Ways To Increase Metabolism

As a person grows older, the metabolic rate slows down. That’s why older people tend to gain more weight as compared to children and adolescents. Even though adults take in fewer calories, they still gain weight.

Q: So why is our metabolism slowing?

A: Children are still developing physically, so they require more food to be converted to energy for their body. The adult has achieved its optimum state of development. That’s why it requires fewer caloric and protein intake for development. Thus, if a person consumes more calories than needed by their body, there is the likelihood of becoming overweight.

Ways To Boost Your Metabolism

Thinking of strategies to boost your metabolism would be wise to lead a healthy lifestyle. Here are three strategies you can use to fire up that metabolic rate:

• Exercise: During exercise, calories are burnt and improved circulation occurs. Exercise burns stored fat and increases muscle density. Your metabolism will rise to compensate for the demand in energy.

• Eating Right And On Time: Eating on time is another way to boost your metabolism. Metabolism is at its peak in the morning and decreases throughout the day. You should always eat a full breakfast because skipping meals may increase your hunger pangs and may slow down your metabolism. Choosing the right food is essential. Choose a complete meal that contains protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals.

• Hydrate Yourself: Our body is composed of 70% water. Water is an important component for the cells’ survival. The body uses energy when drinking cold water. The cold temperature activates the body to generate heat and maintain the body’s core temperature. That’s why, if you drink a litre of cold water, you can burn around 40 calories. But this doesn’t mean that you should make it a habit to drink excessive amount of water just to lose weight.

• 500 +/- Calories - To lose weight, simply consume 500 calories less or use 500 calories more than your daily recommened calorie intake.

• Avoid Low Calorie Diets - A low calorie diet slows the body's metabolism, making it more difficult to lose weight and keep it off. Hence the failure rate of most diets on the market.

• Increase Muscle - Muscle is a metabolically active tissue. The more muscle you have, the greater the energy your body consumes even if just sitting around. Most diets will cause a reduction in muscle mass, hence a drop in calorie requirements. After your diet, you have less muscle, return to normal eating and bingo! You gain weight again.

To live a healthier life, try to boost your metabolism. Don’t let aging slow you down. Always maintain activities like walking, jogging, as well as eating the right kind of foods. In doing so, you will always feel good and strong.

Here's to good health! :-)