Despite all the attention paid to metabolism and its role in weight loss, most people already have healthy metabolism, according to MayoClinic.com. The main causes of weight gain are eating too many calories and not getting enough exercise. A few factors may impede your metabolism, but there are ways for you to boost it and lose more weight.
What is Metabolism?
Metabolism refers to the process your body goes through to convert food and beverages into energy to use during activity or to carry out functions in the body. Metabolism is primarily determined by factors such as your sex, genetics, age and body composition, explains MayoClinic.com.
Aerobic Exercise
Physical activity is another factor that influences metabolism. Exercising or playing sports uses more calories than when your body is at rest. As MayoClinic.com points out, people who are thought to have high metabolism are most likely just more active than other people. Even moderate-intensity aerobic activity such as brisk walking or cycling at less than 10 miles per hour can boost your metabolism. The Weight-Control Information Network recommends engaging in moderate-intensity aerobic activity for 300 minutes a week or 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity five days a week.
Strength Training
Men naturally have higher metabolism than women because they have more muscle mass, which burns more calories than fat. Also, aging causes you to lose muscle, which slows down your metabolism. Weight training, such as lifting weights or performing weight-bearing exercises, offsets muscle loss that may occur as a result of aging. Do strength-training exercises at least two days a week.
Healthy Calorie Intake
Crash dieting slows down your metabolism and undermines your efforts to lose weight. Your metabolism adapts to the amount of calories you consume; the fewer you eat, the slower your metabolism will be. To boost or maintain your metabolism, you should consume well-balanced meals and healthy snacks. According to MedlinePlus.com, in general, women should consume no fewer than 1,200 calories and men should consume at least 1,500 for healthy weight loss.
Safety
Seek advice from your doctor before taking any supplement marketed to boost metabolism and promote weight loss. Nonprescription weight loss products do not go through a rigorous review process by the Food and Drug Administration and may cause dangerous side effects.
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