Burn It Off
Make your metabolism work for you. Every time you swallow food, it becomes fuel for your body through a process called metabolism.
"It includes all the reactions in the body concerned with energy," says Dr Kim Bell-Anderson from the School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences at the University of Sydney. "It’s like an internal engine that takes energy from food and either burns it up for immediate energy production or stores it as fat for later use."
The energy your body requires to maintain basic, essential functions is known as the basal metabolic rate (BMR). This accounts for 50 to 80 per cent of the kilojoules you burn every day, so keeping it high will help you achieve a healthy weight.
"The metabolic rate is linked to the amount of energy consumed, so if there is a reduction in the calories ingested, the metabolic rate slows down to compensate for this drop in energy," says Dr Bell-Anderson. "This makes it hard for people dieting to lose weight, because the body naturally defends itself to conserve energy."
Build Lean Muscle Mass
One way to improve your BMR is to increase your lean muscle mass, which is why healthy weight-loss programs, such as Slimplicity, include strength training as well as diet changes. Simply eating less will result in a reduction in muscle mass and a drop in your BMR.
Many factors influence your BMR, including body size (the bigger the body, the more metabolizing tissue and the higher the BMR), age (metabolism slows as we get older), and gender (men have a faster metabolism because they tend to be larger and have less body fat).
You mightn’t be able to control these factors, but you can definitely speed up your metabolism through exercise, says Dr Bell Anderson. A study by the University of Pennsylvania, USA, found exercising with weights is particularly beneficial for women.
"The effects of exercise on metabolic processes can last up to 24 hours," she says.
Working towards increasing your level of physical activity and working towards healthier eating habits is the best investment in improving your BMR.