Who hasn't looked at someone who is whippet thin scarfing down a double whopper with cheese and thought something like, "If I ate that, I might as well tape it to my thighs/butt/gut and cut out the middle man." We all seem to know someone who can eat whatever they want and never gain weight. Unless they are exercising their buns of steel off, they probably have a very high metabolism.
(small housekeeping break)
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Yes, genetics plays a significant role in metabolism, but there are other factors:
Your metabolism is influenced by your age (metabolism naturally slows about 5% per decade after age 40); your sex (men generally burn more calories at rest than women); and proportion of lean body mass (the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolic rate tends to be).
And here's a fact that may surprise you: the more weight you carry, the faster your metabolism is likely running.
"The simple fact is that the extra weight causes your body to work harder just to sustain itself at rest, so in most instances, the metabolism is always running a bit faster," says Molly Kimball, RD, sports and lifestyle nutritionist at the Oscher's Clinic's Elmwood Fitness Center.
"If two people both weigh 250 pounds, and one got there by dieting down from 350 and the other one was always at 250, the one who got there by cutting calories is going to have a slower metabolism," says Yanagisawa. "That means they will require fewer calories to maintain their weight than the person who never went beyond 250 pounds."
Webmd
I know, the first time I read this, I was thinking, "Ugh...just ugh." So not only has nature screwed me with a slow metabolism, but now that I am packing on the pounds, I am forever doomed to eat less than my skinny brethren just to stay even. There is hope. There are things we can go do "rev" up our metabolism and get the most bang for the buck.
We all know that exercise burns calories, what some don't know is that your body continues to burn extra calories for up to 24 hours after a workout. This is referred to as the "afterburn." Of course, not all of us are fond of working out, but the formation of lean muscle mass in itself burns more calories, up to 50 calories for pound of lean muscle mass, so getting fit is a win win for your metabolism.
What you eat can affect your metabolism in a variety of ways. First, there are foods that take more energy to process, like protein, which takes far more calories to process than carbohydrates. Also, high fiber foods take increase metabolism. Even though fiber isn't digested, the body does attempt to do so and in so doing, revs that ole metabolism right up. Studies have shown that eating more often can increase metabolism, you will burn more calories eating many small meals than just two or three large meals.
Oh and let us not forget Omega-3. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in fish, eggs (higher in free range chicken eggs) beef (higher in grass fed beef) and can be taken in a pill form. Omega-3 fatty acids have been proven to increase fat burning enzymes while decreasing fat storing enzymes. Fat burning in a pill...who knew!
More from Webmd
Sleep patterns and stress can affect your metabolism, so getting a healthy 8 hours of sleep and keeping yourself out of aggravating situations can benefit your metabolism as well as the rest of your life.
One last thing on what to avoid when dieting. Studies have shown that artificial sweeteners are linked to weight gain. My friends, you are much better off with a glass of tea and honey (or sugar!) than a zero calorie soft drink. Linked for your reading goodness:
Study
More on soft drinks
and yet another study