You've probably heard people blame their weight on a slow metabolism, but what does that mean? And is metabolism really the culprit? Is it possible to rev up your metabolism to burn more calories?
Metabolism is affected by your body composition. By body composition, I mean the amount of muscle you have versus the amount of fat. Muscle uses more calories to maintain itself than fat. People who are more muscular (and have a lower percentage of body fat) are said to have a higher metabolism than others that are less muscular.
Metabolism is the process the body uses to convert food into energy. Your body either uses this fuel right away or stores it in body tissues, like your liver, muscles or as body fat. Many factors influence metabolism including sex, age, thyroid levels, the ratio of muscle to fat and your emotional state. After 40 your metabolism winds down 5% every 10 years, which means you have to consume fewer calories and work out more just to maintain your normal weight.
Slow metabolism is where your body is having a harder time breaking down foods and it goes slow, when you have a slow metabolism and your body can’t break the foods fast enough it just pushes it to the side (that’s the fat).
Some facts:
After age 40 Mitochondria—the structures within cells that convert food into energy— slow down or die. You can’t burn calories like you did before and can start gaining weight.
After 40 your estrogen levels drop which causes insulin levels to go up and thyroid levels to go down, both of which increase hunger. You wind up eating more and burning fewer calories, which adds to the fat deep inside your belly known as omentum fat.
Recent studies suggest that at 40, women lose muscle mass twice a fast as men. You lose the most muscle mass on the body’s largest surface areas like the core muscles supporting your shoulders and belly, as well as your thighs. Muscle burns 3 times more calories than fat cells, which means loss of muscle mass causes weight gain and an inability to shed pounds.
Increasing your metabolism after 40 may seem impossible. But with a little effort, it's possible to
Increase Metabolism Naturally at any age:
Eat more protein and fewer carbohydrates.
Avoid white flour and sugar. Instead, eat complex carbohydrates like vegetables and fruit throughout the day to increase your metabolism.
Drink tea with a bit of apple cider vinegar and plenty of cold water throughout the day. Sipping these drinks will increase your metabolism up to 10 percent for an hour after drinking them.
Do yoga to build muscle mass and increase your resting metabolic levels.
Take omega-3 fatty acids every day to boost your metabolism.
So rev up your metabolism and keep those unwanted pounds from your body. Once you do this, you will raise metabolism and become a fit and fabulous 40 year old, Fantastic!
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