9 Top Tips for Maximising your Metabolism

In my last three articles I revisited the topic of boosting your metabolism discussing the effect that both food and exercise can have.  I explained that metabolism generally refers to the number of calories your body burns in a day.  It is influenced by three main things:
- Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) (the number of calories you burn performing the basic functions that keep you alive).
- Your level of Physical Activity.
- The Thermic Effect of Foods that you Eat (the number of calories it takes to digest and absorb the foods you eat).

Today I would like to bring all this information together and give you nine top tips for maximising your metabolism.

1) EAT HIGH FIBRE CARBOHYDRATES:- High fibre carbohydrates are harder to digest than simple carbohydrates and therefore have a greater thermic effect.  On top of this foods that are high in fibre are generally lower in calories (because fibre itself contains zero calories), help suppress your appetite and provide you with many more fantastic benefits.  High fibre foods include fruits, vegetables and wholemeal products so where possible make sure your dietary carbohydrates come from these sources.  Not only will they help you burn slightly more calories but they will also make it easier for you to lose weight.  However, you need to make sure that you do not go overboard on the fibre.  Excessive fibre consumption has been linked with wind, diarrhea, constipation and more.

2) EAT VITAMIN RICH FOODS:- Your body relies on vitamins and minerals to perform a number of essential functions.  If you become deficient in any of the thirteen vitamins you may not be able to perform some of these functions properly which can have a negative impact on your BMR.  There are lots of vitamin rich foods including fruits, vegetables, eggs, liver and nuts.  To maximise your metabolism you need to make sure you are getting the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for all your vitamins from the foods you eat.  It will keep your BMR at its optimal level and also promote good overall health.  However, like with fibre you need to make sure you don’t overdose.  Getting too many vitamins has a number of adverse effects including cell and organ damage.

3) DRINK LOTS OF WATER:- If your body is not properly hydrated it may not be able to perform certain vital functions.  This can lead to a reduction in your BMR.  Therefore, you need to make sure you are drinking enough water to maximise your metabolism.  I find that keeping a water bottle at your desk and topping it up regularly plus making an effort to drink extra water whilst exercising helps me stay hydrated throughout the day.

4) MAKE SURE YOU ARE GETTING ENOUGH PROTEIN:- Most people’s diets are rich in fats and carbohydrates but contain very little protein.  However, protein is a very important macronutrient that is essential for the growth and repair of your body’s cells.  It also has a greater thermic effect than fats and carbohydrates with research suggesting that 25% of the calories in protein are burned during digestion and absorption.  Therefore, you can give your metabolism a boost by making protein a richer part of your diet.  However, you need to make sure that you are not consuming too much.  Overdosing on protein can place stress on a number of vital organs including your kidneys.

5) ADD SOME SPICE TO YOUR DIET:- Spicy foods can temporarily increase your BMR.  For starters they increase your body’s temperature for a short period after consumption meaning that you will burn more calories as your body attempts to regulate this temperature.  Secondly, spices such as cayenne are thought to have thermogenic properties meaning that they temporarily increase the rate at which your body burns fat.  Like with the other foods mentioned in this article you need to exercise moderation when it comes to spicy foods.  Getting too much can lead to unpleasant side effects such as heartburn, stomach ulcers and an irritable bowel.

6) CUT BACK ON THE ALCOHOL:- Alcohol has a dehydrating effect and can therefore reduce your BMR.  Many alcoholic beverages are also full of simple carbohydrates meaning that they have a reduced thermic effect when compared with high fibre carbohydrates and protein rich foods.  On top of this excessive alcohol consumption can cause vitamin deficiencies which further slow down your BMR.  You don’t need to eliminate alcohol from your diet completely but if you drink regularly perhaps you should consider cutting down.

7) REDUCE YOUR CAFFEINE CONSUMPTION:- Like alcohol, caffeine has a dehydrating effect and can lower your BMR.  Drinking a couple of cups of coffee each day is unlikely to have any adverse effects on your metabolism but if you are getting all your fluids from caffeinated beverages you might want to think about substituting in some water.

START A CARDIOVASCULAR EXERCISE ROUTINE:- Your metabolism is partially affected by your level of physical activity.  Regular cardiovascular exercise helps in two ways.  First, you burn additional calories whilst performing the cardio.  Secondly, the number of calories you burn following a cardiovascular workout remains elevated for a few hours after you finish.  By going for a walk, jog, run, bike ride, swim (or whatever other cardiovascular exercise takes your fancy) a few times a week you can burn extra calories and boost your metabolism.

9) START A RESISTANCE TRAINING ROUTINE:- A pound of muscle burns around 6 calories per day whilst a pound of fat burns around 2 calories per day.  Therefore, by increasing your lean muscle mass you can raise your BMR.  If you perform a resistance training workout a few times per week and combine it with proper nutrition you can build additional muscle and increase the amount of calories you burn whilst resting.

As you can see from this article it is possible to boost your metabolism through a combination of smart food choices and a well structured exercise routine.  However, you need to remember that metabolism is not the key to successful weight loss.  Whilst you can increase the number of calories you burn on a daily basis by following the above tips there is a limit to their effect.  Maximising your metabolism will not compensate for eating too much food BUT if you learn to control the amount you eat and follow the above advice metabolism can be a powerful tool in your weight loss arsenal.  I highly recommend that you try and implement the above tips in to your lifestyle because they will give your metabolism a boost, help you burn more calories and more importantly they will improve your overall health.

Now I want to hear from you guys.  What’s your opinion on metabolism?  Do you think it’s an essential part of weight loss or do you think it’s over hyped?  Leave me a comment and let me know.

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Exercise and Metabolism Revisited

In my last few posts I have been revisiting the topic of boosting your metabolism.  I began by explaining exactly what metabolism is and then moved on to explain how eating affects your metabolism.  Today I am going to discuss how exercise affects your metabolism.

As I mentioned in previous articles metabolism is influenced by three main factors:
- Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) (the number of calories you burn performing the basic functions that keep you alive).
- Your level of Physical Activity.
- The Thermic Effect of Foods that you Eat (the number of calories it takes to digest and absorb the foods you eat).

Exercise can have an impact on two of these factors; your BMR and (fairly obviously) your level of Physical Activity.  There are two main types of exercise that can affect your metabolism; Cardiovascular Exercise and Resistance Training and I will be discussing both of them below.

HOW DOES CARDIOVASCULAR EXERCISE BOOST YOUR METABOLISM?

Cardiovascular exercise (also known as aerobic exercise) is anything that involves or improves your body’s oxygen consumption.  Examples include cycling, jogging, sprinting, skipping, rowing and walking.  These types of exercise boost your metabolism quite simply because they require additional calories to perform.  Even something as simple as walking for 30 minutes a day will boost your metabolism slightly as this requires more calories than sitting still and not moving.

Cardiovascular exercises also slightly increase your metabolism for a few hours after exercising.  According to this article you can burn up to 15% more calories than normal in the 48 hours following a cardiovascular workout.  So if you normally burn 2000 calories per day and you do a cardiovascular workout three times per week which burns 500 calories a session then you could potentially burn an extra 3600 calories per week (1500 calories from the three cardiovascular workouts and an additional 300 calories per day from the 15% post workout increase).

HOW DOES RESISTANCE TRAINING BOOST YOUR METABOLISM?

Resistance training (also known as strength training or weight lifting) is anything that involves using resistance to build strength and muscle mass.  Examples include bodyweight training, using weight machines and lifting free weights.  Resistance training also burns additional calories during the workout but the main way it boosts your metabolism is by increasing your muscle mass.  Muscle requires more calories to maintain than fat.  The difference is not huge but according to About.com a pound of muscle requires 6 calories per day to maintain whilst a pound of fat requires 2 calories per day to maintain.  Therefore, by performing regular resistance training and building muscle mass you can increase your BMR and the overall amount of calories you burn on a day to day basis.

WHICH EXERCISES SHOULD I PERFORM TO MAXIMISE MY METABOLISM?

Both types of exercise are useful for boosting your metabolism.  Regular cardiovascular exercise increases the amount of calories you burn through physical activity whilst regular resistance training will increase your lean muscle mass and therefore increase the number of calories you burn whilst resting.  In combination the two types of exercise can give your metabolism quite a boost.

I hope this article has fully outlined how exercise influences your metabolism.  A good exercise routine can boost your metabolism and burn quite a few calories.  However, you need to remember that exercise alone cannot compensate for a poor diet.  If you are eating too much then you will not be able to remedy this with exercise (unless you exercise A LOT).  Exercise can boost your metabolism but you need to get your diet right too.

Do you guys agree?  Do you think diet is more important than exercise when it comes to controlling your weight?  Are there any other ways that exercise can boost your metabolism?  Let me now your thoughts by leaving a comment.

Sources:
How Many Calories Does Muscle Really Burn (About.com)
The Post Workout Calorie Burn (BNET)

What is Metabolism?

As regular readers of the Free Fitness Tips Blog may know one of the topics I covered in some detail in the past is boosting metabolism.  Since writing these articles I have discovered two main issues with them.  First, I did not actually explain in any of these articles what metabolism is.  Secondly, some of the information in these articles is upon review not 100% correct.  That’s why today I intend to correct any of the false information in those previous articles and explain in detail exactly what metabolism is.

WHAT IS METABOLISM?

Many people claim that they cannot lose weight because they have a slow metabolism and are constantly looking for ways to boost their metabolism.  A lot of these people do not truly understand the term metabolism.  According to Wikipedia:

“Metabolism is a set of chemical reactions that occur in living organisms in order to maintain life”

In humans the food we eat fuels these chemical reactions.  So when people refer to a fast or slow metabolism they are generally referring to the average amount of calories their body burns in a day.  There are three main factors that affect your metabolism:

1) BASAL METABOLIC RATE (BMR):- This is the amount of energy you use to perform the basic functions that keep you alive e.g. if you lied in bed all day and burned 1000 calories then your BMR would be 1000 calories per day.  You can roughly estimate your BMR by multiplying your weight in pounds by 14 if you are male and by 12 if you are female e.g. if you are male and weigh 150lbs your BMR will be about 2100 calories.  You can also use this BMR calculator.  BMR has the biggest influence on your metabolism and normally accounts for 60% to 65% of the calories you consume.  Your BMR is largely down to genetics but there are a number of things that can affect it:

- Building muscle:- This can increase your BMR as muscle requires more calories to maintain than fat.

- Dehydration:- This can contribute towards a low BMR as it prevents your body from performing a number of basic functions.

- Illness:- Illness can significantly affect the way your body works and therefore influence your BMR.  Thyroid conditions in particular can have a major influence over your BMR.

- Supplements:- Certain supplements can slightly influence your BMR.

- Vitamin or Mineral Deficiency:- This can reduce your BMR if it stops your body from performing basic functions properly.

- Weather:- This has an impact on your BMR because your body will have to use extra calories to warm you up or cool you down depending what the weather is like outside.

2) PHYSICAL ACTIVITY:- Certain people are more active than others.  More active people will burn more calories through physical activity than less active people.  This has the second largest influence on your metabolism using between 25% and 30% of the calories you consume.

The amount of physical activity you do each day is something that you can directly influence.  If you drive to work, sit at a desk all day, drive back home, watch TV, go to bed and repeat then you are not going to burn many calories through physical activity.  However, if you make physical activity part of your lifestyle and do a little bit of activity each day it can quickly add up to a lot of calories burned.

3) THERMIC EFFECT OF FOOD:- Food cannot digest itself.  This process requires calories too.  Digestions has the third largest influence on your metabolism and uses around 10% of the calories you consume.  You cannot hugely increase the amount of calories you burn through the foods you eat.  However, certain foods do have a better thermic effect than others:

- Fibre:- Complex carbohydrates that are high in fibre such as fruits, vegetables and wholegrains burn more calories during digestion than simple carbohydrates such as white bread, white pasta and sugary foods.

- Protein:- Protein is thought to burn two to three times the amount of calories that carbohydrates and fats do during digestion.  Furthermore, according to a study from McArdle et. al (1986) [1] when eating a meal that consists of pure protein up to 25% of the calories consumed can be used during digestion and absorption.

- Spicy Foods:- Spicy foods can temporarily increase the amount of calories you burn.  This is because certain spices are thought to stimulate fat burning.  On top of this spicy foods temporarily raise your body’s temperature after you eat them meaning you burn more calories.

So there you have it.  There are three main things that affect your metabolism; your BMR, your physical activity and the thermic effect of the foods that you eat.  Although you can have some influence over your metabolism and increase the amount of calories you burn each day there is no magic way to drastically increase your metabolism (unless you do A LOT of exercise every day).  What you eat and how much you eat has a much larger influence over how much weight you gain or lose.  To maintain or lose weight:

“The Calories you Consume <= BMR + Physical Activity + Thermic Effect of Food”

Now I want to hear from you guys.  Are there any key things I have missed which can raise or lower your metabolism?  Do you agree that the calories you consume is the key to weight loss?  Let me know what you think by leaving a comment.

Sources:
Do You Need to Increase Your Metabolism? (About.com)
Metabolism (Wikipedia)
Resting Metabolic Rate (BodyBuilding.com)
[1] McArdle, W.D., Katch, F.I., Katch, V.L., (1986) Exercise Physiology: Energy, Nutrition, and Human Performance Lea and Febiger Philadelphia p. 134, 135

4 Food Substitutes to improve your Metabolism

Since writing this article I have revisited the topic of eating and metabolism.  At the time of writing I thought that eating more frequently could boost your metabolism.  However, after further reading I have realised that my initial assumption was wrong.  For the full details you can read my up to date article on how eating affects your metabolism.

One effective way to boost your metabolism is by making smart and creative food substitutes. If you think about all the food you eat you will find plenty of areas where you can make some changes. For example, if you enjoy your mayonnaise maybe you could substitute it for a low fat mayo or even salad cream. I’m not talking about drastic changes to your diet here but there are certain foods that can easily be substituted. In this article I am going to discuss a number of common foods that lend themselves to substitution.

1) SALAD DRESSINGS:- Instead of going for full fat salad dressings why not try a healthier option. Extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar are both quite tasty and are a lot lower in calories than the other options.

2) WHOLE GRAINS:- Certain carbohydrates are better than others and this is one key area of your diet where you can make food substitutions. Rather than eating potatoes, white bread and white rice try whole grain rice and breads. Crunchier whole grain foods make the body work harder to break then down and really ensure that your body’s metabolism functions better.

3) SMART SNACKS:- Instead of going for the chips, cookies and ice cream try healthier options. Fruit, nuts and seeds are all great snacks. If you like the taste of salt, sunflower or pumpkin seeds can help you with that craving. Fruits such as bannanas, apples and oranges are great for curbing a sweet tooth without resorting to the chocolate.

4) FULL MEAL SUBSTITUTIONS:- I know I have mentioned it in previous articles, but substituting your standard three meals a day for six smaller meals can really boost your metabolism. Alternatively, reduce the size of your three main meals slightly and then substitute in some additional smart snacks. By substituting your meals in this way you can increase the number of calories you burn a day.

Transforming a slow moving metabolism into a highly charged metabolism is not usually possible. However, by substituting smarter foods into your diet you can start slowly improving your metabolic rate, noticing change and reaping the rewards.