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Metabolism is a chain of chemical reactions that happen in our body, it converts food to energy. Whatever we eat or drink, needs to be converted to energy, for the body to function. Our body functions continuously 24 by 7, some of these functions are unconscious like breathing, blood circulation, hormone production and growth and repair of cells. The energy used to perform these functions is called basal metabolism.
Your body’s metabolism depends upon many factors like age, body composition that includes your height, weight and size, gender, the climate/environment. These factors are beyond our control, but there are certainly other factors like what we eat- Nutrition, the kind of lifestyle we live and whether we exercise or not are among three of the critical factors that can help boost the metabolism or slow it down. Poor metabolism often leads to health conditions like obesity and metabolic disorders like diabetes, blood pressure.
Here are three simple ways that can help you boost your metabolism:
One’s daily intake of calories is determined by the basal metabolic rate (BMR). So depending upon your fitness goal and BMR, a set amount of calorie is incorporated into the daily diet. It is equally important to take care of the source of calorie. If you want to increase your metabolic rate you should focus on the consumption of protein, whole grains, millets, fresh fruit and vegetables. These foods are known to boost the metabolism and are also a good source of fibre, vitamins & minerals and antioxidants which also improves overall health and immunity. Foods that are processed or have sugar content should be avoided, as they are a poor source of nutrients and can slow down the body’s metabolism.
Exercising daily has numerous health benefits, out of which boosting metabolism is one of the most important benefits. Daily exercise improves your blood circulation, improves hormonal balance. It also helps improve body composition i.e. it can increase the fat-free mass and muscle mass in the body, all of these factors lead to improved metabolism.
You can opt for any form of exercise like cardiovascular or strength training exercises, or simple activities like yoga, walk or run. In order to see the results, it is important to form a routine and discipline like at least go for a workout for 5 days a week.
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The kind of lifestyle we live has an immense impact on us. A good and active lifestyle includes the right eating habits, daily activity, amount of daily water intake, sleeping patterns, stress levels, frequency of smoking or drinking and exposure to sunlight are some of the factors that impact metabolism.
Sunlight, sleep and water are amongst the critical ones that we tend to ignore. For a good metabolism, it is important to consume 8-10 glasses of water daily, have 6-8 hours of sleep and a minimum of 15 minutes of daily sunlight exposure.
Having alcohol on a daily basis and smoking can drastically reduce the body’s metabolism, as they are usually “empty” calories and can affect organs.
Stress, which is very common in today’s life, is another factor that can lead to poor metabolism, as it leads to hormonal imbalance, which leads to food cravings and we often end up indulging in sugary and junk foods to cope up with stress.
It is very important to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle which includes moving around, eating right, and avoiding stress to improve your metabolism.
