For immediate release
March 26, 2009
METABOLISM IS MODIFIABLE
WITH THE RIGHT LIFESTYLE CHANGES
ATLANTA – The human body can be
trained to burn more daily calories with the right nutrition and
exercise modifications, according to an expert at American College of Sports
Medicine’s (ACSM) Health
& Fitness Summit & Exposition.
Liz Applegate, Ph.D., FACSM, director of sports
nutrition at the University of
California at Davis, says resting
metabolic rate – the amount of calories the body burns in a
resting state to keep internal organs operating – can be improved
through lifestyle changes. The easiest way, she says, to calculate
metabolic rate is to figure 10 calories burned for every pound of body
weight for women, and 11 calories for every pound of body weight for
men. For instance, a 130-pound woman has an approximate resting
metabolic rate of 1,300 calories per day.
However, Applegate says certain key factors
affect the exact metabolic rate for individuals. These factors can be
altered in your favor to stimulate more calorie burn – and, in
turn, weight loss.
Body composition
How it affects metabolism:
Muscles, the workhorses of the body, use more calories to operate than
fat. So, the more fat you have, the fewer calories your body will
naturally burn.
How you can change it: Replace that fat with muscle. Strength
training creates lean muscle mass.
Age
How it affects metabolism: Resting metabolic rate
generally drops 2 to 3 percent every decade after age 20, typically due
to a loss of lean mass.
How you can change it: Stop the loss
of lean mass through strength training.
Hormones
How they affect metabolism:
Thyroid hormones have the biggest impact on resting metabolic rate
because they tell cells how much oxygen to use, or how many calories to
burn. Thyroid activity typically slows after age 40 in women, accounting
for some women’s mid-life weight gain.
How you can change it: In general, you can’t. Applegate
says not to buy the hype about supplements that claim to increase
thyroid activity. Focus your efforts on other factors that impact
metabolic rate.
Calorie restriction
How it affects metabolism:
Although cutting an extreme amount of calories from your daily diet
seems like the pathway to quick weight loss, self-starvation actually
slows metabolic rate down significantly.
How you can change it: Don’t send signals to the body to
conserve calories by detoxing or fasting. According to ACSM guidelines,
women should eat at least 1,200 calories per day, and men should eat at
least 1,800. Small, sensible deficits lead to healthy, long-term weight
loss.
Diet
How it affects metabolism:
Certain dietary components – and the right combination of them
– increase metabolic rate.
How you can change it: Make sure your diet has the right balance.
Proteins take more effort – i.e., calories – for the body to
process. Applegate recommends eating 18 to 20 percent of the day’s
total calories in lean proteins. Also, consume more fiber, which may
slightly block caloric absorption and keep you feeling full.
Applegate cautions that while implementing no
single factor listed above will make a noticeable change in resting
metabolic rate, practicing several can.
"Doing just one of these things might only lead
to 60 or so more calories burned per day,” she said. “But
when you start factoring in several of these modifications, they can
really add up and make a difference.”
The American College of Sports Medicine is the
largest sports medicine and exercise science organization in the world.
More than 35,000 international, national, and regional members and
certified professionals are dedicated to advancing and integrating
scientific research to provide educational and practical applications of
exercise science and sports medicine.
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