Can You Increase Your Metabolism?

This is a question that gets asked frequently because, as always, there are many myths surrounding what boosts metabolism as people look for the 1 thing which will make all the difference. This leads us to, is it actually possible to boost your metabolic rate? Supplement companies, supermarkets and fitness hacks will claim their product helps to boost your metabolism. Green tea, caffeine, chillies are all said to offer a boost but do they have any major effect?

What is your metabolism?

Metabolism is a process in which Food and drink are broken down in to energy for our body to use. The speed at which you are able to go through this process mostly depends on your sex, body size or genetics. Your body is constantly in a metabolic state breaking down fuel even when the body is at rest. It does not stop for 8 hours every night.

Nothing really had a ‘major’ effect on metabolism as genetics plays the biggest role. However, here are some aspects that make the biggest increase.

Exercise and metabolism

Being active can increase your metabolic rate in particular, high intensity interval training. It’s claimed that after high intensity exercise we burn additional calories for hours after. This is a little far-fetched and more likely up to an hour or two after each session. This is known as the afterburn effect or EPOC (excess post exercise oxygen consumption).

Build Muscle

A great way to boost metabolism is to increase the amount of muscle mass you have. Muscle is a dense, active tissue that needs far more fuel than fat does. Combination of losing body fat and gaining muscle can help to increase metabolism.

Eat protein

Your metabolism increases whenever you digest and store food. This is called the thermic effect of food. Protein has a higher thermic effect than other macronutrients as it takes longer to digest and breakdown and burns more calories than fats or carbohydrates through this process.

Sleep

Sleep is a period of rest and repair. During deep sleep the body performs various maintenance and repair jobs which can influence metabolic processes. Hormone regulation will also play a crucial role on metabolism, for example, sleep deprivation can disrupt the balance of hunger hormones leading to an increase in ghrelin which stimulates appetite and decrease leptin which signals fullness. This imbalance will have an impact on your habits making you more likely to over eat. ?

Caffeine

Studies suggest that caffeine does actually increase metabolic rate with only 4 and 8mg of caffeine being used (relatively low dosage). However, we are hardly talking an increase in 100’s of calories burned and have an overall small impact. I think Caffeine has a bigger impact on weight management due to it being a stimulant. Caffeine can increase alertness, performance and cognition. This can result in you pushing harder during exercise or just making the decision to exercise in the firs place.

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Does your metabolism slow down with age?

Unpopular opinion but it has been shown that metabolism says pretty solid between the ages of 30-60. Once you reach 60 it declines at around 1% a year.

While metabolism gets blamed for a lot of weight gain it is usually down to being less active as we get older. We are far more active generally speaking in our teens and 20’s. Office jobs can limit our time spend standing up and getting steps in through the day while we maintain the amount of food we were previously consuming. Getting more steps in and reducing intake can help to balance the books.

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What should you put less stock in to

-??????? Eating little and often in order to ‘keep your metabolism ticking over’.

-??????? Your metabolism does not need to be reset.

-??????? Worrying about meal times.

-??????? Drinking green tea, lemon water or getting through a pack of Birdseye chilies.

?Conclusion

It’s important to remember that anything you are told to increase metabolism will have a small difference. No supplement or trick is going to have a significant impact.

This doesn’t not mean you shouldn’t do any of them in fact you should be exercising regularly, lifting weights, emphasising good quality sleep, eating protein and well-rounded diet. Not just for the sake of a healthy metabolism, but because of the many benefits these all have. ?

Focus on the big things and I promise you wont even have to worry about the word metabolism.

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