Let’s Talk About Your Metabolism
Your metabolism is what we call all the chemical processes that support life.
The speed of your metabolism varies wildly from person to person.
Someone with a slow metabolism often has more calories leftover, which then gets stored as fat.
Whereas people with fast metabolisms burn more calories and are not as likely to accumulate excess fat.
I’m Dr. Kimberly Dawdy, a naturopathic doctor in Ottawa, and in this article we’re going to dive into the details of exactly what your metabolism is, what it does, and how you can speed it up if that’s your goal.
Now, let’s get started.
What Is Your Metabolism?
Your metabolism is all of the chemical processes that convert proteins, fats, and carbohydrates from food into the energy that your cells need to function.
Your metabolic rate is the amount of time it takes for your body to process and burn energy from the food you eat, which is the process described above.
You can think of your metabolic rate as the number of calories your body consumes in a given amount of time.
What Does The Speed Of Your Metabolism Do?
As mentioned above, the speed of your metabolism determines the number of calories consumed by your body in a given period of time.
The faster your metabolism, the more calories consumed and the less fat your body stores.
People with faster metabolisms typically require more calories, because their body uses them faster.
This is why people with fast metabolisms can seem to get hungry often, but don’t seem to gain any weight even though they eat a lot of food.
This speed is commonly referred to as the metabolic rate or calorie expenditure.
What Affects Your Metabolic Rate?
There are a number of different factors that can influence your metabolic rate.
One of the biggest factors is genetics.
Your genetics plays a large role in how many calories your body naturally burns per day.
A few other factors include:
- sex
- weight
- body makeup
- diet
Can You Increase Your Metabolism?
While some factors of your metabolism can’t be adjusted, like your genetics, many of these factors can be adjusted.
This is good news especially if you have weight loss goals that you are currently trying to reach.
Effective weight loss typically includes strategies to speed up your metabolism.
Let’s dive into a couple of strategies to consider.
1. Move Around – Even A Little Bit Helps
Exercise and body movement requires calories.
The more you do, the more calories your body burns.
Even something as simple as standing up regularly and taking a short walk to stretch your legs makes a big difference over time.
If you’re able to, exercise regularly – it’s a great strategy for raising your metabolic rate.
2. Get A Good Night’s Sleep
Getting enough sleep is very important.
Not just for your overall health, but also for maintaining your metabolic rate.
Inadequate sleep is often associated with an increased risk of weight gain and obesity.
3. Don’t Eat Too Little
Not eating enough can trigger what we call “starvation mode” in the body.
Officially called adaptive thermogenesis, it is your body’s response to not getting the required calorie intake.
Your body then adapts by slowing down your metabolic rate as a survival mechanism.
The amount of the slowdown during starvation mode varies from person to person and is largely determined by genetics.
4. Eat A High Protein Diet
Eating a high protein diet is essential to build and maintain muscle mass.
A large muscle mass requires a faster metabolism to maintain because muscles consume more calories while resting than fat.
Protein also has a longer lasting temporary increase in the metabolic rate than most other foods.
This boost in caloric expenditure burns more and if consistent, over time leads to an increased metabolic rate.
5. Stay Hydrated
Many studies have shown that drinking water leads to a growth in the number of calories burned through a process that is called water-induced thermogenesis.
Drinking cold water is even better because it forces your body to expend more calories by first warming it up to your body’s temperature.
Book An Appointment With Dawdy Naturopathic
To summarize: although some of the factors that effect your metabolism are out of your control, there are many effective ways to speed it up.
While metabolism is an important part of weight-loss, it is far from the full picture if that if your goal.
It’s just as important to also eat a healthy diet that works with your body.
If you’re not sure where to start, don’t worry!
Naturopathic doctors are a great resource to help you rebalance your body and work towards your health goals, even if that is as simple as boosting your metabolism to lose weight; it’s what they’re great at.
If you have concerns about your metabolism, or you’re looking for help in your weight loss journey, book an appointment with Dawdy Naturopathic today.
Yours in Health,
Dr. Kimberly Dawdy, ND
Dawdy Naturopathic Clinic
6899 Sunset Blvd,
Greely, ON K4P 1C5
-https://g.page/dawdynaturopathicclinic
Dawdy Naturopathic Clinic offers a variety of naturopathic health solutions for individuals and families in Ottawa and the surrounding area.
