Revving Up Your Metabolism
by Amy Carlson, MS, RD, LD

Absolutely, this is the #1 excuse/question I get when people are trying to lose weight. How do I increase my metabolism? Or they comment, "I just have a slow metabolism!" Well, that may be partly true. We all have different rates at which we metabolize fuel. Metabolism really is the "chemical reactions that occur in the body, enabling cells to release energy from foods, convert one substance to another, and prepare end products for excretion." How do you like that? In other words, it is what happens to the food we eat at a cellular level. Some of us are more efficient than others at converting food to fuel. It takes us less calories (we burn less calories) to change a slice of bread into glucose to be used for fuel or stored in our tissues. On the other hand some people are not as "efficient" converting food and as a result expend more calories in the process. These are the folks we often refer to as "naturally thin." We often feel that they can "eat anything they want." Well, the good news is for those who are very efficient at storing food as fat we will be the last to go in a famine! Fortunately (and unfortunately) there is an overabundance of food for most of us in this country, which leads to overeating and obesity. So the question remains, how can I increase my metabolism?

The are some golden rules to live by when trying to raise your metabolism. There are three things that raise your metabolism; exercise, eating and fever. I suggest the first two. Exercising can increase your metabolism and sustain an increase for hours after exercising. Cardiovascular exercise burns calories and initiates an "after burn" effect. Strength/resistance training helps to build lean body mass, which increases the amount of calories you burn even while resting. The more lean body mass, the more calories you burn. Basal metabolic rate (metabolism while you are resting) decreases by 20% between ages 30 and 90, in large part due to the decrease in lean body mass. The tissues that remain, however, continue to produce heat at the same rate as in younger adults. Exercise can help you conserve this lean body mass! Eating raises your metabolism. Many people skip breakfast in the morning and have little lunch only to eat large quantities in the afternoon all the way through the evening. Skipping meals produces a sluggish metabolism not to mention low energy. I tell people to think of their bodies like a furnace; start the fire in the morning (breakfast) and stoke the fire by adding logs to the fire (several small meals) all day. This produces a hot burning (calorie burning) furnace! Eating small, nutrient dense meals (complex carbohydrates, lean protein, fruits/vegetables) will help raise your metabolism and give you the energy you need to make it through your day.

Amy B. Carlson, MS, RD, LD is a registered dietitian and consults clients in the greater Houston area. To contact Amy for an appointment call 713.978.1713 or e-mail her at abcdietitian@houston.rr.com.

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