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People with a fast metabolism can be the envy of others. These are the people who can scarf down a couple of pieces of cake after a big meal and gain no weight as a result. Those who have a slower rate of metabolism can struggle to keep weight off due to the constant struggle. Our metabolism is an integral part of our eating habits, with much to learn about how it affects us. Our metabolism is how much energy used daily and how well our bodies use that energy. The goal is to find a metabolism balance that leads to a happy and healthy life.
Defining Metabolism
There are many processes that our bodies go through daily. Metabolism is the combination of all of these processes combined to generate energy. Our metabolism is like the gas in an engine – it keeps you moving.
Metabolism has three main jobs to do in our bodies. These important jobs include:
- Converting the food we eat into essential energy for our cells;
- Changing that food into proteins and fats to keep our body’s tissues healthy;
- Help in eliminating the waste our bodies do not need.
As a result of the constant pace of these three jobs, it is difficult to get an actual read on your daily metabolism. How is it possible to measure our energy? Calories is a way to measure and identify how much food our bodies need daily.
Understanding How Calories Affect Your Body
We always hear about how essential calories are, but do we know how our bodies use calories? Let’s take a look:
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
- The amount of calories used to survive daily.
- This is the number of calories that would be burned if you stayed in bed all day.
- It provides the energy to keep your vital organs functioning while running all the necessary background processes to help you survive.
Thermic Effect of Food (TEF)
- The amount of calories your body digests (10% of calorie intake).
- This can be adjusted to burn more or fewer calories each day.
Thermic Effect of Exercise (TEE)
- Amount of calories your body burns during physical fitness.
Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT)
- Calories burned during non-physical activities such as sitting, driving in a car or standing.
Despite how our calorie needs vary each day, metabolism involves much more than just the amount of burned calories.
Different Degrees of Metabolism
Metabolism rates vary by people. Some have faster metabolism due to genetics or environmental factors. There are things that people who have a slower metabolism can do to speed it up. Our body is fueled by ketones (fat) or glucose (sugar). This can help to determine the speed at which our metabolism works.
Our bodies will react to the type of food we give it. If you eat a lot of carbs, your body will burn glucose. If you watch the number of carbs you eat, like a ketogenic diet, you minimize the amount of glucose your body stores, which then turns into burning fat.
Burning Energy in Your Body
Our metabolism has two modes of burning energy (anaerobic and aerobic), depending on how much oxygen is or is not involved.
Anaerobic Metabolism
- This occurs during an in-depth exercise or when the body doesn’t have oxygen.
- Relies on glucose (simple sugar), lactate (a byproduct of burning sugar), and amino acids (protein). Fat cannot be burned this way.
Aerobic Metabolism
- Requires Burning fuel requires oxygen.
- It is the only way that your body can burn fat.
- Glucose and amino acids are an alternative to creating energy.
Most people who are healthy rely on the combination of sugar and fat-based metabolism along with their bodies utilizing both the anaerobic and aerobic pathways. As a result of this imbalance, people suffer from increased inflammation, reduction in brain function, a higher chance for cancer, and oxidative damage to tissues.
A reduction in the chances of these problems can be prevented by switching to aerobic, fat-burning metabolism to restore metabolic balance.
Contributions to Faster Metabolism
If you are someone who has a slow metabolism, what can you do to help speed it up?
Leaner Muscle
Your metabolism will be higher if you have more lean muscle mass. Muscles will utilize more energy than fat does, which increases your basal metabolic rate. More muscles equal more calories burned.
Physical Fitness
Unfortunately, we have to put a lot of effort into losing weight and exercise is a way to boost metabolism while working out and when you are done.
Hormone Levels
Hormones that regulate your energy levels can impact the rate of your metabolism. Your hormones can be dictated by sleep, diet, and stress.
Proper Diet
Through the thermic effect of food, as well as your hormones and gut flora population can affect your metabolic rate through diet.
Age as a Factor
Metabolism, unfortunately, slows down as you age.
People who have the best metabolism usually have an extended amount of lean muscle mass, maintain a physically active lifestyle, and have balanced hormones.
Starvation Mode and Its Affects on Metabolism
Your body’s response to a deficit of calories is what our body calls starvation. Our brains and bodies are not concerned with a reduction in body fat. They have a bigger job of looking at our long-term survival. Your body reacts to this by stopping fat loss and slows down your metabolism.
When your cells, central nervous system, and hormones work together to stabilize your body weight and reduce your metabolism, you could experience getting tired easily, not exercising, being hungry more often, and food cravings. Metabolic damage can result from remaining in starvation mode for too long.
Understanding Metabolic Damage
Metabolic damage results in a disruption in hunger hormones, loss of lean muscle mass, and potential damage to your organs. Metabolic damage occurs when people consistently undereat.
If you are trying to lose weight, starvation is not the way to do it. People should use a macro calculator to identify how much you should be eating. If you feel tired and hungry all the time, it may be your body’s way of telling you to eat more. Consistent weight loss takes a lot of time – there is no quick fix.
Do We Have Power Over Our Metabolism?
It is possible to create a change in your metabolism. Increasing your lean muscle mass, balancing your hormones, and changing your diet are ways that you can shift your metabolism rate to increase your energy, aerobic metabolism, and losing weight.
How to Fix Slow Metabolism
-Low-carb, high-fat diets turn your body into a fat-burning machine.
-When carbs are eliminated, your body relies on fat for fuel.
-People who participate in a ketogenic diet burn more calories than those that don’t.
-Keto takes time to kick in, but once it does, your body can look forward to a faster metabolism.
Consume More Protein
-Increasing your protein intake can speed up your metabolic rate.
-Double the amount of fat burned with a high protein meal.
-A 30-gram dose of whey protein increased the metabolism of overweight adults by 13%.
-Eating an appropriate amount of protein will lower your appetite.
Exercise at a Consistent Intensity
-Build muscle mass by strength training a couple of times a week.
-Low-to moderate-intensity aerobic exercise is the ideal way to burn fat.
-Training in intervals increases the calories you burn after exercise.
-Getting outside to walk and general moving increases the burning of your calories.
-A workout routine throughout the week should include weightlifting, moderate-intensity cardio, high powered interval training, and hiking.
Intermittent Fasting
-A pattern of eating that involves periods of time without eating food.
-Puts you into fat-burning mode vs. starvation mode.
-Fasting can speed up metabolism and increase levels of fat-burning hormones.
-It makes it psychologically more comfortable to stay on a low-calorie deficit.
Gaining Weight With High Metabolism
People with fast metabolism may have trouble adding on pounds. In seniors, a low mass body index can do a lot of harm. Depression, health issues, frailty, and higher risks of injuries from falls are all effects older people experience with a low mass body index.
High levels of thyroid hormones can cause a low body mass index. Consult with a doctor to check to see if this is a possible issue.
Other ways that people can gain weight with a high metabolism include:
Reduction in Stress
Stress increases your cortisol levels. As a result, gaining healthy weight becomes challenging.
Strength Train Throughout the Week
Lifting weights a couple of times a week can add lean muscle mass.
Get More Sleep
Inconsistent sleep patterns can wreak havoc with your metabolism as well as a loss in muscle tissue.
Consume Healthy Protein
Whey protein is an excellent choice to gain healthy weight, especially after a workout.
Eat Nutrient-Dense Foods
Consuming nuts, avocados, and fatty grass-fed beef can help in consuming a nutrient-dense diet.
It is important to weigh yourself once every week or two. You can go online and use the Perfect Keto Macronutrient Calculator to keep an eye on your calorie intake each day. Taking advantage of a cyclical ketogenic diet or targeted ketogenic diet will allow your body to utilize carbohydrates to fuel your daily physical fitness activities.
Keto and Improving Metabolism
Being in a state of ketosis forces your body to burn fat for fuel. This turns specific genes on or off leading to an increase in metabolism, boost insensitivity to insulin, and favors aerobic metabolism and fat-burning.
It is important to remember that consuming more calories than you burn will ultimately lead to weight gain. A ketosis dietwill help to suppress your appetite by increasing the calories you burn while reducing hunger cravings. A keto diet improves insulin levels, increases weight loss, and lower triglyceride levels.
It is essential to understand that people have the ability to control their metabolism. People will lose weight quicker by customizing their diets and overall life to increase their metabolism and rid their body of that fat more efficiently. A ketogenic diet is a great way to speed up your metabolism while losing weight and not feeling hungry.
