One of the harsh realities that we have to face is that when we get older, it gets harder to lose weight. It doesn’t just happen when you pass 50 years old or so, but starts happening when you turn just 25 years old. Each year after turning 25, your metabolism slows down by two to four percent, and it keeps on going. For example, a 25 year old woman that’s 5’5” and 130 pounds would burn 1,375 calories per day just from being alive. That means by the time she turns 30, her metabolism could slow down to the point where she’s burning just 1,116 calories per day.
That’s a difference of 259 fewer calories per day. Without changing anything in her diet, that would translate to a 27 pound weight gain in just one year at 30 years old. Those numbers can be pretty shocking, but just because you’re getting older doesn’t mean that your metabolism has to drop like that on a yearly basis. If you’re concerned about boosting your metabolism so that you don’t have to cut too many calories to maintain your weight, here are some tips on how to do it. These are simple changes you can make that will last a lifetime and make it easier to avoid weight gain!
Build Muscle
One way you can avoid weight gain is by…gaining weight? It sounds a little odd to hear at first, but one of the best things you can do for your metabolism is to increase your muscle mass. One of the reasons why our metabolisms slow down is because we lose muscle when we age. Doing more anaerobic workouts can prevent this muscle loss and keep your metabolism revved up. After all, the more muscle mass you have, the more calories your body is burning even when resting. In the end, you could have a better metabolism than ever before by weight training.
Keep It Cold
One of the staples of any good weight loss plan is drinking plenty of water every day. There are plenty of reasons to be drinking water, whether you’re trying to lose weight or not. Multiple studies have shown that the best reason to drink water is because of what it can do for your metabolism. Drinking 64 to 100 ounces of cold water per day can raise your metabolism by up to 50 calories per day. The cooled water causes your body to increase its temperature, burning more calories to keep you warm. This is why it’s actually easier to lose weight in the winter rather than the summer!
Don’t Stop Eating
Obviously if you want to lose weight, you need to take in fewer calories than you’re exerting throughout the day. This could mean that you need to cut back on portion sizes, but that doesn’t mean you should really be eating less than you are now. When you go long lengths of time without eating, your body will preserve as many calories as it can, leading to a slower metabolism. This is one of the reasons why so many people that go on fast weight loss journeys (such as “The Biggest Loser”) are so prone to regaining weight.
Increase Intensity
Strength-based workouts aren’t the only kind that can boost your metabolism, as high-intensity interval workouts can also help. The mixture of aerobic and anaerobic exercises not only builds muscle but increases your cardio function. These workouts allow you to keep burning calories when you’re finished exercising. They’re also the most efficient in burning body fat, which is an added bonus for long term and short term weight loss.
Get On Your Feet
Exercising more will of course keep you burning calories, but doing something simple like standing up more often can offset the metabolism slowdown from aging. Standing for three hours per day is the key according to researchers, which can burn around 150 more calories per day than if you were sitting or lying down all day. That can offset any slowdown and add up to help you lose around 15 pounds in just one year!
Avoid Sodas
Many of us that have tried to lose weight have cut out soda, but didn’t want to give up the fizzy drinks, so we turned to diet soda. It can be effective for losing weight in the short term since it has no calories or sugar, but it can have some lasting effects. The artificial sweeteners confuse your metabolism into thinking you’re going to be ingesting sugar. This slows down your metabolism and causes your body to produce more insulin, which results in more belly fat. Those are things we all want to avoid.
Get Some Rest
While you should be standing more throughout the day to boost your metabolism, you’ll want to make sure that you get plenty of time lying down and sleeping. Research shows that people who get eight hours of sleep on a nightly basis have higher metabolic rates than those who are sleep-deprived. When you get enough a sleep on a nightly basis, you’re also going to feel less hunger throughout the day and better blood sugar levels. That’s a win-win-win situation!
Eat Your Meat
We already discussed how adding more muscle mass will increase your metabolism, and one of the best ways to do that in terms of diet is by eating more protein. Eating more protein can offset muscle loss associated, but this requires adding more strength-based training to your daily routine. As a rule of thumb, you should be eating one gram of protein per day per each pound of body weight. For muscle building, that should increase to 1.2 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound per day.
Go Organic
Besides aging, another contributing factor to slowing down your metabolism is toxins within the body. Eating more organic foods that haven’t been introduced to pesticides can increase your metabolism by promoting better thyroid function. When your thyroid’s working at a better rate, you’re burning more calories overall. It can cost a little more to eat organically, but it’s worth it in the long run!
Omega is Alpha
Omega-3 fatty acids are helpful acids that we can find in a variety of foods and supplements; most notably from seafood. Certain studies have shown that getting more Omega-3 into your diet doesn’t just boost your metabolism by a couple of calories, but rather a few hundred! They will also help all of your organs function, including your digestive system and your thyroid, keeping you healthy and burning calories throughout the day!