Highlights
- Weight loss is affected by a number of factors including metabolic rate.
- Good metabolism ensures more fat burn.
- Drink plenty of water and eat more frequently to boost metabolism.
Losing weight is no cake walk and everyone who has ever attempted to lose those extra kilos has realized it at some point or other. Sweating it out in the gym is important, but a healthy diet is even more important than getting your daily workout. There's never one fixed answer to the question of effective weight loss because there are several factors that influence the rate at which you shed that unwanted weight. Your metabolism is key to how fast you lose weight and hence, you must always keep that in mind while devising a diet and workout regimen.
So along with counting calories and eating portion-controlled meals, you must also keep in mind your metabolic rate and work towards improving the same. A person with slow metabolism or low metabolic rate finds it rather difficult to shed the same amount of weight that someone with a good metabolism can burn off easily. There are certain specific workouts and foods that may help you amp up your metabolic rate to help you burn fat and lose weight quicker.
What Is Metabolism?
Metabolism is a complex biochemical process, during which the body consumes calories from the food you eat, combines them with oxygen and produces energy. This energy is used up by the organs of your body to perform day-to-day functions like blood circulation, digestion of food, breathing and growth and repair of cells. Metabolism is an important measure of the body's efficiency to utilize the energy released from the food that is consumed. People who are lean and have more muscles tend to have a higher metabolic rate and hence, burn more calories with a relatively low amount of physical activity.
Age and sex are also important factors that affect metabolism of a person. Men tend to lose weight quicker than women, due to less amount of fat and more amount of muscles. Similarly, young people have a higher metabolic rate and more flexibility than older people. So if you have a slow metabolism, your body will burn lesser amount of calories per workout. This is probably why you may be failing to lose weight despite exercising and working hard in the gym.
Diet Tips To Boost Metabolism
Your diet is crucial to maintain a good metabolism. Here are some diet tips you can follow you give your metabolism a boost:
1. Drink Plenty of Water: Water is key to boosting metabolism because it is required in a number of biochemical processes inside the body.
2. Take Foods Rich in Vitamin D: Foods like fatty fish, orange juice, soy products, mushrooms and egg yolks are rich in Vitamin D. A deficiency of the vitamin may result in excessive production of the hormone ghrelin which causes frequent hunger pangs.
3. Eat Foods Rich In Omega-3: Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids can increase levels of fat burning enzymes in your body and can boost metabolism significantly.
4. Eat High-Protein Foods: Experts recommend protein-rich foods to people who work out. This is because proteins have a high thermic effect and hence, the body burns more fat to digest proteins.
5. Eat More Frequently: It might sound counter-productive for people wanting to lose weight, but eating more frequently keeps your metabolic rate high. However, be careful about including only healthy and nutritious foods and make sure that these are very small and easily digestible meals.