Metabolism is the amount of calories your body burns to keep all the body's cells alive. This is usually described as resting metabolic rate or RMR -- and it can provide a baseline of calorie consumption when trying to lose weight. Metabolism can be affected by the way you lead your life. Diet and exercise habits influence your body weight, composition, risk of disease and metabolism. A healthy lifestyle begins with positive health related choices. Below are ways to boost your metabolism.
Lean Body Mass
According to the National Strength and Conditioning Association, resistance training can help decrease fat mass and increase lean body mass. Since lean body mass takes more energy to maintain, any increase will also increase metabolic rate. Cardio exercise helps decrease fat mass by using it as energy for exercise. When you exercise at a sustainable intensity, your body uses fat to provide energy for the work. With regular cardio exercise, these fat stores become smaller. When your fat stores decrease, your lean body mass increases.
Post-Exercise Calorie Consumption
After any bout of exercise, the body faces an oxygen debt during recovery, explains George Brooks, Thomas Fahey and Kenneth Baldwin in their book "Exercise Physiology." After exercise, the bodies metabolic rate is increased for a period of time due to the energy used to perform the exercise. The amount of time and extra energy used during recovery is dependent on two factors: duration and intensity of the exercise. These two factors are directly related to the increase in metabolism after exercise.
Healthy Eating
According to the Mayo Clinic, a healthy diet consists of lean proteins, lean dairy, complex carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables. Eating a nutritious diet can decrease fat mass. Similarly, eating often enough can keep the metabolism going throughout the day. When the body is faced with a food deficit, metabolism becomes more efficient or slows down. Eating small meals spaced throughout the day keeps the body digesting and the metabolism going.
References
- ""Essentials of Strength and Conditioning"; National Strength and Conditioning Assciation; Thomas Baechle, Roger Earle, editors; 2000
- "Exercise Physiology"; Brooks, George A., Fahey, Thomas D., Baldwin, Kenneth M.; 2005
- The Mayo Clinic
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