How often you notice that your friend seems to eat a lot more than you but she still manages to stay slim?
On the other hand, you keep a check on the calories you take, spend a significant amount of time on exercising, but still can’t get rid of those extra pounds. Kind of jealous right?
Have you ever wondered; why you are unable to lose weight? It’s all because of your body’s metabolism.
Metabolism is a chemical process by which your body converts what you eat and drink into energy. It’s what your body will do to keep it going. Even when your body is at rest, your body is still using this energy for basic functions such as breathing, cell repairing, and circulating blood.
Each body is a different type and so is the rate of metabolism. The speed of metabolism depends on a variety of factors, like age, sex, genetics, body fat, muscle mass, and activity level.
While one cannot control the genetic aspect of metabolism, there are some other ways to boost your metabolism.
It’s claimed that certain foods and drinks can boost your metabolism, including green tea, black coffee, spices, and energy drinks. This holds good to an extent but it is effective only in the short run. For long term results, you should use metabolism-boosting strategies and lifestyle changes to see the effect. Take the help of these free workout apps to achieve your fitness goals.
Here’s how you can do so by following a 5-step plan.
1.Know your body and its calorie requirements
Your body is unique and so is your lifestyle and health history. So, your calorie requirements will also be unique. If you want to increase your body’s metabolism for weight loss, you need to find out how much and what you should eat.
You should never starve yourself to slim down. This can negatively impact metabolism. Eating too few calories can cause a person’s metabolism to slow down so the body can conserve energy. Take a balanced diet consisting of all the vital nutrients like proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals.
Adult women need between 1,600 and 2,400 calories a day, depending on their physical activity levels, and men need between 2,000 and 3,000.
But what is the ideal number? How to estimate your calorie needs? The best option according to me is to opt for a calorie tracking app or a diet tracking app, where you can keep a track of what you eat and how many calories you eat on daily basis. Based on your parameters like height, weight, age, gender, and physical activity, it can provide you with the number of calories you need to consume every day to reduce weight.
This way you can keep a check on your calorie intake.
2. Increase your movement
Make exercise your lifestyle. Start slow, and gradually work your way up to incorporating both aerobic exercise and strength training into your routine. check out these best free workout apps of 2021. Install them to track your progress.
- Aerobics is the most effective way to burn extra calories. Aerobic activities like brisk walking, cycling, and swimming can help you reach the extra mile in achieving your objective of weight loss.
- Strength training helps build muscle, which may increase metabolism. Muscle mass has a higher metabolic rate than fat, which means that muscle mass requires more energy to preserve.
- A person’s body naturally loses muscle as they age. Exercising regularly can help counteract this effect. If your body allows, go for resistance training like lifting weights to burn more calories.
- Be active in your daily routine. Take the stairs instead of elevators. Walk or cycle to get your groceries home. Use an activity tracker to increase your daily step count and increase your total calories burned per day.
3. Manage stress
Stress not only affects us mentally and emotionally; it causes adverse effects on our body too. Stress affects hormone levels, and it can cause the body to produce more cortisol than usual.
Cortisol is a hormone that helps regulate appetite. Abnormal Cortisol levels can lead to eating disorders. You may lose your appetite or you may end up overeating.
Dietary restraint and certain weight concerns may lead to unhealthful eating patterns. This can make your metabolism slow, making it even more difficult to lose weight.
Indulge in stress-busting activities yoga, meditation, deep breathing, or you can involve yourself in any of your hobbies to reduce stress and you will be less likely to overeat as well.
Stress is also closely related to the quality of sleep, which can influence metabolism.
4. Drink enough water
Staying hydrated is essential for the body to function at its best. Water is the best source of hydration which keeps your body’s metabolism optimal, hence aids in losing weight.
So, make it a habit to drink plenty of water at regular intervals to increase your metabolism.
Try consuming at least 8 glasses of water in a day apart from other beverages you take throughout the day.
5. Don’t be sleep deprived.
Sleep disruption can cause harmful effects on your metabolism. Not sleeping enough could mess up with your hormones and impact your metabolism. Lack of sleep causes cortisol to rise, which triggers your body to save the energy needed to get you throughout the day.
Previous studies have demonstrated that people who suffer from chronic sleep loss or who work night shifts have an increased risk of obesity.
Sleeplessness also affects your brain’s decision-making and emotional well- being. Try to set a routine regarding your sleep time. Aim for seven to nine hours of sleep.
To counteract your body’s natural tendencies, try to eat regularly at short intervals throughout the day to curb hunger and prevent mindless snacking at night. This will also help to keep you away from food cravings and tame your temptations. Know how Ayurvedic herbs and spices can help you keep a tab on your food cravings.
Conclusion: Weight loss is not an objective that can be achieved instantly. Aiming to lose weight needs a disciplined lifestyle as it happens gradually and may vary from person to person. The changes you make to your lifestyle need to be sustainable to make an impact.
Krishna is a Management graduate in Human Resource. She is an avid reader, knowledge seeker, and an adoring mother of two lovely kids.