It’s sometimes presented as the secret to healthy weight loss: boost your metabolism, and your body will burn off unwanted calories. But is it really as simple as that?
Why metabolism matters
Whenever you perform a voluntary action - walking, running, standing - your body needs the energy to do it. Your body also needs energy to perform the thousands of involuntary actions that keep you alive - things like regulating your temperature, repairing cells, and circulating blood around your body.
To perform those actions, your body has to convert the food and drink we ingested into energy. This process is part of your metabolism: the millions of chemical reactions happening in your body every second of every day.
If you have a slow metabolism, your body burns those calories at a slower rate than average. That’s why it can play a part in weight gain.
Metabolism is linked to genetics which has been found to be a leading driver of weight. For people who are genetically predisposed to have a lower metabolic rate, it’s much harder to maintain a healthy weight compared to those who aren’t.
Your weight is also influenced by environmental factors including diet, exercise, stress, and sleep.
Which factors determine your metabolism?
Muscle mass
Your basal metabolic rate is more closely related with muscle than with fat. That’s because the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolic rate is likely to be. Muscle burns more calories than fat at rest.
Age
Our metabolic rate naturally falls as we age - primarily because we also lose muscle mass as we age. This process happens gradually over a number of years. There’s no specific age that your metabolic rate starts to fall, but one study found that it begins to decline from adult levels at around the age of 60.
Gender
Women are genetically predisposed to have more body fat and less muscle mass than men, which means their basal metabolic rate can naturally be slower too.
Lifestyle
Incorporating more physical activity in your life will help you maintain a healthier body composition - which means more muscle mass and less body fat. This leads to a natural uptick in your metabolic rate.
Genetics
Having said all that, metabolism can also be hereditary. Some people are simply born with a higher or lower metabolic rate than others. That doesn’t mean you can’t change it though.
Boosting your metabolism
Although it’s not quite as simple as fast metabolism equalling more weight loss, it does still play a role. Plus, the things you need to do to boost your metabolism will have beneficial effects on your health and general wellbeing. Here are a few ways to boost your metabolism.
Add extra protein to your diet
Muscle burns more calories than fat, so maintaining your muscle mass is one of the best ways of boosting your metabolism. And protein tends to be the best dietary source of muscle gain. You can add extra protein to your diet through things like:
Lean meat
Legumes
Fish
Nuts
Seeds
Whole foods
Perform high intensity exercise
Research suggests that performing resistance training can have positive effects on your metabolic rate and is also effective at preventing metabolic syndromes. That’s because it helps to decrease fat mass, preventing the loss of muscle that comes with ageing. Another study found that reduced-exertion high-intensity training (REHIT) can improve metabolic health.
That being said, incorporating any kind of exercise into your routine is never a bad idea. Not only will it help to boost your metabolism and aid weight loss, but it can also decrease your stress levels and improve the quality of your sleep.
Work on your sleep hygiene
Studies have shown that poor quality sleep can decrease your metabolism. To improve the quality of your sleep, you can start by establishing a regular sleep schedule, cutting down on caffeine, reducing your exposure to blue light, and leading a more active lifestyle.
Reduce your stress levels
When you’re stressed, your body releases more cortisol - a key hormone that’s linked to your metabolism. Having more cortisol in your system can reduce your muscle mass and therefore slow your metabolism, so keeping your stress levels in check will also keep your metabolism in check.
The numan take
Although metabolism is a factor in weight management, it’s not the only one - and a slow metabolism alone won’t prevent you from losing weight. Focus instead on the bigger picture: eating a balanced diet, leading an active lifestyle, managing your stress levels, and getting good quality sleep. Metabolism matters, but it doesn’t have to define you.
