Do These Things Now to Keep Your Metabolism Strong Later

You’re out enjoying a meal at a restaurant. While you’re grazing through the fifth salad of the week, your rail-thin spouse is enjoying a big cheeseburger with a pile of greasy French fries. It just doesn’t seem fair. 

If only there was a way to supercharge your metabolism today so you’d have a fighting chance of having a healthy weight as you age. Actually, that isn’t as far-fetched as you may think. In this blog, the team at Cardio Metabolic Institute explains what you can do today for a stronger metabolism tomorrow.

Metabolism explained

You’re no doubt familiar with the word. After all, at some time or another many people either blame a slow metabolism for weight challenges or become jealous over a friend’s fast metabolism. But do you really know what metabolism is?

As its name implies, metabolism refers to chemical or metabolic reactions that occur when your body takes the food and beverages you consume and converts it into the energy needed to operate – everything from breathing to making and repairing cells to establishing body temperature and virtually everything in between.

 If metabolism sounds like a complicated and important process, it is. It not only occurs during every waking moment, but it’s also operating when you’re sleeping. Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is a mathematical calculation that determines the baseline number of calories your body needs to perform the most basic, or basal, functions, such as breathing.

Numerous effects on metabolism

The rub with metabolism is that whether you have a fast or slow one is largely determined by gender and genetics as well as age. Research has shown that at about age 60, BMR begins to decline. Also, men generally have a higher metabolic rate than women because they typically have less body fat and more muscle, enabling them to burn more calories.

 The good news is that while you can’t control genetics and age, there are plenty of things you can do today to boost your metabolism and keep it strong in the future. Spoiler alert! It’s all about energy (food) and activity.

Eat healthy and drink more water

Do yourself a favor, and kick those processed foods, fried foods, and refined sugars to the curb. These types of foods are likely to end up being stored as fat. To boost metabolism, choose a healthy diet with plenty of lean protein, whole grains, and fruits and vegetables — foods your body can leverage to fuel its activities and functions.

What’s even better is that research shows that increasing protein in your diet has both short-term and long-term benefits. Diets higher in protein temporarily increase metabolism by about 15%-30%. 

In the long run, a protein-rich diet builds muscle mass. And people with more lean muscle mass tend to have a faster metabolism, which burns more calories. While you're eating healthier, don’t forget to drink plenty of water throughout the day, which also helps your body burn more calories.

Get up and get active

When it comes to building new habits today to build a strong metabolism tomorrow, exercising and becoming more active are important. Similar to incorporating more protein into your diet, increasing physical activity has both short- and long-term advantages to boosting metabolism.

Weight-bearing exercise — using resistance bands or lifting weights — builds muscle mass, which can burn calories even when your body is at rest. Aerobic exercise, like cycling, swimming, or even walking, is an efficient way to burn more calories.

Get adequate sleep

You probably know that getting a good night’s sleep helps your body recover and restore and also lowers your risk for health complications like high blood pressure, diabetes, and having a stroke or heart attack. But did you know it affects metabolism? Problems sleeping may change the way your body uses glucose and can interfere with the hormones that regulate metabolism.

At Cardio Metabolic Institute, we know that making lifestyle changes to get healthier are difficult. The good news is you don’t have to go it alone. 

When you need to develop a healthier diet or incorporate more exercise into your life, our team of physicians, registered dieticians, counselors, and fitness experts can develop a program to boost your metabolism to tackle weight loss. We even provide sleep medicine services.

To get started on your journey to a healthier you now so you stay strong later, contact Cardio Metabolic Institute. Can call the location near you — in Somerset, Monroe Township, East Brunswick, or Edison, New Jersey — or book your appointment online today.