I’m sure many of you have heard the theory that speeding up the metabolism means you will burn more calories and lose weight without having to alter your diet, in fact you may be able to eat more than you currently do! But is this just fact or fiction? read on to learn more.

We all know those annoying, seemingly impossibly lucky individuals who seem to be able to eat whatever they want without gaining significant weight.

Imagine if you ate the same foods and amount of food they do!  you would be even bigger!!

Their secret? Well it all comes down speeding up the metabolism.

The metabolic rate, is the rate at which the body breaks down foods and converts calories (often referred to as “burning” calories) into energy.

A sluggish metabolic rate can lead to all sorts of problems. The slower the metabolic rate, the more weight we will put on and the less nutrients we absorb. This has a threefold effect, as the food isn’t converted to energy it stays in the system far longer, this leads to weight gain, decrease in energy levels and even toxicity. The reduction in nutrients absorbed also leads to a decrease in general well being.

So what can you do to get your metabolic rate up? It takes time, so you need to be patient but the result is you can eat more of the foods that you love

• Eat Small Meals frequently – Eating smaller meals over the day tends to lead to less calorie intake overall.
• Never Skip Breakfast – Breakfast sets the tone for your metabolism for the day. Skipping this meal can lead to lethargy throughout the day which will often see us turn to calorie rich foods for an energy boost. It is thought that depriving the body of food leads to the body storing food and fats by slowing the metabolic rate, whilst this is still just a theory there does seem to be evidence that it is a valid one.
• Drink Cold Water – Consuming cold water forces the body to warm the water up to body temperature by burning calories. It also helps the body flush toxins from the system.
• Aerobic Exercise – Raising your heart rate, increases the metabolic rate by burning calories at an elevated rate.
• Weight Training – Developing muscle burns more calories than it takes to convert fat to energy.

Factors That affect your Metabolic Rate

There are a number of factors to take into consideration when trying to determine your metabolic rate. These include age, gender, thyroid condition, body fat and even your ancestors!

• Men over 40 have a 5% reduction in metabolic rate every 10 years, this is mainly due to decreasing levels of muscle. Maintaining muscle via a weights program can slow down this decrease.
• As the male body is most likely to contain more muscle mass than women, their metabolic rate is often higher.
• If your ancestors had a slow metabolic rate, it is unfortunately hereditary, you can combat this by employing the suggestions above
• Thyroid disorders, such as hypothyroidism can slow down your metabolic rate. This is however rare as less than 3 percent of the population suffer from an under-performing thyroid.
• Your body fat percentage affects your metabolism due to the fact that the more fat you have the slower your metabolism will be when compared with some one of a lower body fat percentage. The solution is to build more muscle and lower your body mass index. Learn More about your body mass index here

The good news is, if you can speed up your metabolic rate, you can lose weight without cutting calories from your diet.

So next time you find yourself feeling envious of that friend that can eat all they want and not put on weight, look closer and you will more than likely find that either by design or accident they are are employing methods that are actually speeding up the metabolism.