Thread: Boosting metabolism?

After reading several of the threads about health and nutrition, I started thinking. Is there a way to increase one's metabolism? If so, how? I know that metabolism gets slower as we age, and men have a higher metabolism than women but, there has to be a way (or more other than physical activity) to boost it. Any insight?

Increase your muscle mass through progressive weight training. I know that involves activity, but once you have the muscle it works for you 24/7 burning more calories.

Originally Posted by ssipes

Increase your muscle mass through progressive weight training. I know that involves activity, but once you have the muscle it works for you 24/7 burning more calories.

what she said. also good for your bones, mood, and pretty much everything else. no other way to increase metabolism naturally and safely than increasing muscle mass.

you can also eat more. ,r:;

What the others said: Exercise. Increase muscle mass.

You should also eat smaller meals more often. This will keep your blood sugar stable and your metabolism up as your body digests.

Increasing muscle mass definitely raises your metabolic rate all day, it takes more calories to maintain muscle tissue that fat.

Doing cardio raises your metabolic rate while exercising, but also has an "after burn" effect that can last for several hours, depending on how intensely you exercise.

So, with that in mind, doing some cardio every day keeps your metabolism at a higher level overall. Additionally, short burst that raise your heart rate through the day can keep your metabolism slightly elevated - things like taking the stairs, walking briskly rather than at a leisurely pace, shimmying in the grocery store line ..g.:

Yes, it's also a good idea to eat smaller meals thoughout the day. The energy the body uses to digest food ("thermal effect") is about 10% of the calories eaten and most of that is used in the first 2 hours after eating.

An overlooked one... getting enough sleep!

What's not a good idea? Pills and magic potions... I have seen some credible things about green tea boosting metabolism slightly. That sounds harmless enough if you're really looking for little extras.

Good luck :-)

Mahin

The other thing to do is do your exercising early in the day. Raises the metabolic rate and keeps it going all day long!

{{{HUGS}}}

I've been wrestling with this issue also. I found out a lot of interesting info. I found out that eating some sort of protein (eggs, nuts...) before 9AM is essential to get the metabolism going. Also, smaller meals more often (6 small meals a day vs. 3 large meals) is helpful. Also,it's important to eat "real food" such as whole grains, lots of veggies and lean meat/protein.

Hope this helps.

The problem with gaining muscle is that you have to take in more calories to gain muscle. To lose weight you need a deficit. I don't know if you just want to speed up your metabolism to lose weight. But if its weights lose. Cardio with some weight training and a deficit in calories.As well as organic foods should do the trick.

Eat breakfast (and if you can make it your largest meal of the day and eat progressively smaller meals as the day goes along) and exercise in the morning. I'm still working on the morning exercise thing (I'm NOT a morning person) but eating breakfast has totally changed my metabolism. But every body is different, so experiment and see what works for you.

Tammy

Thanks for all the input!

I have been doing much of what has been suggested...eating breakfast (that's a big one for me as I normally don't have a morning meal), exercising (doing both cardio and weights) and having fruit or yogurt in between meals. Working out in the mornings is not in the cards as I have to get my son to school early in the morning and I'm usually at work around 8 a.m.

Ahhh...Sleep...that could be the culprit since our mattress is way past its prime. Hubby and I trying to save up to be able to buy one (hoping by summertime) so that might be the answer.

Muscle gain and improved fitness is just about the only way - it raises your BMR (basal metabolic rate - the number of calories you burn sitting on your keester watching TV) above its current level as muscle requires more calories to maintain than fat. A solid combination of strength training and cardio will help achieve this. I find that strength-focussed circuit training works wonders, as it keeps your heart rate very high while still working primarily to build muscle.

Sleep is a very necessary aspect of exercise recovery - a sleep deprived body doesn't repair/build muscle as quickly as a well-rested one, hence its importance to metabolism regulation. Sleep deprivation also throws off the hormones that affect energy use and hunger, so it can screw up your appetite.

Your body doesn't care if you get your exercise first thing in the morning, midday, or last thing at night! As long as you are getting in plenty of exercise, do it when it suits your schedule best. That being said, I like a quick walk in the morning because it helps wake me and my body up. If I do a full workout before 11:00 am, though, I'm wrecked for the rest of the day and will probably fall asleep in my office!

Make sure you are eating enough calories! All this exercise and muscle building is damn hard work, so you may need to eat more than you initially thought. If you are working to lose weight as well, it is certainly possible to lose weight while gaining muscle provided you maintain a certain caloric deficit. But be careful and don't go too low food-wise. It would not be wise to hack your caloric intake down to 1300 a day if you are doing intense workouts for an hour or two a day!! Keep close tabs on physical hunger cues, eat when you are truly hungry, take in a balanced diet with plenty of fibre and protein, and stop eating when you are sated (there is a Japanese addage to stop eating when you are 80% full, and it's a good one to follow if you aren't sure how to tell if you've reached satiety or not).

Yes!! Im doing all of these things and its working for me

-sleep
-excercize regularly (weights and cardio)
-eat smaller portions every 2 hours (set your alarm if you need to)
-eat more protein
-eat breakfast!!!
-my trainer says that when you drink ice water your body has to work harder to adjust your body temp and it increases your metabolism

good luck!!

Drinking a lot of water helps too. And watch the fat-carbs intake. That's really hard for me.

What helped me was

- A good nights sleep.

- cutting out red meat (I do have it but once in a few months)

- eating breakfast (I eat rolled oats porridge/oatmeal). It's a slow buring carbohydrate that great for the metabolism

- eating lots of chicken and fish

- taking flaxseed capsules (lots of omega 3 great for the colon, the skin and metabolism)

- Drinking lots of water (at room temprature). I have to disagree with fotia the body rejects cold water which means which means you will pee a lot more.

- Cardio and toning . I don't like the gym but I love martial arts (krav maga) belly dance and pilates.

I'm 38 I've dropped 28lbs and I'm a UK8 US4. Which a took a year to loose gradually and I've easily maintained it over the last 2 years.

So as long as you remain active you can be what ever weight you like (increasing your metobolism is simple: the more you exercise the more you burn, the faster your metabolism) regardless of your age.

Oh and I enjoy a cheesecake and KFC when I feel like itl

Traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine strongly discourage drinking ice water and other very cold things, especially in cold weather (and the same principle applies to raw cold foods). Imagine: you want to stoke the fires, not put them out. But for a better explanation, consult someone who is better versed in those systems than I am.

I agree with everyone about strength training combined with cardio, sleep, and eating healthfully and enough! Consider lifting serious weight, rather than tiny 5 and 10-pound dumbbells. Check out:

Welcome to CrossFit: Forging Elite Fitness

and

stumptuous.com

Xfit is awesome (though I'm not into the whole Paleo Diet thing - seems kind of extreme and fundamentalist to me...like an eating disorder). Stumptuous is the fabulous website of a woman named Krista, who is in fabulous, real shape and writes really well, too.

I believe that 1300 calories is the baseline that your body needs to simply function, no? Years ago, while trying to figure out if I had a thyroid disorder (I do), I took my calorie intake down to 1600-1800 a day, while also exercising. The result was terrible. I gained 15 pounds in a month or two, and lost a lot of energy. It turned out that I had put my body into starvation mode, so it freaked and held onto weight. No more!

Oh, and don't be afraid of fat. Avoid processed foods like the plague, but don't be afraid of fat.

Finally, cut ALL industrially processed soy out of your diet. That means Tofutti, Tofu Pups, energy bars and anything else that uses Soy Protein Isolate as a filler. That stuff is poison. Your body doesn't recognize it as food. It's toxic to the thyroid.

- Leela

eating spicy foods with peppers like cayenne and jalapeno can boost your metabolism by up to 40% for short term(I got this from the book "The Thyroid Diet") You can also take a cayenne supplement.
I haven't tried it yet, but going to to. Love spicy foods!!

Originally Posted by Cinderbelly

eating spicy foods with peppers like cayenne and jalapeno can boost your metabolism by up to 40% for short term(I got this from the book "The Thyroid Diet") You can also take a cayenne supplement.
I haven't tried it yet, but going to to. Love spicy foods!!

I tried cayenne supplements years ago. All I got was the sensation that my stomach was burning up (no, I was not taking more than the recommended amount!), and a vague feeling of acid reflux. Not pleasent!

I've heard ot the cayenne suggestion before. That sort of metabolic boosting is, honestly, impossible. Even if it is short term, you would be talking about boosting someone with a BMR of 1400 up to a metabolic rate of nearly 2000. While digestion does comprimise a huge portion of one's daily caloric burn, it wouldn't be able to create such a huge distinction.

That being said, there are lots and lots and lots of health benefits to spicy foods. I just wouldn't look at them as a method of weight loss. The same goes for things such as drinking ice water - realistically, the caloric burn required to warm it up to body temperature is minimal and isn't really worth the fuss. Looking after bigger gains, such as additional exercise, increased muscle mass, cutting portion sizes, and learning your body's satiety point is much more effective than overcomplicating the diet with lots of small tricks.

Originally Posted by flimflamgirl

I believe that 1300 calories is the baseline that your body needs to simply function, no? Years ago, while trying to figure out if I had a thyroid disorder (I do), I took my calorie intake down to 1600-1800 a day, while also exercising. The result was terrible. I gained 15 pounds in a month or two, and lost a lot of energy. It turned out that I had put my body into starvation mode, so it freaked and held onto weight. No more!



- Leela

I don't think you can make hard and fast rules. I guess the recommendation of 2000 calories a day is based on an 'average' woman, but that might have been estimated before that entire world went obese. Or maybe that 2000 recommendation is now responsible for people eating more than they need.

I think my body only needs 1750 as a NET (i.e. account for exercise) calories as a NET intake of 1250 cal means I am loosing a sensible 1lb/week (which is 500 cal deficit/day) and still feel energetic and not starving. Yes, I am only 124lb to start with, but i am fit and have a decent amount of muscle so I think that 2000 cal recommendation is misleading as people forget it is an 'average' so if you are smaller than average you will need less.

Z

Halftruths, you are right and I agree with you....
Really, I made a hasty suggestion because of something I read in a book. And I know better than that, I should have thought about it more before I posted. I believe trying to do little "tricks" doesn't pay off well in the long run and somethings just are not pratical. The most practical solutions are usually the most effective, IMHO
I did however, add red cayenne pepper to some sauteed onions and sweet peppers for dinner last night and I have to say it was very, very good. So a new way for me to season veggies without adding salt is a good thing. But I would definitely stay away from cayenne supp. since I aready have a sensitive tummy
I got my thryroid book out yesterday because I was interested in what Flimflam girl said about soy. I am not a very much overweight, just a little, but I struggle with my metabolism because of thyroid issues (thyroidectomy)(and which is why i am reading this thread, of course)When I was younger , if I wanted to lose a few pounds I would just cut out the Cokes and go to the gym a few times. It's not so easy now

Several years back I had a successful weight loss with a very simple plan. I lost 20lbs simply by eating less and moving more. Since I was 147 to begin with it was significant for me. And I lost it in about 6 weeks. One thing I did was just walk a lot with added weights (ankle or waist belt) and added short bursts of exercise during the day, just five or ten minutes at most at leat twice a day. Just some jogging in place sometimes. Or put some ankle weights on and do some vigorous housework for 10 or 15 mins. It seems like for me, too many longer exercise sessions made me gain weight( or at least not lose)
Mahin has already been suggested the short bursts, I'm just adding that doing so worked for me and not just something I read in a book. Also my rule for myself was eat what I wanted, just not all of it. I kept it off for a good while, too.
Now if I can just get myself motivated to do exactly what I just said......

Zafirah - That's interesting. It just goes to show you how much individual constitutions vary. I have found, for myself, that having a metabolic disorder means that the calories burned/calories consumed formula doesn't hold at all.

Right now I'm breastfeeding and doing a lot of high-intensity workouts. I'm still trying to figure out how to eat to support that. It's pretty much a wash every day, so far.

- Leela

Originally Posted by flimflamgirl

Right now I'm breastfeeding and doing a lot of high-intensity workouts. I'm still trying to figure out how to eat to support that. It's pretty much a wash every day, so far.

- Leela

What do you mean by a wash, is your weight/size staying the same?

When I was breastfeeding (x4) I found it impossible to lose weight, despite exercise and diet, even though it is said breast feeding burns more calories. On the other hand, I didn't gain either. When I stopped, the weight came off easily and quickly.

What do you mean by a wash, is your weight/size staying the same?

Yeah, pretty much. I decided not to fret about it right now, since my girl's only 3 months, and since I was kindly reminded by another Bhuzzer that if you lose weight too fast, toxins stored in body fat can release too fast into your breast milk. My dr. told me that a lot of the weight is water, and that that accounts for the dramatic fluctuation from week to week that I've been seeing. She said it comes off once you stop breastfeeding. Whatever. I'm kicking butt physically and that's all that matters right now. Though I do miss my jeans.

By "a wash", I also mean that I'm hungry all the time and might not be eating enough. It's kind of impossible. So that presents an interesting question about the way metabolism behaves in this state.

Anyway, sorry to be sort of OT.

- Leela

Originally Posted by Cinderbelly

Halftruths, you are right and I agree with you....
Really, I made a hasty suggestion because of something I read in a book. And I know better than that, I should have thought about it more before I posted. I believe trying to do little "tricks" doesn't pay off well in the long run and somethings just are not pratical. The most practical solutions are usually the most effective, IMHO

If I came across as being harsh directed at you, Cinder, then I do apologize! I wasn't aiming my comment at you personally. There are so many ridiculous tricks for so-called metabolic boosting out there that it's become a sort of pet peeve of mine. All those little tricks turn into missing the forest for the trees, and it leads to overcomplication and frustration.

I did however, add red cayenne pepper to some sauteed onions and sweet peppers for dinner last night and I have to say it was very, very good. So a new way for me to season veggies without adding salt is a good thing. But I would definitely stay away from cayenne supp. since I aready have a sensitive tummy.

Oh, I love cayenne! My husband puts it in quite a lot of food. I especially like it in things like mushroom soup and dishes using plain yoghurt as part of the liquid. It adds a nice kick. And it certainly is healthy for you. I've been using a lot more spices in general, especially fresh ginger and chilies in copious quantities. A personal, completely untested theory I have as to some of the benefits of heavily spiced foods is that it helps with sensory satiety because you are getting such a huge hit of flavour with every bite, so you don't need to pile it as high to get the same eating experience.

Then again, the delicious, delicious results of all that Thai style cooking mean that I'm diving into the fridge to filch leftovers more often! ..l;,

I got my thryroid book out yesterday because I was interested in what Flimflam girl said about soy. I am not a very much overweight, just a little, but I struggle with my metabolism because of thyroid issues (thyroidectomy)(and which is why i am reading this thread, of course)When I was younger , if I wanted to lose a few pounds I would just cut out the Cokes and go to the gym a few times. It's not so easy now.

(Okay, I'm going off topic here, but I am compelled!)
Again, I hear ya. I'm hypothyroid as well, although I've found the right levothyroixine supplements to successfully manage it. Is it Mary Shomon's book you are reading? Her info is usually very, very good. A problem with thyroid issues, though, is that they vary so much from person to person. IE: A lot of people can't tolerate cruciferous veggies because of their goiterogenic effects, but they've never given me a problem, so I continue to eat them. It's a frustrating and confusing condition to put up with.

Originally Posted by halftruths

If I came across as being harsh directed at you, Cinder, then I do apologize!

I didn't take you as being harsh at all, you just made me realize that sometimes I make a post too fast without thinking it ALL the way through

I wasn't meaning to keep this thread off topic either. I think we would all love to solve the puzzles of our mysterious metabolisms.Wouldn't it be so much easier if we just automatically knew the secrets that would work for each one of us personally?

I am open-minded when it comes to alternative health stuff, so I tried a really "out there" detox for the past week. I got exactly NONE of the health benefits reported to go along with it. I was doing the Master Cleanse where you drink this lemonade stuff for days, and the benefits are supposed to be detoxing, help with mental clarity, sleeping better at night, relieving allergies, you never get hungry, and you drop a few pounds. I got NONE of that. Instead today, I feel like I was even more bloated and pudgy than normal, and I am pissed that I probably wrecked my metabolism this past week and now it's going to be even harder to get rid of these few pounds, and I may even end up with more because of decreased calorie burning. ,m::,m::,m::

So of course I'm reading this thread about increasing metabolism, and I think I'm going to buy that "If The Buddha Came To Dinner" book.