Understanding Metabolism: How to Increase Your Metabolic Rate

Understanding Metabolism: How to Increase Your Metabolic Rate
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and a weight that you feel comfortable with is not as simple as counting calories eaten and spent. Our metabolism plays an important role in weight control and this is often difficult to balance.

Metabolism varies from person to person and is largely determined by factors such as genetics, hormones, activity level, gender, muscle mass and general health status. Understanding how to make your metabolism work in your favor is the first step towards a healthier and happier lifestyle.

Metabolism, raising the curtain
Metabolism is how the body converts calories (kilocalories, to be more technical) of what you consume in energy. Healthy eating choices, regular exercise, sleep and stress levels are some of the things that can affect your body's ability to convert calories into energy.

Your total energy expenditure is a combination of the following:

BMR - Your Basal Metabolic Rate

TEA - Thermal effect of physical activity (TEE)

TEF - Thermal effect of food

NEAT - Thermogenesis of non-exercise activities

Let's go deeper. Hold on, it will only be a little science. (I.e.Understanding Metabolism,
Basal metabolic rate (BMR)
The number of calories your body burns at rest is called the basal metabolic rate (BMR). Your BMR is responsible for up to 70% of the calories you burn daily. Your body needs this energy for all of its automatic functions, such as breathing, blood circulation, adjusting hormone levels, and cell growth and repair.

Factors that affect your BMR include:

Size and composition: Even at rest, people who are taller or taller burn more calories than someone younger. This is because the body has to work harder to circulate blood throughout the body.

Muscle Composition: Muscle tissue burns more calories than adipose tissue, even when you are at rest. Studies show that 10 pounds of muscle can burn 50 calories in a day, while 10 pounds of fat burn only 20 calories.

Age: Aging is often associated with loss of muscle mass (called sarcopenia). The less muscle you have, the fewer calories you will need. However, keep in mind that this process can be delayed with exercise and an adequate diet of protein.

Gender: Men are more likely to have a higher BMR than women because they tend to have a higher percentage of muscle mass versus body fat (which women need for estrogen production).

Diet History: If you have dieting or tried a calorie restrictive diet in the past, your metabolism may have been affected. When the calorie count drops a lot, you can run the risk of malnutrition and increase the chances of weight gain with rebound effect

Thermal effect of physical activity (ASD)
The thermal effect of physical activity is the energy you expend with exercise, such as Tabata. It can be as low as 10% in sedentary individuals, and as high as 100% in Olympic athletes. It is calculated based on how active you are in your daily life and also on the amount of exercise you develop.

Thermal effect of food (TEF)
The way a food is digested can have an impact on how much your body has to work to digest it. This is called thermogenesis. A balanced diet of protein, carbohydrates and fat results in a daily energy expenditure of 5-15%, with higher values   for foods containing protein and fiber.

Thermogenesis of activities without exercise (NEAT)
Thermogenesis of activities without exercise is the energy expended for activities not related to exercise, including work, play or games and a dance night. It also includes small movements such as typing, restlessness and trembling in the legs. This is responsible for 10 to 50% of your total energy expenditure.

5 Ways to Boost Your Metabolism
As already mentioned, the metabolic rate of each is different, but it is possible to increase or optimize its. You can do this by incorporating physical activity and healthy eating habits into your lifestyle. Here are some of our tips and recommendations:

Exercise: Exercise gives a boost in your metabolism with each workout you complete. It also increases your BMR by increasing the percentage of muscle mass. Another benefit of exercise related to metabolism is the stimulus to the post-combustion effect, called excess post-exercise oxygen consumption.

Increase Whole Foods: Balanced and whole foods, which focus on protein and fiber, can help increase the thermal effect of food. Processed foods lack the nutrition to keep your metabolism functioning in the best possible way.

Eat regularly and have a smart snack: Give your body enough energy for the workouts, so the body does not need to burn its muscles as fuel.

Fill your water bottle: Keeping well hydrated also boosts your metabolism, so drink plenty of water every day. Add a little flavor to keep the habit interesting.

Rest: lack of sleep can cause metabolic dysregulation including a decrease in how much your body uses glucose. Hormonal changes, including leptin, ghrelin and cortisol, influence hunger and metabolism.


Learn to understand your body
Keeping track of your meals and workouts can help make you aware of your daily and weekly patterns, helping you make the necessary changes to fuel your energy (metabolism). With some time, patience and proper accompaniment, you will learn to understand your body and work with it.