Bologna, 9 August 2023 – Lose weight without diets and without drugs. Possible? Certain: working on metabolism. Of course, it should be noted that this is not feasible for everyone. Those suffering from pathologies that cause obesity or in any case that alter the metabolism must follow the advice and therapies given by specialist doctors. But for all those who would just like to lose a few pounds, remove the bacon or get fit, speeding up your metabolism is a viable option.
Metabolism: what it is and how it works
Metabolism is the set of biochemical processes and energetic that happen in our body. They start with food that we ingest and end either with the energy usage to produce heat and perform all vital functions, or with the accumulation of energy in the form of fat.
In our society, however, we almost always store more than what is strictly necessary for daily life, which is less and less tiring because it is facilitated by the comforts that science and technology have made available to us.
How to do so to direct the energy towards rapid use, rather than accumulation? To speed up our metabolism we simply have to increase the vital needs of our body increasing energy expenditure.
Simplifying the concept, energy is consumed normally for two activities: the basal metabolic rate and physical activity. The basal metabolic rate (the minimum expenditure necessary for our vital functions) is influenced by various factors, from genetics to age, from sex to hormones, but essentially we can do little to change it. So we just have to act on physical activity.
How to speed up your metabolism with physical activity
The increase in exercise physical represents a strong stimulus for the metabolism. The more muscles we have, the more calories we consume throughout the day. The muscle is a fabric that requires a high energy expenditure and the more muscle we have, the more energy will be directed towards consumption.
Fare sport therefore not only does it act on the metabolism at the very moment we toil and sweat, but it helps to create new muscle and maintain it keeping the bar ‘high’ in energy consumption.
To maximize metabolism it is optimal to do a mixed activity a combination of high-intensity stationary, bodyweight or machine-operated exercise, and aerobic activity such as running, cycling, or endurance swimming.
Useful tips to speed up the metabolism
Experts recommend a sort of decalogue:
– Train at least twice a week;
– Train no less than half an hour;
– Alternate aerobic activity with anaerobic activity (either in the same session or alternating them during the week);
– Accentuate exercises with weights, free body or in any case with all toning exercises.
These are high-intensity workouts which have an important effect on directing the metabolism towards the muscle:
– Change the training program often, so that the metabolism does not get used to it and is always stimulated;
– Take foods that stimulate metabolic activity, from guarana to black pepper, from bitter orange to group B vitamins;
– Try to maintain a constant pace, without too many breaks but also without reaching exaggeratedly long sessions;
– Take advantage of routine opportunities to exercise: park far from home, take the stairs instead of the elevator, do by hand what you could do with an appliance;
– Remember to voluntarily contract your muscles from time to time (pull in your belly, clench your fists, move your legs, contract your quadriceps).