Kickstart Your Metabolism - Part 1

The dreaded "M" word...metabolism.  What is it?  In a nutshell, it is the total number of calories your body burns each day.  This includes daily body processes (which burn ~65% of those calories), such as breathing and circulation, and digestion (consumes another 10%).  That means the remaining 25% of calories burned comes from any and all physical activity...exercise AND anything done while awake!  Since only a small portion of calories you burn in a day actually comes from physical activity, it is very important to maximize the efficiency of this system.  In other words, you want to get the most bang for your buck!

If 25% of your calorie burn comes from physical activity, you are burning calories while you are moving the mouse around on your computer to scroll through this blog.  In order to maximize your metabolism during physical activity, it is wise to have a good lean mass-to-fat mass ratio...meaning lower body fat percentage.  Why?  Lots of reasons but mainly lean tissue (organs and muscles) burn an average of 14 calories per pound a day while fat only burns about 3 calories per pound.  That should be incentive enough to increase your lean mass!!  Now, I am not saying you have to become a body builder or become so large with muscles that you have to walk sideways through doors.  What I am talking about is to incorporate strength training into your daily exercise routine.  Body weight activities such as squats, lunges and push-ups are effective ways to increase lean tissue.  Weight training activities with machines, dumbbells, and barbells will also increase lean mass.  These are all great ways to improve the efficiency of your calorie-burning machine!  Not only will you be able to burn calories efficiently DURING exercise but also during rest and other daily tasks such as sitting and standing.

How can you kickstart your metabolism?  Obviously the first step is to fuel your body with proper nutrition and cut out all the crap (i.e., excess sugar, sodas, fried foods, etc.) then start adding exercise into your daily routine.  If you've already completed those steps, let's look at how you can improve your workouts to create the "afterburn".  This is where your metabolism stays high after a workout and you continue to burn more calories throughout the day.  This can be accomplished by adding bursts of high intensity moves within your workout.  Shorten the rest time between exercises and add in moves like jumping jacks, burpees, and mountain climbers.  If you are working on cardio, increase your speed and/or resistance (i.e., incline) for 30-60 second intervals.

Unfortunately, our metabolism slows down approximately 2 to 4 percent every decade as we lose muscle mass with aging.  So if you were burning around 2,000 calories in your twenties, you may drop down to burning around 1,880 calories twenty years later.   While it may not seem like a lot, if you are not exercising on a regular basis to maintain lean mass AND you are consuming the same amount of calories from food, it equates to weight gain!  It is possible to fight this through exercise and proper nutrition.  Try adding some high intensity activity to your workouts and begin that "afterburn"!!

Need help revving up your metabolism?  Stop in at PROMATx Health Club and talk with a trainer today.