Increase Your Metabolism: Metabolism Part Three

If only there were a safe AND easy way to quickly increase your metabolism. Trust me, there isn’t. The number of calories you burn at rest to keep the cells, tissues, and organs of your body working properly is fairly consistent and cannot be easily changed.

What Does Affect Metabolism?

Your metabolism is determined by many factors over which you have no control. (See: It Must Be My Metabolism: Part One).

Your thyroid gland, on the other hand, can have a significant impact on your metabolism if it is not functioning properly. A healthy thyroid gland will produce the necessary amounts of hormones to keep your body’s metabolism working at a rate that is neither too fast nor too slow.

An overactive thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism) makes more thyroid hormones than your body needs. This can speed up your heart rate and calorie burn but it is not good for your health. Far more common is an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism). An underactive thyroid can slow your metabolism and make you gain weight. More than 12 million Americans have thyroid disease and many of these individuals don’t even realize it. (Harvard Health Publications, 2009).

If you believe you might have a problem with the functioning of your thyroid gland do check with your medical doctor. A simple blood test may or may not pinpoint a problem with the thyroid. If you have been told that your thyroid is fine but you are not convinced then by all means ask for further testing or go get a second opinion.

Yo yo dieting or very low calorie diets may reduce metabolic rate by as much as 5-10%. This problem typically has an easy fix. Metabolism usually returns to normal quite quickly when a woman resumes eating enough calories to maintain a healthy body weight.

Metabolism Slows With Age

Metabolic rate can slow about 2 to 5% each decade after age 40. This slow down is the result of a couple of factors.

Certain organelles within your cells called mitochondria slow down with age. Often called the “powerhouses of the cell”, mitochondria are responsible for making high energy compounds to fuel metabolic processes. Muscle cells have a high-energy need and therefore each muscle cell has more mitochondria than other cells. (MSN Health and Fitness 2009)

In addition, there tends to be a gradual loss in overall muscle tissue with aging. Muscle tissue is metabolically more active than other cells especially fat cells because the muscle cells have more mitochondria. The loss in muscle tissue over time can be lessened by staying active and by doing strength training exercises.

Weight Loss Supplements and Metabolism

The marketers of certain weight loss supplements would like you to believe that it is easy to boost your metabolism and burn extra calories each day with little or no effort on your part. Unfortunately these supplements often contain compounds that speed up your metabolism by making your heart work harder and beat faster. This can cause insomnia, heart palpitations, anxiety, and elevated blood pressure.

I believe weight loss supplements to be a poor choice even if you were to succeed in losing a few pounds without hurting your health. Unless you change your habits you will more likely than not put the weight back on quite quickly.

If you would like to read more about the potential risks of weight loss supplements you may want to read a previous article of mine: Are Weight Loss Supplements Worth the Risk?

Safe Ways to Increase Your Metabolism

Exercise

Regular exercise such as swimming, walking, biking, and dancing at a slow to moderate pace will raise your metabolism and calorie burn while you are active. This level of exertion may also boost your metabolism for a short period afterward. However, the increase in resting metabolic rate is greatest and lasts the longest for those who engage in exercise of a high intensity. (Mayo Clinic Health Letter 2010)

The only sure way you can safely increase your metabolism all the time (24/7) whether you are engaged in physical activity or not is to increase your muscle mass. You can build muscle tissue with weight lifting or with resistance training.

Muscle tissue burns more calories than fat even when you are resting. Each pound of muscle in your body will burn approximately 15-16 calories a day or a little more than 100 a week. A pound of fat only burns 2 calories a day, about 14 calories in a week. That’s a big difference and the reason why men have an advantage over women when it comes to weight management. Men typically have more muscle tissue than women.

Eat Often.

Small, frequent meals give your metabolism a slight boost. Eating any food increases metabolism because of the energy needed to digest and absorb the food. This is called the thermic effect of food. Protein provides a greater thermic effect than fat or carbohydrates. However, the overall affect or metabolic boost of food is minimal, only 10% or so of your total calorie needs each day.

Begin your day with breakfast and continue with low calorie meals and snacks spaced out throughout the day. If you go without eating for a prolonged period of time your metabolism may begin to slow down to conserve energy.

Eat Balanced Nutritious Meals and Snacks

Nutritionally balanced diets make a difference. Your body needs food from different sources to provide the energy, nutrients, and other chemical compounds it needs to keep your metabolism running smoothly.

Your metabolism cannot run smoothly if it is missing an entire food group. Each food group provides a good source of a different set of nutrients than the other food groups. By eliminating or greatly reducing any one of the food groups such as carbohydrates, you will unnecessarily put yourself at risk for a deficiency of certain nutrients. Choose a balanced intake instead. Your body will thank you for that. (See: 1200 Calorie Diet Plan and 1500 Calorie Diet Plan to learn more about what you need from each food group.)

Need ideas on how to eat balanced and nutritious low calorie meals and snacks more often? See:

Best Healthy Breakfasts for Weight Loss: Part One

300 Calorie Mini Meals: Eat Less But Often

28 Healthy Low Calorie Snack Foods to Go

Increasing metabolism with Specific Food

Certain food or food ingredients such as spices, black pepper, ginger, and green tea may speed up your metabolism. However, the effect is very small. I would encourage you to enjoy seasonings and tea for the other benefits they offer. Spices, black pepper, and ginger add flavor to the food you prepare with only a negligible amount of calories. They can also reduce your dependence on salt. Both spices and green tea provide many healthful antioxidants.

I hope you’ve found this article on how to increase your metabolism to be helpful. Having a healthy metabolism can be influenced by the food you eat and the lifestyle you choose. Eating nutritionally balanced meals and snacks and making a conscious decision to be more active makes a difference!

For parts one and two of this series on metabolism:

It Must Be My Metabolism: Metabolism Part One

How Many Calories Per Day Do I Need: Metabolism Part Two

Till next time, watch those calories and eat healthy food!