Resting Metabolic Rate

Here is the final blog entry from our guest blogger, Caitlin Massey.

It seems that the phrase "metabolic rate" is a common household term.  You know that keeping it high is the best way to lose unwanted weight and maintain a healthy weight, but do you know what the most effective means of doing that is?  There are many diets out there that claim they have the right combination of foods or a new "eastern secret" to speed up your metabolism, but the truth is most effective way to do this is through a high-activity level.  In a nut shell, your metabolism is the amount of calories it takes your body to create and break down cells, and the energy it takes for those cells to carry out their specific functions.  The rate at which this happens stays relatively constant and is contingent upon genetics, age, gender, body fat percentage, height, diet, body temperature, glands, and exercise.  Most of those factors we don't have much control over, but the ones that we have the most control over are diet, body fat percentage, and exercise.

As was mentioned before, there is no magic food that will raise your metabolism, but the amount of food you eat does have a significant effect on your metabolic rate.  Low calorie and starvation diets (diets consisting of less than 1200 calories per day) have been shown to DECREASE your metabolic rate by up to 30%.  Conversely, exercise and overall daily activity level have been shown to INCREASE your metabolism.  So what is the best kind of exercise?  Although it is tempting to plunk down on a piece of cardio equipment for an hour because the machine says you burn 500 calories, don't let that trick you into thinking you are doing yourself too many favors.  High-intensity interval training (cardiovascular and with weights) will do more good than steady-paced cardio alone. The reason is, with this type of training your body takes a longer period of time to recover (using more energy over a longer period of time) and you build muscle mass.  Fat uses no energy to sustain but muscle does so the more muscle mass you have the more energy you use at a resting state.  

Remember that your metabolism is the rate at which your cells build up, break down, and function...so the more cells you break down in your workout (with strength training) the more cells you have to build back up post-workout.  Simultaneously adding in a cardiovascular component forces your body to do this under more stress, meaning it needs more energy to do the same work, burning more calories throughout the rest of the day.  So if you want to spike your metabolism fuel your body with the right amount of calories and maximize your workouts by cranking up the intensity!

Still seem a little confusing to you?  Talk with a degreed, certified fitness professional for more help.  Schedule an appointment with one of our trainers and get a feel for what a high-intensity, interval training workout feels like!