Metabolism is the “engine” inside the body that mysteriously decides whether to turn the food we eat into energy or into extra pounds on the scale.
After 40 years, the body naturally loses muscle massPhoto: © Chernetskaya | Dreamstime.com
A “slow” or “sluggish” metabolism is usually the main culprit in situations where we struggle to lose weight and gain weight quickly. It’s no wonder there’s a billion-dollar industry with thousands of products that promise to speed up your metabolic rate for easier weight loss. However, specialists claim that there are more effective solutions that can set the metabolism in motion.
What is metabolism and how does it work?
Metabolism encompasses all the vital chemical reactions in the body, providing the energy needed for essential functions such as respiration and digestion. When we discuss metabolism in the context of body weight, we are actually referring to basal metabolic rate, which is the amount of calories burned at rest as influenced by the proportion of muscle and fat in the body.
Several factors such as gender, age, weight and lifestyle can affect metabolism, and it naturally slows with age and can become dysfunctional with restrictive diets.
Why metabolism slows down with age
In general, before the age of 40, the body tends to be more efficient at maintaining muscle mass and metabolic rate. Muscles play an important role in burning calories because they require energy to function and maintain.
After 40 years, a gradual decrease in muscle mass begins to occur, a phenomenon called sarcopenia. This means that the body naturally loses muscle mass as it ages. At the same time, the ratio of body fat to muscle may change, with a relative increase in body fat and a decrease in muscle mass. These changes are, in part, the result of hormonal changes that occur with aging, as well as reduced physical activity or an inadequate diet.
Muscle mass plays a crucial role in determining the basal metabolic rate to maintain vital functions such as breathing, circulation and body temperature regulation. Muscle burns more calories at rest than adipose tissue (fat). Therefore, when we lose muscle mass and replace it with fat, the basal metabolic rate decreases.
This decrease in basal metabolic rate can lead to a tendency to accumulate extra pounds over time, as the body burns fewer calories at rest and, in the absence of appropriate changes in diet and physical activity level, it can become more difficult to maintain body weight or lose weight with age.
Why the metabolism becomes dysfunctional after weight loss
When you lose a large number of pounds, your metabolic rate drops, and this drop is not easily reversed, even if you return to your original weight. This phenomenon is due to complex factors related to how the body reacts to sudden changes in weight.
Usually, when you follow a weight loss treatment, the body reacts by reducing the fat mass, but, unfortunately, also the muscle mass. This phenomenon occurs because dieting involves restricting caloric intake, which causes the body to burn fat for energy. However, a distinction is not always made between fat and muscle in terms of energy source.
The problem is that despite the fact that you return to your previous weight or even lose it, your metabolism does not always recover completely. Research they found that after each diet, the rate at which the body burns calories during the process of digesting and metabolizing food slows down by about 15%. This drop in metabolic rate following dieting can be frustrating for many people, as it makes it more difficult to maintain weight loss and can contribute to the yo-yo effect, where the pounds come back or even gain weight after the diet ends.
What to do and what to avoid to speed up your metabolism
h3. 1. Be careful what you eat
Consider the types of food you eat, as your diet will influence the amount of energy your body burns to digest, absorb and metabolize food. This process is called diet-induced thermogenesis, or the thermic effect of food, and accounts for approximately 10% of daily energy expenditure.
Researchshows that the thermic effect of food is highest for protein-rich foods because the body needs more energy to break down and digest protein. Eating protein-rich foods will increase your metabolic rate by about 15% (compared to an average of 10% for all foods). In contrast, carbohydrates will increase it by 10% and fats by less than 5%.
But that doesn’t mean you should switch to a protein-only diet to boost your metabolism. Rather, meals should include vegetables and a source of protein, balanced with whole carbohydrates and healthy fats to keep the body healthy. The general recommendation is that 20% – 30% of daily calories come from protein, with the minimum daily protein intake being 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram/body. If we want to lose weight, it is recommended to consume at least 1.2 grams of protein per kilogram/body, and for a person who does sports constantly, the recommended minimum is 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram/body per day.
2.Exercise constantly
When you exercise regularly, such as walking, running, swimming or strength training, you build muscle mass. Muscles are metabolically active tissues and consume more energy than adipose tissue even at rest. So the more muscle mass you have, the higher your basal metabolic rate will be. In other words, you’ll burn more calories at rest, which helps you maintain or lose weight more effectively.
To achieve this effect, it is recommended to integrate physical activity into your daily routine. Start with at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise, such as walking or cycling, every day. In addition, you should include two days of strength training per week. These workouts will help increase muscle mass and therefore boost your metabolic rate.
It is essential not to neglect movement, as this can lead to a rapid loss of muscle mass. Losing muscle can slow your metabolism and make losing weight or keeping it off more difficult. Therefore, regular, varied and balanced physical activity plays a vital role in maintaining a fast metabolism.
3. Get enough rest
A growing number of investigation confirms that sleep deprivation can significantly affect metabolism. Lack of sleep disrupts the body’s energy balance. This causes the release of hormones that increase appetite (ghrelin) and the inhibition of those that decrease it (leptin).
Lack of sleep can also affect how the body regulates blood sugar and lead to increased insulin resistance, which is associated with type 2 diabetes and with difficulty controlling weight.
Insufficient rest can also contribute to a decrease in overall energy levels and motivation for physical activity, which can lead to a reduction in energy expenditure. That means you’ll burn fewer calories during your daily activities and during exercise.
To improve metabolism and maintain a healthy energy balance, it is essential to pay attention to sleep. A recommended goal is to get at least seven hours of sleep each night. This duration of sleep allows the body to recover and properly regulate its metabolic functions.
A useful tip for quality sleep is to avoid exposure to screens such as the TV, computer or mobile phone for at least an hour before bed. These screens emit blue light, which can inhibit the production of melatonin – the sleep hormone.
Don’t waste your money on weight loss pills and supplements
There are thousands of products on the market that promise to activate your metabolism and speed up weight loss. Although some may contain ingredients that will boost metabolism immediately after administration, such as caffeine and capsaicin (the component that gives peppers their hot taste), the researches confirm that the effect is temporary – they do not support long-term weight loss.
Most products that promise to help you speed up your metabolism to lose weight are not based on any scientific evidence to support their effectiveness. Two extensive reviews published recently examined about 120 studies on weight loss supplements and found that they simply don’t work, despite the bold advertising.
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