What is basal metabolism?
Your metabolism is the set of chemical reactions that help keep your body alive and functioning properly. It also determines how many calories you burn each day for energy. The faster your metabolism, the more calories you burn.
The speed of your basal metabolic rate is influenced by several key factors:
- Resting metabolic rate: How many calories per day you burn while inactive. This is the minimum amount needed to keep you alive and functioning.
- the thermic effect of food ( thermogenesis ): how many calories are burned during digestion and absorption of food. It generally represents 10% of your daily calories burned.
- sporting physical activity: the expenditure of calories burned during an effort.
- Non-exercise activity thermogenesis : How many calories are burned during simple (non-exercise) activities such as standing, moving around, washing dishes, and other household chores .
Age, height, muscle mass, and hormonal factors can also affect your basal metabolic rate.
How does metabolism affect your health?
Your metabolism is responsible, among other things, for converting nutrients from the food you eat into fuel; to provide your body with all the energy it needs to function.
However, the word "metabolism" is often used to describe your basal metabolic rate. The higher it is, the more calories you burn while resting.
How to speed up your metabolism?
To support weight management and overall health, there are several techniques that can help increase your metabolism.
In this article, we offer you a list of simple methods to increase your metabolism.
Drink plenty of water.
Staying well hydrated definitely has an impact on weight loss—particularly by promoting feelings of fullness. But some studies also show that 500 ml of water increases resting metabolism by 30% for about an hour. However, more research is needed to support this.
Eat more protein at each meal.
Consuming dietary protein is essential in a balanced diet for a healthy lifestyle in general but especially if you are looking to lose weight.
- Protein is the nutrient that most significantly increases the thermic effect of food. It requires 20–30% of its usable energy to be expended for metabolism, compared to 5–10% for carbohydrates and 0–3% for fats.
- They promote satiety.
- Also eat more protein Slows the decline in metabolism often associated with fat loss. Protein helps prevent muscle loss, a common consequence of a weight-loss program.
Drink green tea or coffee.
Studies have shown that the caffeine in coffee and theine can be a good way to temporarily boost metabolism. These drinks can also promote fat burning. So drink green tea (unsweetened is best)!
Eat spicy foods.
Certain spices can help slightly increase your basal metabolic rate, particularly through thermogenesis (increasing your body temperature). Bell peppers, for example, contain capsaicin, a compound that can boost your metabolism. However, doses would need to be too high to have a significant impact. Therefore, many people may not tolerate these spices at the required doses.
On its own, the effects of adding spices to your food may be quite small. However, it may lead to a slight benefit when combined with other metabolism-boosting strategies.
HIIT workouts.
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) involves rapid, high-intensity bursts of movement. By increasing your heart rate, this technique can help you burn more fat by boosting your metabolic rate, even after you've finished your workout.
Lifting weights.
Muscle is metabolically more active than fat. Building muscle and strength training can help increase your metabolism and burn more calories each day.
Weightlifting and bodybuilding can help you maintain muscle and counteract the drop in metabolism that can occur during weight loss.
Be more active.
Sitting too much can have negative effects on your health (back pain, posture problems and weight gain for example).
A 2018 study found that standing or walking at work was associated with lower cardiometabolic risk scores, weight, body fat, waist circumference, blood pressure, cholesterol, and insulin.
So if you have a desk job, try standing for short periods of time to compensate for the time you spend sitting. You can also try walking around during the day or investing in a standing desk.
Get enough sleep.
Lack of sleep is linked to a significant increase in the risk of obesity.
Lack of sleep has also been linked to increased blood sugar and insulin resistance, both of which are linked to a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. It has also been shown to affect levels of ghrelin, the hunger hormone, and leptin, a hormone that controls satiety (fullness).
This could explain why many people who are sleep deprived often feel hungry and may have difficulty losing weight when weight loss is their goal.
