Speeding up Metabobolism - Promotes Faster Weight Loss

Metabolism is the process of converting food to energy to sustain our body. Although genetics do influence metabolism, losing weight is not hopeless. Basically, we burn calories in three ways: the resting metabolic rate, thermogenesis, and physical activity. The resting metabolic rate is the amount of calories required to sustain our bodies at rest. It accounts for 65% to 75% of our caloric expenditure per day. Thermogenesis is the amount of calories required to process and digest food above the resting metabolism, It accounts for between 5% to 10% of the caloric expenditure per day. Last but not least, physical activity accounts for the remainder of the caloric expenditure per day.

Most nutritionists will tell you to lose weight you need to burn more calories than your body uses. A pound equals 3,500 calories. Therefore to lose one pound you need to consume 3,500 calories less than what your body needs. However, if you restrict your calories too much, it can have the opposite effect. When you restrict your calories too much, you metabolism becomes more efficient at burning calories. This is called a "starvation mode." Therefore, to lose weight, we need to cut calories, increase our metabolism, or preferably both.

Metabolism can be increased in several ways:

• Don't cut calories too much - Cutting calories too much can evoke a starvation mode. Women should have a minimum of 1,200 calories per day whereas men should have a minimum of 1,500 calories per day.
• Exercise more - Exercise increases your metabolism for several hours afterwards. How many calories you burn are dependant upon the intensity and duration of exercise.
• High intensity exercise may be better at boosting metabolism than low intensity exercise. Not only does high intensity exercise burn more calories in less time, you contine to burn more calories at faster rate afterwards. According to research, when comparing the high intensity group and the low intensity group, the high intensity group burned calories at twice the rate for one hour after exercise. Even several hours after exercise, they continued to burn calories 25% faster.
• Build more muscle through strength training - Muscle burns more calories than fat. A pound of muscle burns 6 calories per day whereas a pound of fat only burns two. Albeit, this may not seem like much, but every little bit helps, and it can add up over time. Consequently, this may be a reason why we tend to gain more weight as we age. As we age, we tend to lose muscle. In our 30s and 40s, we lose between 3% to 5% of our total muscle mass each decade. By the time we reach 50, we lose between 1% to 2% of our total muscle mass per year.
• Eat more protien - Some foods have more of a thermogenic effect than others. The thermogenic effect is the amount energy above the basal metabolism it takes to process food. The thermogenic effect of protien is 30% whereas the thermogenic effect of fibrous vegetables and fat is 20% and 3% respectively. In some cases, food contains negative calories. A negative calorie food burns up more energy than it provides the body with. When your body needs energy, it burns carbohydrates first followed by fat and finally protient. Excess carbohydrates and fat are stored as fat.
• Drink green tea without cream and sugar - Research has shown that drinking 2 to 4 cups of tea may burn 50 extra calores per day.
• Drink black coffee without cream or sugar - One study showed that a 145 pound women burned 50 extra calories over four hours from drinking two cups of caffinated coffee.
• Restrict low calorie diets - Although most generally you need to reduce your calorie intake to lose weight, low caloric diets can have the opposite effect. If you reduce your calories too low, your body goes into a starvation mode. Rather than burning fat, the body will break down muscles to provide protien. Less muscle means less calories are burned. Research has shown when the body loses muscle combined with a low calorie diet, the metabolism may decrease by as much as 45%. Unfortunately, when you resume your normal eating, the body will replace the lost muscle with fat.
• Don't skip breakfast - After going through the night without eating, if you skip breakfast, your body goes into starvation mode. It will become even more efficient at conserving calories, and your metabolism will slow down. Furthermore, research has shown that skipping breakfast causes more snacking and craving high calorie foods later in the day.
• Eat smaller, more frequent meals - Reduced meal frequency has several negative affects. Firt, it can cause your body to go into starvation mode. Every time your body goes into starvation mode, your metabolism decreases. Secondly, your blood sugar levels can drop and insulin levels rise. When your insulin levels spike, it can trigger hormones that cause your body to store fat. Try to eat a small meal every 3 to 4 hours.
• Adequate water intake - One study showed that drinking approximately a pint of water raises your metabolism briefly for 30 minutes. It is recommended adults drink 8 cups or 8 ounce glasses of water per day. However, if you're overweight, you should drink even more. If you're overweight, you should increase your water intake 8 ounces for every extra 25 pounds you are above the normal weight. It may also be better to drink cold water rather than warm water. Cold water is absorbed more quickly by the body, and there is also some evidence that cold water helps to burn fat.
• Get enough sleep - Adults require 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night. If you get less that the optimal amount of sleep, it can affect metabolism adversely. The lack of sleep affects metabolism in the same way reduced meal frequency does. It can increase blood sugar levels, metabolism decreases, and it triggers hormones that cause the storage of fat.
• Eat more spicy foods - Studies have shown a meal containing a spicy food can raise your metabolism approximately 8%. Furthermore, spicy foods may help you feel fuller. However, if you suffer from heartburn or ulcers, you may want to forgo this suggestion.

When it comes to losing weight, it appears metabolism is just as important if not important than dieting. Although some factors in metabolism are uncontrollable, you can compensate for those by living a healthy lifestyle.  By following the forementioned suggestions, you can speed up your metabolism, trim away the unwanted pounds, and become more healthy. Take charge of your life, and jumpstart your metabolism today!