Your metabolism is not a static process. It is constantly changing in response to a number of factors, including your weight, diet and activity level. The foods you eat and when you choose to eat them can also change your metabolism, for better or worse. Movement is another means by which your metabolism can be increased, but it takes significant amounts of increased movement to yield notable differences.
Metabolism Function
Your metabolism is the body's processing of food into energy and other usable resources. Metabolism occurs in all living things, and the efficiency of your body's metabolism can factor into how well you burn calories and how well you process nutrients and put them to good use in the body. A person with slow metabolism will have less need for calories than one with high metabolisms. Analyzing and adjusting your body's metabolism is sometimes used as a weight loss tactic.
Role of Movement
Movement requires calories to be burned. Your body is always using calories, even when you are sitting or asleep, but movement increases the need of these calories and causes your body to burn more in a day. By increasing movement, you increase your metabolism. Activity is one of the primary influences on your body's metabolism, and while any movement can make marginal gains, effective changes to your metabolism are best achieved by increasing physical activity.
Effects of Exercise
Hundreds of calories can be burned in a single workout session. This increase in calorie use also creates a need for several hundred more calories in order to sustain this workload while maintaining your weight. The increased processing of calories triggers your metabolic processes into action and increase metabolism. Regular exercise also increases your body's muscle mass, which helps to keep your metabolic rate high -- fat, by contrast, slows the metabolism down.
Considerations
Although increasing your body's metabolism can yield some improvements to your overall weight, you are likely to see better results by making lifestyle changes, including exercising regularly and eating right. Your metabolism will also be improved through a consistent and healthy diet and making healthy choices such as eating breakfast in the morning.
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