How do i increase my metabolism?

Amandabelanger614
Amandabelanger614 Posts: 110 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
After tracking weight loss trends for the last month i have realized my base metabolism burns around 1500 calories a day. Is there any way to increase this? I am counting calories and eating under 1500 a day right now.... but when i finally get to maintenance, i would like to think i could eat more than 1500 cals a day to stay where i am?

Replies

  • azdeha
    azdeha Posts: 58 Member
    Drinking lots of water, getting regular 8 hours sleep, eating at set times (3 meals and 2 snacks a day) to keep it in constant motion, and doing exercise is what was suggested to me by a dietician.
  • csalazar89
    csalazar89 Posts: 8 Member
    Exercise! Cardio and strength training are equally important and having an athletic or healthy body fat percentage (higher lean muscle mass) will help. Healthy diet and exercise go hand in hand.

    I'm not aware of other ways to speed up your metabolism, but I know drinking coffee, green tea and lots of water seems to help as well.
  • chezjuan
    chezjuan Posts: 747 Member
    The best way is to increase your LBM, and your amount of physical activity.

    This is a good article on metabolism from the Mayo Clinic: http://www.mayoclinic.org/metabolism/ART-20046508

    Some relevant quotes:
    While you don't have much control over the speed of your metabolism, you can control how many calories you burn through your level of physical activity. The more active you are, the more calories you burn. In fact, some people who are said to have a fast metabolism are probably just more active — and maybe more fidgety — than are others.
    Strength training exercises, such as weightlifting, are important because they help counteract muscle loss associated with aging. And since muscle tissue burns more calories than fat tissue does, muscle mass is a key factor in weight loss.
  • kacarter1017
    kacarter1017 Posts: 651 Member
    Strength training 2-3 times a week.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Exercise increases your body's calorie requirements. Without regular exercise I maintain around 2350 calories. With regular exercise, I maintain around 2700 - 2800 calories per day.

    Strength train full body 3x weekly with a progressive overload program that emphases compound lifts...these work the biggest muscles in your body therefore giving you optimal results in the most efficient manner. Muscle mass increases your metabolism because muscle requires a lot of energy (calories) to maintain. Also, strength training makes little tears in your muscles that need to be repaired...so while you're taking your rest day, your body is hard at work burning additional calories to fix your shredded muscle fibers.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    After tracking weight loss trends for the last month i have realized my base metabolism burns around 1500 calories a day. Is there any way to increase this? I am counting calories and eating under 1500 a day right now.... but when i finally get to maintenance, i would like to think i could eat more than 1500 cals a day to stay where i am?

    How did you do your math?

    Did you take accurate logging of food, and your weight loss during the month, not counting the water weight loss everyone gets, not counting the water weight gain new exercise will cause, do some math to arrive at daily burn?

    Then how did you go from daily burn to what you think the base metabolism is?
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
    basal metabolism 1500? that's already pretty fast AFAIK...

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