Your metabolism can affect whether you lose, maintain or gain weight over time. Simply, your metabolism is the process of your body taking what you consume (food and drink) and converting it into energy for all the activities of your life. The speed at which you convert those calories is your metabolic rate, which includes your basal metabolic rate (the minimum number of calories you need for your body to function) and calories burned during physical activity.
Some factors affecting your metabolism you cannot change (e.g. age, gender), but there are some things you can do to boost it so you burn more calories every day!
Exercise! You burn more calories when you are exercising. Harder and more intense workouts burn more calories, but even an easy workout will burn calories and boost your metabolism.
Move More! Simple daily tasks like walking, climbing stairs, gardening, and housework require your body to work harder and burn more calories.
Build Muscle! You can improve your body composition to burn more calories. Strength training exercises build muscle, which burns approximately three times more calories than fat, so you can burn more calories each day, even when your body is resting.
Eat the right number of calories! Eating too many calories can cause weight gain. Eating too few calories can cause your metabolism to slow down. Finding that balance is key to a healthy metabolism.
Remember: Your metabolism will change slightly from day to day. If you can learn how to manage and maintain a healthy metabolism on a regular basis, it can be easier to achieve both weight loss and weight maintenance for the long term.
