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 When you watch your weight, metabolism - a hot topic for discussion, and, in addition, one of the most confusing concepts. In fact, the metabolism - a measure of how your body burns calories. It includes three components. To begin with, there is indicator of metabolic rate at rest (RMR), or the number of calories burned on a regular basis, which allows your body to exist (ie breathing). "Everyone has their own individual RMR, which is usually determined by genetics," - says M.Pik Pamela (Pamela M. Peeke), a clinical professor of medicine and a scientist on nutrition and metabolism at the University of Maryland in Bethesda (USA), as well author of "Fit to Live".
The second component of the metabolism - your constant body weight or, in particular. lean body mass. "The greater your muscle mass, the better your metabolism," - says Peak (Peeke). Why is that? One pound of muscle burns 35 to 50 calories per day, while a pound of fat relieves you from 5 to 10 calories a day.
The last component - the thyroid gland. Peak (Peeke) advises all people older than 30 years to ask your doctor to pass a simple blood test to make sure that the thyroid gland is working properly.
Measure the level of metabolism
To determine your RMR, you can use the device, which is called the Body Gem. He counts the level in your breath. Registered doctors: nutritionists, personal trainers and health clubs may offer this service.
So you can get a rough estimate of your daily metabolic needs via simple calculations using the average number of RMR. Generally, RMR for a man of medium build who is not a professional athlete, is about 1,800 calories a day. For women, this rate is about 1,400 calories a day.
Now multiply your RMR by a factor of physical activity. If you are at least 30 minutes of moderate activity each day, multiply by 1, 4. If you are not very active, multiply by 1, 2 or 1 and 3. If you are very active and give physical activity for more than 30 minutes a day, multiply 1, 5 (for professional athletes, this figure could be as high as 2).
Now you can vary the amount of calories depending on your RMR and maintain your ideal weight.
The age factor
The metabolism tends to slow down with age. However retardation is mostly due to the loss of muscle mass. Women lose an average of 10 pounds of muscle mass between the ages of 35 to 50 years due to a lack of physical activity (however, for this reason men lose less). If each pound of muscle burns 35 to 50 calories, the woman will be consumed per day from 350 to 500 calories less. And if it does not restrict your diet, it can quickly affect its weight.
In addition to 70 years each loses the bulk of the muscle, and it is perfectly normal in the aging process. But if you are able to keep their muscles toned as your ability, you can minimize these negative effects.
Can you change your metabolism?
Oh, and the best strategy - strength training. "Increasing muscle on your skeleton, you'll warm up the body," - says Peak (Peeke). Best option - workout 2-3 times a week.
But do not stop there. Engage in 30 minutes of daily aerobic exercise, and find ways to be more active throughout the day. For example, often walking around every hour to stretch or walk while talking on the phone. "Any movement will help you to maintain the metabolic engine" - says Peak (Peeke).
She also recommends eating small meals every three - four hours. "Otherwise, your body will do the signals that you're hungry, and thus metabolism will slow down," - says Peak (Peeke). "Increase the load, reduce the size of your portions - and you will naturally improve your metabolism."
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