<\/p>\n
Rev up your metabolism: the ultimate buzz phrase tossed around as the simple weight loss<\/a> solution. But the fast fact is, there\u2019s no conclusive evidence that we can significantly and permanently change how our body processes food for energy or heat, the essence of metabolism.<\/p>\n That\u2019s because much of what determines your metabolism (age, gender, genetics) is outside of your control.<\/p>\n Your body\u2019s basal metabolic rate (BMR) accounts for 70 per cent of your metabolism. It\u2019s the amount of energy your body burns to keep itself functioning while at rest. (Think keeping your body temperature steady, your heart beating, your digestive processing functioning.) This is what people refer to when they talk about speeding up their metabolism.<\/p>\n Besides getting more physical activity throughout your day – which accounts for 20 to 25 per cent of your metabolism – there are just a few interventions that might increase your metabolic rate long term. And that\u2019s a big MIGHT.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are trade-offs depending on the individual that\u2019s doing [these interventions],\u201d says Lawrence Cheskin<\/a>, MD, director of clinical research at the Global Obesity Prevention Center at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPeople who have more body muscle are generally going to have a higher metabolism,\u201d says Douglas White, PhD, Associate Professor in the department of nutrition, dietetics, & hospitality management at Auburn University. That\u2019s because it takes more energy to maintain muscle mass in your body than it does fat.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a catch-22 of weight loss, says White: \u201cWhen people lose weight, they not only lose fat, they lose muscle mass as well. So, if you lose muscle, your basal metabolic rate will tend to go down and make it harder to burn calories to lose weight.\u201d<\/p>\n White recommends resistance training to build muscle mass, which in turn helps to maintain or increase your BMR.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Some background first: every time you eat, you give your metabolism a slight boost. It\u2019s known as the thermic effect of food (TEF) and accounts for 10 per cent of your overall metabolism.<\/p>\n \u201cAll foods are thermogenic. They all have to be burned in your body. They create energy in your body, so in that way they increase your metabolism,\u201d says Julie Metos, PhD, RD, Associate Chair, Department of nutrition and integrative physiology at the University of Utah School of Medicine.<\/p>\n Frequency, or how often you eat, has been shown to increase metabolism, says Metos, with research showing that eating every three or four hours helps to maintain a steady TEF. \u201cThe idea is if you eat large meals and then you don\u2019t eat for a long time, that your metabolism slows down between those eating sessions,\u201d says Metos.<\/p>\n But, she cautions, if you\u2019re prone to overeating at meals, it could work against you. \u201cYou have to balance the slight metabolic effect with the behavioural effect,\u201d says Metos. This is where your WW SmartPoints\u00ae Budget<\/a> can help you make choices and avoid overeating.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From a metabolism standpoint, it doesn\u2019t matter what time of day you eat. Anytime you eat, you\u2019re still burning calories<\/a> thanks to TEF. \u201cIt\u2019s not necessarily because the calories are more impactful in the evening – they give you the same amount of energy – but you have less time to burn<\/a> it off,\u201d says Cheskin.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWater is really important in the metabolic process, and if you don\u2019t have enough water you can slow down your metabolism,\u201d says Metos, who recommends two litres of water daily. However, the scientific jury is still out on water\u2019s ability to increase your metabolism. If there is any impact, it\u2019s likely due to thermogenesis, so the water needs to be very cold.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It\u2019s dizzying how many mythical quick metabolism \u201cboosters\u201d are out there. Here are some popular ones that research says fall short of, or don\u2019t make any, meaningful long-term change in metabolism or weight loss<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n TEF is also known as diet-induced thermogenesis, but that doesn\u2019t mean a certain diet helps you burn more calories. There aren’t really any particular foods that increase your metabolism significantly outside of the thermic effects, says Metos.<\/p>\n As for the claim that some foods, like grapefruit, burn more fat than others? \u201cNope, there aren\u2019t any,\u201d says Metos. \u201cIncreasing metabolism would burn everything – carbohydrates, protein and fat. It\u2019s hard to differentially burn one thing over the other.\u201d<\/p>\n The main reason grapefruit and other citrus fruits keep making the myth list is simple, says Cheskin. \u201cIt makes you eat less because it leaves a sour taste in your mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n Only a few substances in food are known to have a slight additional effect on metabolic rate – caffeine, catechins (a chemical compound found in green and white teas), and capsaicin (a compound found in spicy foods, such as chilli peppers). These provide a 4 to 5 percent increase<\/a> in metabolic rate, according to a study published in the International Journal of Obesity. But their impact is short-lived and not long-term, says Cheskin. \u201cIt\u2019s not going to make a difference between losing 50lbs and gaining 50lbs. But if you like green tea, go for it.\u201d<\/p>\n To get any lasting metabolic increase you would have to eat these compounds around the clock. In the case of too much caffeine, that could have detrimental effects on your health, says Metos, including disrupting your sleep, increasing anxiety, and raising your blood pressure.<\/p>\n The other problem is the extra calories you can consume depending on which foods you choose, says Cheskin. \u201cIf you\u2019re going to have your caffeine in regular soda, sports drinks, or sweet coffee drinks, that\u2019s not good for weight control.\u201d<\/p>\n Focusing on healthy eating patterns matters more, says Metos, a registered dietician. \u201cIt\u2019s not going to be the magic answer for you to include one of these things without making other changes.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Diets heavy in fat or protein don\u2019t increase or decrease your metabolic rate, says Metos. What they may do is make you feel full, which in turn reduces the number of calories you consume. Read more about eating fat to lose fat.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gluten only increases your metabolic rate if you have Celiac disease, says Cheskin. People with Celiac disease can\u2019t process gluten, a protein found in wheat and other grains. It damages their small intestine making it unable to help absorb nutrients into the body. \u201cOnly 1 per cent of people who think they have it actually have it,\u201d he says. \u201cIf you have it, it will affect your metabolism and you will lose weight<\/a>. You\u2019ll also have diarrhoea and other problems every time you eat gluten.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Drastically cutting calories, by fasting or starving yourself, slows down your metabolism. Not only are you missing out on the thermic effect of food, but your body goes into preservation mode, says Metos.<\/p>\n \u201cYour body will burn whatever is available to it. If there\u2019s nothing available to it, it will burn what\u2019s on board, which are your muscles and the glucose in your blood or the glycogen, which is the glucose in your liver,\u201d says Metos.<\/p>\n Intermittent fasting might play a role in weight loss<\/a>, but it does nothing to boost metabolism, says Cheskin. Your metabolism rebounds once you eat, but it\u2019s not a recipe for long-term weight loss because it\u2019s generally not sustainable.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can improve your metabolic health and improve your metabolism overall by eating regularly and not yo-yo dieting,\u201d says Metos. \u201cPeople who have a regular eating pattern tend to maintain their metabolism compared to people who go long periods of time without eating, and then overeat, and then decide they\u2019re going to fast for a day. It\u2019s better to have an even-keeled eating pattern.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Your metabolism is at its lowest point in a 24-hour period when you\u2019re asleep. But that doesn\u2019t mean you should burn the midnight oil. \u201cEven if you stay up and think you\u2019ll burn more calories, you\u2019re probably staying up and eating to make up for it,\u201d says Cheskin.<\/p>\n Even though sleep lowers your metabolism, not getting enough sleep does more harm than good when it comes to losing or maintaining weight<\/a>, says Cheskin, who is also founder and director of the Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center.<\/p>\n \u201cBeing more rested makes your body function better and makes you less likely to crave foods that you don\u2019t need,\u201d he says. \u201cWhat we do know is that people who get adequate sleep or more sleep tend to have lower body<\/a> weight than people who don\u2019t get enough sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n This piece of content is from our valued partner myWW. You can find the original version here. Rev up your metabolism: the ultimate buzz phrase tossed around as the simple weight loss solution. But the fast fact is, there\u2019s no conclusive evidence that we can significantly and permanently change how our body […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":6324,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" \r\n \r\n This piece of content is from our valued partner myWW. You can find the original version here<\/b><\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n\r\n Rev up your metabolism: the ultimate buzz phrase tossed around as the simple weight loss<\/a> solution. But the fast fact is, there\u2019s no conclusive evidence that we can significantly and permanently change how our body processes food for energy or heat, the essence of metabolism.<\/p>\r\n\r\n That\u2019s because much of what determines your metabolism (age, gender, genetics) is outside of your control.<\/p>\r\n\r\n Your body\u2019s basal metabolic rate (BMR) accounts for 70 per cent of your metabolism. It\u2019s the amount of energy your body burns to keep itself functioning while at rest. (Think keeping your body temperature steady, your heart beating, your digestive processing functioning.) This is what people refer to when they talk about speeding up their metabolism.<\/p>\r\n\r\n Besides getting more physical activity throughout your day - which accounts for 20 to 25 per cent of your metabolism - there are just a few interventions that might increase your metabolic rate long term. And that\u2019s a big MIGHT.<\/p>\r\n\r\n \u201cThere are trade-offs depending on the individual that\u2019s doing [these interventions],\u201d says Lawrence Cheskin<\/a>, MD, director of clinical research at the Global Obesity Prevention Center at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.<\/p>\r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n\r\n \u201cPeople who have more body muscle are generally going to have a higher metabolism,\u201d says Douglas White, PhD, Associate Professor in the department of nutrition, dietetics, & hospitality management at Auburn University. That\u2019s because it takes more energy to maintain muscle mass in your body than it does fat.<\/p>\r\n\r\n It\u2019s a catch-22 of weight loss, says White: \u201cWhen people lose weight, they not only lose fat, they lose muscle mass as well. So, if you lose muscle, your basal metabolic rate will tend to go down and make it harder to burn calories to lose weight.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n White recommends resistance training to build muscle mass, which in turn helps to maintain or increase your BMR.<\/p>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n Some background first: every time you eat, you give your metabolism a slight boost. It\u2019s known as the thermic effect of food (TEF) and accounts for 10 per cent of your overall metabolism.<\/p>\r\n\r\n \u201cAll foods are thermogenic. They all have to be burned in your body. They create energy in your body, so in that way they increase your metabolism,\u201d says Julie Metos, PhD, RD, Associate Chair, Department of nutrition and integrative physiology at the University of Utah School of Medicine.<\/p>\r\n\r\n Frequency, or how often you eat, has been shown to increase metabolism, says Metos, with research showing that eating every three or four hours helps to maintain a steady TEF. \u201cThe idea is if you eat large meals and then you don\u2019t eat for a long time, that your metabolism slows down between those eating sessions,\u201d says Metos.<\/p>\r\n\r\n But, she cautions, if you\u2019re prone to overeating at meals, it could work against you. \u201cYou have to balance the slight metabolic effect with the behavioural effect,\u201d says Metos. This is where your WW SmartPoints\u00ae Budget<\/a> can help you make choices and avoid overeating.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n From a metabolism standpoint, it doesn\u2019t matter what time of day you eat. Anytime you eat, you\u2019re still burning calories<\/a> thanks to TEF. \u201cIt\u2019s not necessarily because the calories are more impactful in the evening - they give you the same amount of energy - but you have less time to burn<\/a> it off,\u201d says Cheskin.<\/p>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \u201cWater is really important in the metabolic process, and if you don\u2019t have enough water you can slow down your metabolism,\u201d says Metos, who recommends two litres of water daily. However, the scientific jury is still out on water\u2019s ability to increase your metabolism. If there is any impact, it\u2019s likely due to thermogenesis, so the water needs to be very cold.<\/p> \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n\r\n\r\n It\u2019s dizzying how many mythical quick metabolism \u201cboosters\u201d are out there. Here are some popular ones that research says fall short of, or don\u2019t make any, meaningful long-term change in metabolism or weight loss<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n TEF is also known as diet-induced thermogenesis, but that doesn\u2019t mean a certain diet helps you burn more calories. There aren't really any particular foods that increase your metabolism significantly outside of the thermic effects, says Metos.<\/p>\r\n\r\n As for the claim that some foods, like grapefruit, burn more fat than others? \u201cNope, there aren\u2019t any,\u201d says Metos. \u201cIncreasing metabolism would burn everything - carbohydrates, protein and fat. It\u2019s hard to differentially burn one thing over the other.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n The main reason grapefruit and other citrus fruits keep making the myth list is simple, says Cheskin. \u201cIt makes you eat less because it leaves a sour taste in your mouth.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n Only a few substances in food are known to have a slight additional effect on metabolic rate - caffeine, catechins (a chemical compound found in green and white teas), and capsaicin (a compound found in spicy foods, such as chilli peppers). These provide a 4 to 5 percent increase<\/a> in metabolic rate, according to a study published in the International Journal of Obesity. But their impact is short-lived and not long-term, says Cheskin. \u201cIt\u2019s not going to make a difference between losing 50lbs and gaining 50lbs. But if you like green tea, go for it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n To get any lasting metabolic increase you would have to eat these compounds around the clock. In the case of too much caffeine, that could have detrimental effects on your health, says Metos, including disrupting your sleep, increasing anxiety, and raising your blood pressure.<\/p>\r\n\r\n The other problem is the extra calories you can consume depending on which foods you choose, says Cheskin. \u201cIf you\u2019re going to have your caffeine in regular soda, sports drinks, or sweet coffee drinks, that\u2019s not good for weight control.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n Focusing on healthy eating patterns matters more, says Metos, a registered dietician. \u201cIt\u2019s not going to be the magic answer for you to include one of these things without making other changes.\u201d<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n Diets heavy in fat or protein don\u2019t increase or decrease your metabolic rate, says Metos. What they may do is make you feel full, which in turn reduces the number of calories you consume. Read more about eating fat to lose fat.<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n Gluten only increases your metabolic rate if you have Celiac disease, says Cheskin. People with Celiac disease can\u2019t process gluten, a protein found in wheat and other grains. It damages their small intestine making it unable to help absorb nutrients into the body. \u201cOnly 1 per cent of people who think they have it actually have it,\u201d he says. \u201cIf you have it, it will affect your metabolism and you will lose weight<\/a>. You\u2019ll also have diarrhoea and other problems every time you eat gluten.\u201d<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n Drastically cutting calories, by fasting or starving yourself, slows down your metabolism. Not only are you missing out on the thermic effect of food, but your body goes into preservation mode, says Metos.<\/p>\r\n\r\n \u201cYour body will burn whatever is available to it. If there\u2019s nothing available to it, it will burn what\u2019s on board, which are your muscles and the glucose in your blood or the glycogen, which is the glucose in your liver,\u201d says Metos.<\/p>\r\n\r\n Intermittent fasting might play a role in weight loss<\/a>, but it does nothing to boost metabolism, says Cheskin. Your metabolism rebounds once you eat, but it\u2019s not a recipe for long-term weight loss because it\u2019s generally not sustainable.<\/p>\r\n\r\n \u201cYou can improve your metabolic health and improve your metabolism overall by eating regularly and not yo-yo dieting,\u201d says Metos. \u201cPeople who have a regular eating pattern tend to maintain their metabolism compared to people who go long periods of time without eating, and then overeat, and then decide they\u2019re going to fast for a day. It\u2019s better to have an even-keeled eating pattern.\u201d<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n Your metabolism is at its lowest point in a 24-hour period when you\u2019re asleep. But that doesn\u2019t mean you should burn the midnight oil. \u201cEven if you stay up and think you\u2019ll burn more calories, you\u2019re probably staying up and eating to make up for it,\u201d says Cheskin.<\/p>\r\n\r\n Even though sleep lowers your metabolism, not getting enough sleep does more harm than good when it comes to losing or maintaining weight<\/a>, says Cheskin, who is also founder and director of the Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\n <\/p>\n4 ways to speed up metabolism<\/u><\/h4>\n
1. Build and maintain body muscle mass<\/p>\n
2. Eat smaller meals throughout the day<\/h4>\n
3. Avoid late night meals<\/h4>\n
4. Drink enough H2O<\/h4>\n
\n <\/p>\nWhat doesn\u2019t change metabolism<\/u><\/h4>\n
1. Certain foods<\/h4>\n
2. Diets high in protein or fat<\/h4>\n
3. Gluten-free diets<\/h4>\n
4. Fasts<\/h4>\n
5. Not sleeping<\/h4>\n
\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hussle.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/WW-CTA-min-1024x516.png\")
<\/a>
\n
\n
\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"4 ways to speed up metabolism<\/u><\/h4>\r\n \r\n\r\n
1. Build and maintain body muscle mass\r\n\r\n
2. Eat smaller meals throughout the day<\/h4>\r\n\r\n
3. Avoid late night meals<\/h4>\r\n\r\n
4. Drink enough H2O<\/h4>\r\n\r\n
What doesn\u2019t change metabolism<\/u><\/h4>\r\n \r\n\r\n
1. Certain foods<\/h4>\r\n\r\n
2. Diets high in protein or fat<\/h4>\r\n\r\n
3. Gluten-free diets<\/h4>\r\n\r\n
4. Fasts<\/h4>\r\n\r\n
5. Not sleeping<\/h4>\r\n\r\n