5 secrets to keep your BMR buzzing

Do you always wonder why that girl or guy you were friends with in high school or college could eat everything and not seem to put on any weight? Yea I know the feeling, one of my best friends would literally eat whatever and I would look at it and add weight.  Well that is because their metabolism was crazy fast. What is your metabolism? Many do not really understand the definition. Metabolism is the chemical reaction that occurs in an organism to maintain life. So this is basically the way your body takes energy from food and use it. Some are born genetically where their metabolism is significantly faster and their body uses that energy quickly vs some who seem to pack on pounds when they take one bit from a sandwich. What we call this “burning” is the basal metabolic rate. This is the number of calories that a person burns daily without any activity. This number is really more important than the scale number that you look at every morning. This number should be the starting point for the number of calories you need to eat daily then add in the calories that you may burn based on your activity level. A couple ways that your can figure our your BMR is doing a composition test or using this calculator. The calculator is not the most accurate but if you do not have access to the composition test it is a place to start.  For the people that pack on pounds quickly there are other factors that play into the role of you adding weight and your metabolism isn't to blame. For example there is research that states that when the body is really stressed out and has high levels of cortisol in the body can increase abdominal fat deposits (1). Also not exercising enough can play a role because you are either consuming too much food and not using it or just not working hard enough when you workout.  But really what I want to inform you about is the ways that you can keep that metabolism buzzing all day long so you don’t have to worry about how to increase it or if it is not fast enough or worrying about what you are eating. To visualize and get a better understanding of bodies contribution to your metabolic rate check out this picture below. We are going to talk about 5 ways to keep your metabolism buzzing all day long. 

1. Build Muscle Mass

   • Muscle gain typically means weight gain.And gaining any mass would cause metabolism to increase because it takes more energy to fuel and move a larger object. Though most of us would prefer to gain muscle over fat weight for a variety of reasons. Muscle is more metabolic than fat, contributing to nearly 20% of your total calorie needs compared to only 3% for body fat  The metabolic rate of muscle is about 4.5 to 7.0 calories a pound per day, compared to the fact that supposedly burns only 1 to 3 calories a pound per day.  This would mean an extra 5 pounds of muscle would equal an increase of 22 to 35 calories per day - which sounds small but could add up over time. And most importantly, gaining muscle can sometimes make the number on the scale go up, but this doesn't mean you aren't getting healthier, looking leaner or achieving great results. Taking progress photos, using a tape measure or tracking your body fat percentage might be better suited to show you exactly how well you are doing.

2. Lift weight:

   • Strength training is one of the best ways to maintain lean muscle and promote muscle growth to improve your body composition - whether you are looking to lose, gain or maintain your weight. In two studies, metabolic rate increased by 7% after 16 and 24 weeks of strength training, likely due to changes in lean mass. Lifting weights might also help increase your daily calorie burn, even hours after you've stopped training. Putting wear and tear on your muscles requires a recovery period and this is when positive effects on your metabolism are seen. In one study, increases in metabolism were seen up to 38 hours after strength training. 

3. Include HIIT Workouts

   • Similar to weight training, high-intensity training might also have afterburn effects, referred to as Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC) (10,11,12). After exercise, your muscle cells need time to restore normal function and metabolism. And the harder the training, the longer this takes. During this time period, oxygen consumption is increased, which is directly related to calorie burn. Thus, hard training results in a longer recovery period and extended calorie burn, increasing your metabolism during this time. 

4. Eat More Protein

   • It takes calories to digest calories, also known as the thermogenic effect of food or TEF. And some foods require more calories to digest than others. Protein is thought to be the most thermogenic of all the macros, which is partially why high protein diets are associated with more fat loss (

• Protein TEF = 20-35% of calories burned through processing
• Carbohydrates TEF = 5-15% of calories burned through processing
• Fat TEF = 0-5% of calories burned through processing

However, most food is eaten in mixed dishes, not as individual macros, and the TEF for mixed meals is somewhere around 10% of your calories consumed. In addition, TEF only represents a small portion of your metabolism (about 10% of your BMR) and an even smaller fraction of your overall calorie burn.

5. Get Enough Sleep

1. • Sleep can impact your metabolism by messing with certain hormones that control your appetite. Lack of sleep has been linked to increases in the hunger hormone ghrelin and decreases in the fat burning hormone leptin 

Lack of sleep may also cause you to crave unhealthy foods. And fatigue from lack of sleep leads to decreased output all day long and less intense workouts, meaning you are burning fewer calories than when fully energized. Sleep can also influence nutrient utilization and fat storage. Poor sleep may alter how glucose is metabolized. And not sleeping enough may actually cause you to store more fat, putting a damper on your weight loss efforts. Research suggests that most of us need at least 7 hours of uninterrupted quality sleep each night.. And playing catch-up on the weekends is not going to counteract the lack of sleep you got all week long.  Bottom Line it is possible to keep your metabolism up even as you get older but you have to put in the work to keep it going. That includes working out, changing your nutritional intake and your overall lifestyle may change a little.  References:

1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10023725/
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4183531/
3. https://ebook.ecog-obesity.eu/chapter-energy-expenditure-physical-activity/metabolic-mechanical-cost-sedentary-physical-activities-obese-children-adolescents/