Metabolism is the process in which your body converts the food and drink you consume into energy that your cells can use. Your metabolism is always at work, converting calories into energy, even while you sleep, to provide energy for normal everyday functions such as breathing, circulating your blood and adjusting hormone levels. Although your basal metabolic rate is dependent on many genetic factors, you can help boost your metabolism through certain lifestyle changes such as exercise.
The Basics
Your basal metabolic rate, or BMR, is the number of calories your body uses to carry out those basic everyday functions, and accounts for about 60 to 75 percent of the calories you burn daily. The process of digesting food, as well as physical movement and activity, account for the rest of the calories your body burns. Factors that determine what your BMR include your body size and composition, your sex and your age. You burn more calories, even at rest, if you are larger or have more muscle, as well as if you are a man, as men usually have less body fat and more muscle than women. Your BMR decreases as you age, as you start to lose lean muscle.
Strength Training
Whether you lack lean muscle mass due to aging, your sex, or lack of physical exercise, strength training can help change that, increasing your metabolism in the process. You can boost your metabolism by replacing fat with muscle, or simply by building more lean muscle mass, through strength or resistance training. Resistance training stimulates your muscles, making them stronger, thereby reducing your fat mass and increasing your muscle mass. Easy ways to do strength training include doing sets of push-ups and sit-up, leg squats, using free weights, or using resistance tubing.
Aerobic Exercise
Fartlek, or interval training, can also boost the number of calories your body burns. Interval training consists of alternating short sprints with slow jogs. For example, while on a slow jog in your neighborhood, pick out a tree or lamppost up ahead, and run as fast as you can to it. Then continue walking briskly or slowly jogging until you feel you are ready for another sprint. Interval training trains your heart and muscles to be more efficient, increasing your fitness and metabolic rate. In fact, a 2008 article by researcher C.G. Perry in "Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism" reports that high intensity aerobic interval training increases fat and carbohydrate metabolism in individuals without previous training over a period of just six weeks.
Other Methods
There are other ways to boost your metabolism in addition to working out. It is important to include certain foods in your diet. Since proteins take more calories for your body to process, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends eating 18 to 20 percent of your day's total calories in lean proteins. You should also consume fiber, which helps keep you full longer and may slightly block caloric absorption. Also, any extra movements you can make during the day cause your body to burn more calories. Try taking the stairs, parking further from your destination, and doing more activities around the house such as gardening and washing your car.
References
- MayoClinic.com: Weight Loss
- American College of Sports Medicine: Metabolism Is Modifiable With The Right Lifestyle Changes
- Today Health: 7 Ways to Boost Your Metabolism
- MayoClinic.com: Fitness
- "Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism": High-Intensity Aerobic Interval Training Increases Fat and Carbohydrate Metabolic Capacities in Human Skeletal Muscle; C.G. Perry, et al.; 2008
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