Posted by Maria Dimitrova

Read this if: You want to be better prepared with valuable knowledge in your strategy to lose weight and maintain a good figure

Gain: Boost your metabolism in a natural way without the dangerous side effects of drugs claiming to speed the burning fat process

Cost: Only perseverance

The more we understand how our bodies function, the more we can influence our health, fitness and body weight positively. And yet, knowledge is not enough. We need to apply it in practice. We detail below what studies and fitness experts say about the connection between metabolism and body weight and consider these pieces of advice in your everyday life.

The connection between metabolism and body weight

Metabolism is the process by which some of the nutrients we consume are transformed into energy to sustain all body functions and our activities. Some of them are combined (synthesized) to help build new cells.

This determines the amount of calories our bodies need daily. About 70% of those calories are used for basic functions, such as breathing and blood circulation, says Rochelle Goldsmith, director of the Exercise Physiology Lab at Columbia University Medical Center. An additional 20% is fuel for physical activity, including working out, fidgeting, walking and even holding our bodies upright while standing. The remaining 10% helps us digest what we eat. Weight gain occurs when you consume more calories than your body needs to do these things because they are stored in the form of fat.

The factors determining the metabolic rate

• Genetics
• Age  - after age 40, metabolism tends to drop about 5% each decade
• Gender – men tend to burn more calories than women
• Height – taller people tend to have a higher metabolism than shorter individuals
• Environment – temperature extremes can also influence the metabolic rate. Winter athletes burn more calories by exercising in cold temperatures.
• Activity – the more you move, the higher your metabolic rate
• Food – some foods are considered metabolic boosters
• Sufficient sleep

We can’t influence the first five factors but we can do a lot regarding the last three – food, sleep and activity. [ed. Some people with weight gain cannot lose weight no matter what they do. Dieting usually stops these people in their tracks. This is probably a Thyroid problem. Check out Hypothyroidism]

Activity

• Interval training

According to Michele Olson, a Fitness advisory board member and professor of exercise science at Auburn University at Montgomery in Alabama, aerobic intervals will help you maximize your burn, doubling the number of calories you use during a workout. Studies show that intervals also keep your metabolic rate higher than a steady-pace workout does for as long as an hour after you stop exercising. The ideal metabolism-boosting interval routine is to do exercises/cardio at a high rate for a couple of minutes, then take it down to an easier pace for a minute or two, and keep alternating like that throughout your workout.

An Australian study also found that women who did intervals while they were biking lost three times as much fat as those who worked out at a steady pace. If you’re a walker, simply walk at your normal pace for 1 to 2 minutes, then speed-walk for 30 to 60 seconds. Repeat the sequence 10 to 15 times. If you are a runner, make sure to include sprints.

Another study made by researchers from the University of North Carolina tested the effects of 45-min of vigorous cycling on 24-h energy expenditure in a metabolic chamber (Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2011 Feb 8. A 45-Minute Vigorous Exercise Bout Increases Metabolic Rate for 14 Hours). The results showed that the 45-min exercise bout resulted in net energy expenditure of 519±60.9 kcal and for 14-h post-exercise, energy expenditure was increased 190±71.4 kcal.

• Strength training

A head-to-toe strength routine will spike your calorie-blasting quotient. Michele Olson says that if you add five pounds of muscle to your body and you can zap as many as 600 calories an hour during your workout. Be sure to choose a weight-lifting routine that targets your core, legs, arms, chest and shoulders. Challenging numerous muscles will help your body function like a calorie-burning machine.

Personal fitness trainer Kelli Calabrese notes that every pound of muscle in our bodies burns 35 calories a day, while each pound of fat burns just 2 calories per day. She also points out that while 30 minutes of aerobic exercise may burn more calories than 30 minutes of weight training, in the hours following the cessation of exercise, the weight training has a longer-lasting effect on boosting metabolism.

The results of a study (Timothy Heden, Curt Lox, Paul Rose, Steven Reid and Erik P. Kirk.  European Journal of Applied Physiology. Volume 111, Number 3, 477-484) that was made to compare the energy expenditure of one set of resistance training to that of three sets, showed that the resting energy expenditure ( your metabolic rate when you are not doing any physical activity) was elevated post workout by approximately 5% ( 100 Calories a day) in both cases. This means that even if you have only 15 minutes to do strength training, you’ll have the same beneficial effects for boosting your metabolism as in the case when you train about 35 minutes to complete 3 sets of exercises. The conclusion: lack of time is no more an excuse to skip training.

• Non-exercise physical activity

Anything is better than nothing. This principle applies in the mechanism of how metabolism works. Sitting too much at the computer, at work, at home in front of the TV slows your metabolism, even if you’re exercising regularly. An easy fix is to stretch, stroll and fidget throughout the day. According to Dr. James Levine, professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and author of Move a Little, Lose a Lot, non-exercise activity can boost your burn and help you drop weight.

In a study of lean volunteers who were fed extra calories, those who paced frequently, maintained their weight, while the people who did no additional walking got chubbier. If you take advantage of every opportunity to walk and climb stairs, it can make a big difference. The director of the Exercise Physiology Lab at Columbia University Medical Center says “A woman who needs to lose weight would have to burn about 190 to 200 extra calories a day to lose 10% of her body weight, which you can do by increasing your overall activity level. Try striding around your house or office when you’re on the phone, standing up at your desk whenever you can and walking to your co-worker’s cube instead of e-mailing her.”

Food, spices and drinks

Although there are arguments between fitness and nutrition experts regarding the effectiveness of some of the following ways to boost metabolism, numerous specialists believe in and recommend:

• Eat smaller portions 4-6 times a day

Molly Kimball, RD, sports and lifestyle nutritionist at the Oscher’s Clinic’s Elmwood Fitness Center, explains: “When you put too many hours between meals, your metabolism actually slows down to compensate”. Her opinion is confirmed by the results of  study that was presented at the 2005 annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine.

Researchers from Georgia State University reported that when athletes ate snacks totaling about 250 calories each, three times a day, they had greater energy output than when they didn’t snack. The study also found that snacking helped the athletes eat less at each of their three regular meals. The final result was a higher metabolic rate, a lower caloric intake, and reduction in body fat.

Jim White, a national spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association says that missing a meal, or going too long between meals, brings your metabolism to a crawl. Your body switches into starvation mode and your system slows down to conserve energy. You’ll keep your engine humming by having three healthy meals of 300 to 400 calories and two snacks of 200 to 300 calories every day.

Many people say in Internet discussions that eating more than 3 times a day feels unnatural to them and they have to force themselves to do it. If you are one of them and you definitely rule out the frequent snacking, then the best thing you can do is not allow your body to suffer hunger. Don’t ignore the hunger signals of your stomach with the excuse that you have no time to eat.

• Do not miss breakfast

Your body needs it to kick up metabolism in the morning after having spent many hours without food.

• Eat healthy meals and snacks and avoid junk food

Choosing the right foods to eat is even more important than the frequency of meals.

High-fiber fruits and veggies and whole-grain breads and pastas and protein. Eat more of these foods as they slowly release the sugar you need for sustained energy. A study at the University of Nottingham in England found out that eating food high in fiber three hours before your workout and will help you burn extra fat.

Foods containing Omega 3 fat acids – fish, walnuts, flax seeds, etc. They promote weight loss by increasing your feelings of fullness, according to a recent study in the journal Appetite.

Add spices like cinnamon, black pepper, mustard seeds, ginger and red pepper to your meals. According to the U.S. Agricultural Research Service, cinnamon is one spice that increases your metabolism twentyfold — and all you have to ingest is a mere 1/4 to 1 tsp per day.

Molly Kimbal says that some studies have shown that pepper and very spicy foods can increase metabolism by about 20% for about 30 minutes, but no one really knows if the extra burn lasts any longer than that.

• Drink a lot of water

It’s necessary for the proper functioning of metabolism processes. Although you may see some sources giving advice to drink ice-cold beverages to boost metabolism, you should restrain yourself from this as you are very likely to harm the membranes in your throat and get infections.

Another piece of information that you should consider with great caution is that caffeine increases the metabolic rate, as excess consumption of caffeine (which is individual) might cause negative effects like increased heart rate and many others. See the evils of caffeine.

Sufficient sleep

In a 16-year study of sleep-deprived women published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, researchers found that those who slept seven to eight hours a night had the lowest risk for major weight gain, while women who got six hours a night were 12% more likely to pile on a significant number of pounds, and those who logged five hours or less were 32% more likely to gain weight.

If you have a problem with insomnia, learn how to solve it without drugs here.

Finally, you need to consider the following important fact about metabolism. The sports and lifestyle nutritionist Molly Kimball says that the extra weight causes a body to work harder just to sustain itself at rest, so in most instances, the metabolism is always running a bit faster when someone is overweight. Any small cut in calories will result in an immediate loss. It’s harder to maintain the reduced weight as the body will need fewer calories to sustain itself, and a cut in food intake is required.

Another nutrition specialist Yanagisawa gives an example to make this fact clearer: “If two people both weigh 250 pounds, and one got there by dieting down from 350 and the other one was always at 250, the one who got there by cutting calories is going to have a slower metabolism. That means they will require fewer calories to maintain their weight than the person who never went beyond 250 pounds.”

Most people who diet put the weight straight back on once the diet is over. This is why once you have managed to reduce your weight by putting into practice the advice above, you should make your new way of eating and exercising a constant regimen to maintain your healthy weight and enjoy the fruits of your efforts permanently.