Many people, with the constant advise from many diet and health based media, opt for an extreme caloric deficit diet to lose weight. Unfortunately, being in too great of a deficit for your metabolism, can lead to muscle loss, which will slow down your metabolism.
See the thing is, when your metabolism slows down, you will regain weight and body fat even if you go back to consuming a “normal” diet.
Additionally, being sedentary is the number one enemy of your metabolism and movement is benefitial as it promotes muscle use! A slower metabolism translates into a decrease rate of lipolysis (i.e., fat burning) and increased proteolysis (i.e., muscle loss.)
The final result is more fat and less lean muscle.
The solution to this problem is to know exactly what your metabolism is, and then to see if it changes when you start your diet! The best way to do this is to get a scientific test called “Indirect Calorimetry”, or simply metabolic test at Body Measure.
So is your diet ruining your metabolism ? It certainly is if your calories are too low for your Resting Metabolic Rate!
In this article, we will cover the most effective way to maintain and boost your metabolism to burn more fat.
4 WAYS TO BOOST YOUR RMR
There are 4 ways to boost your RMR that would help you maintain a fast metabolism:
1. Watch what you eat
Consuming a diet that consists of fresh veggies, fruits, and whole grains will inadvertently boost your metabolism.
However, there are some specific foods that come with natural BMR-boosting properties, such as green tea.
When scientists investigated these claims, they identified active substances in tea known as catechins, which boost lipolysis during physical activity.
Tea also boosts RMR by getting rid of pro-inflammatory cytokines found in the gut flora and bloodstream.
As mentioned above, you also need to avoid severe caloric deficit as it slows down your metabolism.
Previously, before metabolic machines existed like the one at body measure,to understand your “maintenance phase”, people measured the exact number of calories their body needed to remain stable.
Then they calculated the number of calories your body needs for safe weight loss by typically reducing that maintenance by 10 or 20%. This was very time consuming and often had unacceptable error rates.
By far, the best way to understand your bodies exact energy requirement for optimal function is by getting a metabolic test at Body Measure, which takes less than 15 minutes. This metabolic test will give you your Resting Metabolic rate and the exact calories needed weight loss, maintenance and even bulking! It will tell you also if your body is more suited to burning carbs or fats which has a big impact on your dieting strategies. You can even work out your MACROS with this information!
2. Stay active
Regular exercise is effective at increasing your metabolism.
More specifically, strength or resistance training is the best way to prevent muscle breakdown and fat deposition. The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism will be!
3. Avoid a sedentary lifestyle
As we mentioned above, a sedentary lifestyle will significantly decrease your metabolism.
You can avoid this by including some healthy habits in your daily activity. For instance, instead of driving to your local grocery store, go for a walk. Also, you can trim your backyard yourself instead of hiring someone else to do it.
4. Take dietary supplements
Some dietary supplements showed impressive results in boosting RMR, including turmeric and ginger.
However, you need to make sure that the products you purchase are high-quality to reap these benefits.
Prior to going to a supplement plan it is essential to ensure you are initially addressing the “bigger picture” of nutrition. This means finding your appropriate energy balance, as mentioned earlier, this is understanding your total calories requirements for your exercise and movement patterns and understanding your correct MACRO ratios (amount of protein carbohydrates and fats) – we wont go into any more of this for now as “nutrition Vs supplements” is a discussion for another day.
Takeaway message
Choosing the right diet and calorie intake to maintain a fast metabolism is crucial for efficient weight loss. Metabolic testing is by far the most effective way to calculate your RMR.
We hope that this article managed to shed some light on the successful strategies to increase metabolism.
If you still have any questions about metabolism or BMR, please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Check out our metabolic testing services by clicking on this link https://bodymeasure.com.au/metabolic-testing-2/
