5 ways to keep your metabolism high & strong
Tips for boosting your metabolic rate, health benefits and holistic wellbeing
Text: Joel T
We all know someone who attributes their weight gain to their ‘slow’ metabolic rate, blaming their decreasing metabolism on either an increasing sedentary lifestyle or age. While it’s true to some extent that the less active you are, or the older you get, your metabolism will be affected, you don’t have to be a slave to a sluggish metabolism. There are some easy ways to boost and maintain a high metabolism.
According to Michael Jensen, a researcher who studies obesity and metabolism at the Mayo Clinic, “Our metabolism refers to a series of chemical processes in each cell that turn the calories you eat into fuel to keep you alive.” In short, everything that takes place in the body needs energy to work and your metabolic rate refers to the processes that use energy, like breathing, digesting food, and muscle function.
There are three main ways your body burns energy each day: 1) the basal metabolism — energy used for your body's basic functioning while at rest, 2) the energy used to break down food (also known as the thermic effect of food or TEF), and 3) the energy used in physical activity. While you won’t see a major difference in a change to your metabolism, these five simple tips can lead to keeping your metabolism in check:
Workout and exercise
One of the most effective strategies you can adopt to boost your metabolism is to increase your participation in any physical activity, be it a stroll in the park, yoga session, or strength and conditioning. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) in particular has been found to burn a substantial amount of calories, even after the training has been completed. This kind of physical training also helps you to tone up and build muscles, which in turn leads to an increase in metabolism as muscles are metabolically more active than fats, therefore, your body will burn more calories on a daily basis, even at rest.
Tea drinking
No, not your Pokka canned drink, but rather, freshly brewed green tea or unsweetened green tea. Both green tea and oolong tea have been found by researchers to increase metabolism by 4–5%. Further studies discovered that green tea can help to convert body fat into free fatty acids, consequently increasing fat burning by 10 – 17%.
Consume more protein
This may seem counterintuitive, but eating food can up your metabolism for a few hours. The energy expenditure is a result of your body using calories to digest and process the food. Not all foods are created equal though, protein has been found by scientists to initiate the largest increase in TEF, increasing your metabolic rate by 15–30% and increasing post-meal calorie expenditure by 5%. Those who are dieting can consider incorporating more protein in their diet as protein consumption can dampen the decrease in metabolic rate that often comes with losing fat.
Avoid napping (for too long)
Napping has its benefits, a quick nap can help you feel energised, more alert, and fresher. However, napping for too long or sleeping for extended periods in the day might not be advisable. Researchers at University of Colorado at Boulder found that people burn fewer calories when they nap and sleep in the day, compared to sleeping in the night. The researchers hypothesised that sleeping and napping in the day may disrupt your circadian rhythm — the body’s internal clock that also regulates metabolism function. This in turn messes up your body’s metabolic rate, so it’s best to keep your napping time to between 10 to 20 mins.
Drink more water
Seriously, drinking more water might help you boost your metabolic rate. Scientists have found that water induced thermogenesis (the process of producing heat in the body when consuming water) temporarily boost metabolism. This is because the water acts as a sympathetic stimulus which increases the body’s rate. The metabolic effect is further boosted when you consume cold water as your body has to use additional energy to heat the water to body temperature. So, grab a glass, stay hydrated, and get your metabolism rate up.
