoid spikes and doldrums to have a metabolism that burns at a steady pace. Above all, paying heed to your metabolism is one of the keystones of good health. So, this is what you should know.
Snapshot Survey
Snapshot Survey
1. Not so Simple
Improving your metabolism isn’t as cut and dry as working out more or changing your diet. There are many external factors like hormones, thyroids and sleep patterns.
2. Don’t Compare
You shouldn’t compare your metabolism to somebody else’s just because are related or are the same weight. Everybody’s bodies are completely different.
3. Equations
There are actually several online calculators that utilize an equation to get you a pretty accurate idea of your metabolism rate, it can be as accurate as within 10% to 15%. (see #6)
4. Sleep
Outside of the working out and eating better, an underrated yet vital component of having a good metabolism is to give your body a regular sleeping pattern that it can get used to.
5. Stress
Stress can be a big factor that effects a person’s metabolism, not just because of stress eating but also because of serious hormonal changes that occur during such periods.
6. BMR
It’s always good to be aware of your BMR, or basal metabolic rate, and this pertains to the amount of calories your body burns by doing absolutely nothing at all. Try this BMR calculator calculator.net
7. TEE
TEE = total energy expended. You can use your BMR to calculate exactly how many calories you are burning per day when you add together this plus all of your work out data. Here's a calculator calculator.net to help you.
8. It Drops
Your BMR tends to begin to decrease as you get older, which is why it is a good idea to start to be more active as you age.
9. Muscles over Fat
It is true that muscles really do burn more calories than fat, as it takes more calories for a muscly body to keep going than it does for a fatty body.
10. Protein Vs. Carbs
Eating protein will help your body to build muscle mass, whilst eating fewer carbs will help your body to burn its excess fat more quickly.
11. Balanced Diet
Of course we all know that eating a healthy and balanced diet is a good way to increase your metabolism, but it has also been proven that this regime can help to reduce inflammation in the body, which will help your metabolism even further.
12. Interval/Resistance Training
After several different studies, the general consensus has come to be that interval and resistance training are the best types of workout for increasing your metabolism.
13. Coffee
It is a little known fact, but apparently drinking a cup of coffee before a workout can help you to burn more fat.
14. Protein Afterwards
Eating a protein based meal within 30 minutes of completing a workout can help to encourage further muscle growth.
15. Forget Supplements
Instead of becoming obsessed with all of the different supplements that promise to increase your metabolism, just focus on the natural act of exercise to get you where you want to be.
16. Food Diary
Commit to keeping a food diary for a month or two. You will be surprised how much you can learn about your own eating habits and what you can do to make positive changes.
17. Still No Luck?
If you have done absolutely everything to try to solve your metabolism problems with no success, then it might be time to visit a doctor to make sure that the cause isn’t anything underlying and dangerous.
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