Luckily yes. You’ve probably heard it from sports coaches by now, but the key is to exercise more and build muscle, that way, you’ll have proportionally more lean mass (which can lead to an impact on your overall metabolic rate). Usually, the key is to combine cardio with strength. Aerobic exercises involve a fast and high-calorie expenditure, but sometimes a workout in which you use weights can be even more effective because it makes the muscle work intensely, raising the basal metabolism and drawing on the body’s deposits. In addition, once you finish, these muscles that you have exercised continue to need oxygen, and the body will continue to burn calories to facilitate it.
According to some studies, combining exercise and cardio helps speed up your metabolism and, surprisingly, eating spicy too.
On the other hand, there are another series of tricks that you can carry out if you want to speed up your metabolism and focus on eating. Spicy food, for example, has been shown to help by increasing heat production in our body, leading to more calories being burned. But it is an effect that does not last forever, although it is worth trying: you can add a tablespoon of green chilli or ginger to food.
And, of course, certain medical conditions can also interfere with your metabolic rate. An overactive thyroid, for example, would cause a person to burn energy faster, but if left untreated, it can lead to serious health problems. An underactive thyroid, on the other hand, would have the opposite effect on metabolism, although you don’t have to put your hands on your head either since both conditions can be alleviated with the proper medication.
What happens when our metabolism is accelerated?
We already have our metabolism activated, producing energy to supply the muscle and other parts of the body. This happens thanks to our homeostasis system, which is responsible for maintaining the balance of all the processes in the body so that we do not die basically. This system is exact and encompasses a multitude of metabolic processes.
Thus, when we have been exercising for a while and, suddenly, we stop doing it, our system still spends some time-consuming carbohydrates and fats to produce energy, while everything is regulated and the signals that “activate” our metabolism disappear.
Thus, once activated, it takes a specific time for consumption to return to the resting state. This process is often confused with the idea that we can “activate” our metabolism at will and, in an almost excellent way, start consuming reserve substances without doing anything.
In addition, it is also good to know that metabolic expenditure, that is, the energy we consume, depends on many factors and each body. Thus, the mass (the weight), the amount of muscle and the age, for example, determine that metabolism is more or less active. These concepts, unfortunately, often lead us to make mistakes.
How many calories do I have to subtract from my diet each day to lose weight healthily?
In Vitónica
How many calories do I have to subtract from my diet each day to lose weight healthily?
Some misconceptions about metabolism
Many solutions, foods, diets and products are sold that claim to “speed up the metabolism.” Although it is true that some substances, strictly speaking, can activate the metabolism, that is, accelerate the consumption of fats and carbohydrates, the direct consequences are relatively few.
Among these, for example, is caffeine, which acts on various receptors that regulate energy production. Like any other similar molecule, caffeine only acts on the metabolism discreetly and lightly, for a very short time and without significant changes. It does not make much sense to consume a substance, or perform a simple action, that “activates the metabolism” without this having negative consequences for the body.
That’s good because if we could turn metabolism on and off too quickly, we could have problems with our homeostasis: we could reach too high a body temperature, consume too much sugar in the blood or not properly store lipids if we stop to think a bit, the same as what happens with some diseases such as malignant hyperthermia, diabetes or dyslipidemia.
The idea of ​​”activating the metabolism” by drinking lemon water, lowering the pH, taking taurine, L-carnitine, vitamin B12, or other substances goes against the proper functioning of the body. We are doing it because we are exercising, which is the only genuine metabolism activator if any of these work. And it’s lucky for us.
Yes, you can speed up your metabolism.
Of course, you can, as we said. The only way to do it, yes, is to build muscle and get in shape. Slow metabolism is associated with a fat, old, or dysfunctional body on a more technical level. On the contrary, a fast metabolism, activated quickly and consumed earlier, corresponds to a worked body.
As we have said, it is the muscle, energy needs, the best (and almost only) activator of metabolism. The more muscle cells, the more lean tissue, the easier it is for the cellular machinery to consume energy and, therefore, the more reserve substances to burn. It also activates faster and reacts better.
That is the reason why a person with an active life has a higher basal metabolic rate. The basal metabolic rate is the amount of energy, usually in kilocalories, that our body needs to stay in a state of rest. This increases the greater the amount of muscle in our body. And it makes all the sense in the world, of course.
An athlete has a fast metabolism compared to a passive person, just as a young person has it compared to an older person. Of these two variants, we can only control our state through the physical activity we do. So, if we want to increase our metabolic activity, active life and healthy habits are our best options.
