In fact the rate that slows metabolism is to reduce the minimum weight gain that usually occurs in middle age is not because it is also slower at all. The truth is very simple, and often very uncomfortable for some people to hear: As we are older, we become physically less active.
This may sound depressing to some people at first, but when looking from another perspective, it is really good news. There are many things we can do to cope or prevent this slow and what seems to be an inevitable increase in weight. But before going into details on how to do this, we will discuss the basics of what metabolism does and what is not.
How to burn the body energy?
There is a parameter known as the resting metabolic rate, which is a measure of the amount of energy we spend / burn when we rest. This rate is determined by resting metabolism several factors such as size and sex, as well as genes that are inherited from your parents and no matter what you do, it can not be changed.
If we put aside, our bodies tend to get into burning calories in three specific steps that depend on what we do. These three metabolic types are, as indicated by the majority of people when they say they do certain things like exercise or eating spicy products, which can improve the metabolism.
Most people say will boost the metabolism, in fact, will not
When we eat, we spend a small amount of calories, nearly 10% of the total calories burned during the day. This is known as the thermal effect of food, and represents the first three phases that we mentioned above. There is a way to increase these expenses but not much by doing things such as drinking liquids such as coffee and boosting the consumption of a lot of protein.
Studies have shown that the consumption of certain foods and compounds such as caffeine, green tea or chili will make a difference, but not too radical. Some of them can give you boost your metabolism, which will not be enough to make a significant reduction in weight.
The answer is to get physical activity
The only most effective activity we can participate in will help us to burn more calories in particular. Whether we chose to take the stairs rather than the elevator, and go a short distance during the coffee break we have or do some intense exercise in the gym we spend the energy. Scientists name this second step: physical activity spending. After the completion of the training we have, and we continue to burn more calories at rest and that is when we enter phase 3, known as excessive oxygen consumption after exercise.
In terms of prevention of weight gain, the last phases that relate to the practice of sport is the most important. The best way to burn more calories during the day is to increase activity levels of any kind whatsoever, walking, running or exercising at the gym.
Many people think that lifting weights or strength training fall into this category, but the evidence indicates otherwise. Weightlifting has little effect on your metabolism. You can ask why. Because during weight lifting muscle does not burn a lot of calories, as shown by several studies. When it comes to spending a lot of calories, and the brain is actually more effective than the biceps. Studies have shown that the brain accounts for about 20% of the resting metabolic rate.
Then comes the heart, which needs to work all the time, and 15 to 20%. The liver is in third place, which also needs to work during rest, with the expenses of eating the same ratio in calories and heart calories. Next, the kidneys, lungs and other tissues. What remains is muscle tissue, which represents only 20-25% of total resting metabolism.
Therefore, despite the formation of strength is one of the healthiest habits you can get and will certainly have a positive impact on many things like balance and agility, and the truth is that it Has not the ability to change the metabolism superbly. The hypothesis that one pound of muscle has the ability to burn hundreds of calories a day is a great myth.
Always keep in mind how much you eat
Research has also shown that we become physically in addition to becoming less active more, we also tend to be less aware of how much food is really the body's needs. It seems to be a natural mechanism to control our appetite to discourage.
A good way to become more aware of the amount of food is enough to start eating small meals and eating more than when you are still hungry, instead of eating a large meal, which will definitely lead to excessive eating. By becoming more active and eating small meals composed of healthy foods, we can eliminate weight gain with age.