Have you ever wondered why some people can eat anything and not put on weight?
A great deal of this has to do with your basal metabolic rate. Your basal metabolic rate is the amount of energy you expend during rest. So the higher your rate the more calories you burn at rest.
This is how it breaks down:
- Approx. 70% of our total energy expenditure comes from Basal Life Processes within the organs of the body: Liver, Skeletal Muscle, Brain, Heart, Kidneys, Other Organs.
- Approx. 20% of our total energy expenditure from Physical Activity
- Approx. 10% of energy expenditure from Digestion of Food.
Other factors also influence your basal metabolic rate including:
- Genetics (some are just naturally faster than others)
- Age (slows down as you get older)
- Diet (Low calorie diets and starvation can reduce your BMR by up to 30%)
- Body Fat (the lower your fat the higher your rate)
- External Climate (cold weather forces your BMR to increase as you increase your internal temperature)
So how to increase your metabolic rate?
Firstly you will notice that the largest proportion of energy expendature, approx. 70%, comes from Basal Life Processes. Of this approx. 18% comes from skeletal muscle. So by increasing muscle you can increase your metabolic rate. Muscles requires a lot of energy to exist but as the body doesn’t want to waste energy it will be quick to reduce there size should you not use the muscle. So, work on your big muscle building movements to increase as many muscles as possible on a regular basis.
As a further 20% of energy expenditure comes from physical exercise it is important to keep moving and exercise regularly. It has now been proven that long boring cardio has no influence on your metabolic rate. Although you will burn calories during the activity there will be no long term carry over to your metabolic rate. Short intense interval training, such as Tabata Intervals, have showed to be much more effective not only for fat loss but also for your long term metabolic rate. Disturbing your body’s natural homeostasis causes your organs to use more energy to maintain equilibrium. So stick to short and intense workouts.
Correcting your diet is also vital for your metabolism. Ensure you eat protein to balance out your blood sugars. As stated above by starving your body or seriously reducing calories your body will start to conserve energy rather than use it, this is a survival response. So stick to fruit, vegetables and meats, and don’t skip meals. You can read more about my nutritional guidelines in other blog postings.
One important thing to note is that real fat burning happens when your metabolic rate is raised. You will burn fat all day long. Don’t concentrate on how many calories you burn during exercise think more about how you can influence you metabolic rate long term. This is the real secret to fat loss.
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