10 Factors That Have A Far-Reaching Impact On Your Metabolism
Metabolism refers to the chemical processes that happen within your body all the time and keep it alive and functioning. Often, the term metabolism is used interchangeably with the metabolic rate. The latter signifies your ability to burn calories, which makes it a key factor for influencing weight maintenance. The higher your metabolic rate is, the more calories your burn and the faster you lose weight. This makes high metabolism desirable as it indicates your ability to keep the extra weight off without making any major efforts. Obviously, this fact would make you more interested in knowing the secrets behind a high metabolic rate. Let us list the factors that have a far-reaching impact on your metabolism.
Muscle mass
The most significant factor that affects metabolism is the muscle mass of an individual. The reason is that muscle needs more energy to function in comparison to fat. This means that the more muscle you have in your body, the more energy you need to expend to use it. People who are muscular tend to carry lesser fat and burn it faster as well for effective weight loss. So if you want to rev up your metabolism, start investing in strength training to build your muscles first.
Age
The metabolic rate tends to slow down with age, which is the reason that you may find it tougher to lose weight as you get older. This happens because of the age-related changes in the neurological and hormonal processes. Further, the loss of muscle mass in older adults is another reason for the slowdown of metabolism. In younger individuals, on the other hand, metabolism is faster because they are going through the developmental phases.
Gender
Amazingly, gender is another key factor that influences the metabolic rate. Men are way ahead of women, with their metabolic rates exceeding by 10-25% as compared to those in their female counterparts. This difference is attributed to a greater muscle mass in males because muscle is metabolically more active compared to fat tissue. Women can make up for the gap by exercising to increase their lean body mass.
Genetics
Another factor that has a significant impact on your metabolism is genetics. There are some lucky people who can just eat anything they want without having to worry about gaining a pound. On the other hands, there are a few who eat a little and become overweight and their genetic makeup is usually to be blamed. Your genes can determine how well you are able to cope with your eating habits and lifestyle.
Body size
The common belief is that heavier people have a slower metabolism, which itself is the reason that they are heavy. In the article “Is It Possible to Speed Up Your Metabolism to Increase Weight Loss?” from IsaTonic, Brad Russell explains that contrary to popular belief, thinner people often have a slower metabolism rate than people who are overweight. Typically, people with bigger bodies tend to have a higher Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) because they need to maintain larger organs and fluid volumes. However, metabolism is dependent on a series of factors instead of body size alone.
Hormones
Your hormones go beyond just keeping your bodily functions going optimally but affect your metabolism as well. Though the thyroid is the main hormone associated with metabolic rate, even the sex hormones like progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone may affect it. This concept is consolidated by the fact that women tend to gain weight after menopause because their metabolism slows down due to the slowdown of the synthesis of sex hormones.
Physical activity
Age, gender, genetics and hormones are the factors that you cannot control when it comes to boosting your metabolism. Fortunately, the level of your physical activity is one major factor that you can control. Exercise does not help you in increasing the metabolic rate to burn calories faster but also adds to the muscle mass, which further has a positive impact. The best thing about being physically active is that your metabolism remains working even while you are at rest.
Adequate sleep
Surprisingly, adequate sleep can also have a positive impact on your metabolism. Not getting enough of it triggers the hormones which lower the metabolic rate and increase your appetite. Effectively, you may end up eating more and burning fewer calories if you do not sleep well enough. Therefore, you should aim to get seven to nine hours of sleep every night. It also helps you wake up refreshed and energetic to kick start physical activity and get your metabolism going in the next morning.
Stress
Research indicates that people with higher stress levels are able to burn fewer calories because their metabolic rate is below par. This happens because stress leads to higher insulin levels in the body, which results in slower fat breakdown and accumulation of fat reserves in the body. So if you want to get your metabolism pumping, ensure that you are able to manage stress. Exercise, deep breathing, meditation, music and doing something that you enjoy can have therapeutic benefits when it comes to stress management.
Other factors
There are several other factors that have an impact on metabolism. Environmental factors such as temperature are one of them. When the body is exposed to temperature that is too hot or cold, it has to do extra work to cope up and the metabolic rate goes up. Fever is another factor that pumps up the metabolic rate. Certain medications, caffeine, and nicotine can also cause it to rise. Not eating enough can lower metabolism as the body adapts by functioning slowly for conserving its energy.
Now that you know about all the factors that can impact your metabolic rate, you can work on the ones that can be altered with changes in your lifestyle. Including moderate to high-intensity exercises in your daily routine can offer significant benefits if you want to boost your metabolism and burn the calories at a faster rate. It has a dual impact because you will also end up with toned muscles that look good and further enhance your metabolism.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
