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SPEED UP METABOLISM

Increasing the speed of our metabolism is probably one of the easiest ways to lose weight naturally.

Speeding up the metabolism creates some benefits that will maintain weight loss progress.

• less exercise would be needed - giving you more time

• less effort if you do exercise

• less chance of weight regain after dieting

• still enjoy some favorite foods

• less time spent preparing healthy low fat meals

• save money from not buying all the expensive low fat varieties

Factors that affect speed of metabolism

1. BODY SIZE:

Size of the body has a major influence on the speed of metabolism. A naturally big body means more cells to maintain which requires more calories, therefore larger people tend to have a high metabolism.

2. WEIGHT GAIN

Extra weight also helps speed up metabolism as each movement requires the contraction of more muscle cells to move the mass, even if much of the extra weight gained is fat it still requires more effort to move, however fat is not metabolically active so metabolism speed will only be higher during movement.

3. BODY COMPOSITION:

Body composition or proportion of weight determines the speed of metabolism. Body composition is the difference between total lean weight compared to fat weight. A higher percentage of lean body weight results in a high metabolic rate compared with individuals of the same weight with a higher fat percentage, think of a body builder compared to a Sumo wrestler!

Just to clear any confusion!!!!!

An overweight person weighing the same as an athlete can burn almost the same amount of calories during exercise, however, the leaner person burns many more calories at rest because lean body weight is much more metabolically active than fat weight. Problems are exaggerated if an overweight person leads a sedentary life, turning down a chance to speed up metabolism naturally!

Another interesting point is that the athlete would be a smaller person (not height) as muscle occupies less space due to its higher density compared to fat, fat takes up more room!

4. SEX:

Men naturally have a higher degree of lean muscle and research suggests this is mainly due to the male sex hormones resulting in the difference in body size and composition.

5. AGE:

Age affects the metabolism for both men and women. After 30 years of age there is usually a gradual decline in lean body weight and an increase in fat weight although this is mainly due to hormonal changes. This will lead to a lowering of the metabolism.

A decline in our metabolic rate can also be attributed to a gradual change in lifestyle which is one thing we can control. It is interesting to note that regular exercise in adulthood will slow the rate at which lean weight is lost and help keep metabolism optimal.

Exercise and Aging (video) by Larry Golding is available here!