Your metabolism refers to a series of chemical reactions in your body that turns calories you eat into fuel to keep you alive.
Your food intake accounts for 100 percent of your energy intake.
There are three ways your body burns energy each day:
-Basal metabolic rate (BMR). Energy used to keep you functioning while the body is at rest.
-Thermic effect of food(TEF). Energy used to break down food.
-Physical activity. Energy used to move your body.
Your resting metabolism (BMR) accounts for 60-80 percent of your total energy expenditure. Physical activity accounts for a tiny part of your total energy expenditure about 10-30 percent. Digesting food accounts for 10 percent.
Here are some sustainable tips to boost your metabolism without having to run a daily 10k in a waist trainer, while guzzling keto ghost pepper coffee in a fasted state.
Put On Muscle
Muscle is expensive for the body to build and keep. Individuals with more lean muscle tissue have higher resting metabolism because every pound of muscle uses more energy to sustain itself. Having 10 pounds of muscle would burn 50 more calories in day spent at rest, while 10 pounds of fat would burn 20 calories.
Eat Enough
Under-eating is as risky as overeating. Not eating enough carbs, lean proteins, and healthy fats can lead to nutritional deficiencies and can cause loss of muscle mass. Your body down-regulates by decreasing your basal metabolic rate in an attempt to conserve energy.
Eat Enough Daily Protein
Research has shown that protein is more difficult for the body to break down and digest than any other nutrient. The harder the body has to work the more energy it needs to expend. Aim to have lean protein at every meal.
Get Some Sleep
A lack of sufficient sleep can cause several metabolic challenges. Poor sleep increases the body’s sense of hunger by reducing leptin, the hormone that suppresses your appetite. In turn, it raises the levels of ghrelin, which is responsible for signaling hunger. If you chronically deprive yourself of sleep you’re likely increasing your cortisol levels, which stores fat. We all have those less-than-adequate nights of sleep but it shouldn’t be a regular nightly occurrence.
Manage Your Stressors
Research suggests that stress causes us to metabolize food more slowly. To exacerbate the problem- we tend to crave fatty, sugar filled foods when we are in a stressed out state. Being in a constant state of high stress reduces our capacity to make good choices.
We can help! Schedule an InBody Scan with a coach and we can measure your BMR, body fat percentage, and lean mass.
