14 Tips To Help Increase Metabolism With Age
Having high metabolism may be beneficial in many ways like burning more calories and keeping off unhealthy weight. A high metabolism means your system also digests and absorbs food nutrients quickly. According to the Women Health Magazine, your metabolic rate may be at its peak during the early ’20s. this may explain the reason why many individuals at this age may experience muscle mass and easier ability to lose weight.
As you age, your metabolism slows down, making the process of burning calories slow too. As per the same magazine, many individuals from age 30 onwards tend to lose less fat due to reduced metabolism. Read on to find out ways on how to increase metabolism with age.
Hydrate More
Drinking water may be the simplest way to increase your metabolism as you age. Water fuels the process of burning calories in your body. Even though it may be a temporary way to boost metabolism, it is way better compared to taking sugary fluids and processed drinks that contain high amounts of sugar and calories, which may be harmful.
Studies also show that taking warm water 30 minutes before your meals may help fill you up, hence you may eat less, unlike eating on an empty stomach which may lead to overfeeding. Water helps the body dissolve important minerals from food as it still keeps your skin and brain healthy.
Incorporate Protein In All Your Meals
Protein is not only a key source for the growth, development, and repair of tissues in the body but also a great source to increase metabolism with age. Protein may increase your metabolic rate up to 30% compared to other foods like fats and carbohydrates.
Incorporating protein in your meals may also help maintain muscle mass which may be necessary for a metabolism boost. Just like water, protein enables you to feel fuller which may lead to less consumption of food. Eating less might speed up metabolism. Great sources of protein include:
- Poultry – chicken, turkey, goose.
- White meat – Pork, fish, chicken.
- Seafood – prawn, lobster, crabs, and mussels.
- Dairy products like milk, Greek yogurt, and cheese.
- Nuts – groundnuts, peanut butter
- Legumes including beans, lentils, and chickpeas.
You may consider using protein shakes and protein supplements to supplement your protein intake. You might also consider tracking your protein intake using apps and calculating protein amounts your body requires in a day. For instance, women over 50 years old may be required to take 1.5grams of protein per body kilogram of weight.
Workout
Working out is by far the quickest way of increasing metabolism as you age alongside other benefits. As you age, you might want to consider engaging in high-intensity exercises and building muscle to propel your metabolism.
When you work out, your metabolic rate increases causing the burning of calories in your body. The increase may last even after you finish your workouts; thus, your body may still burn more calories after finishing your workouts.
High-intensity exercises and weight lifting may be the best forms of exercise to burn more calories and increase your metabolism. This is because they require explosive energy which equals burning more fat. Studies show that after the age of 30, a human being begins to lose muscle mass over years. Perhaps the best way to retain and grow the same muscle is through engaging in strength training and lifting weights.
While working out, ensure to have a proper program that incorporates all body parts during the whole week. You may want to produce more chemical reactions in burning fat and this might happen better when you exercise all necessary body parts which include legs, chest, back, arms, and the abdominal area which might be a good exercise to burn core fat.
Aerobic exercises, also known as cardio may also be great for increasing your metabolism with age further. Aerobics has more benefits than just an increase in metabolism. These include increase resting heart rate, lower blood pressure, and lower risks of heart diseases. Best forms of cardio include swimming, running, dancing, and bike riding.
Eat More Often
Having small meals more often may help increase metabolism. The longer you go without meals the more your metabolism rate may fall. A consistent metabolism rate may require small meals after two hours or snacks in between your meals for the day. Protein shakes or supplements and proper snacks like sandwiches or fruits may be used instead.
Many may think having more frequent small meals may lead to an increase in weight. On the contrary, this helps keep your blood sugar level healthy while increasing your metabolism rate. Moreover, bombarding your digestive system with a lot of food at once may slow the digestion process, especially when you have high-fibre meals. Eating more often will help increase your metabolism as you age.
Sleep Enough
Getting quality sleep may be promising for both your health and metabolism. Quality sleep helps the body burn more calories and utilize more nutrients efficiently. Many individuals get less sleep when they age or get older. Some even get tired during night’s rest.
You may consider fixing your sleeping habits for better quality sleep to increase metabolism. Improving your sleep positions and mattress may help you get quality sleep. You may also ensure the room you sleep in is cool by using an AC to neutralize the temperatures. Heat may not do well with increasing metabolism as you age.
Don’t Count Calories
When in a mission to boost your metabolism, it is important to stop counting calories. This means you may consider quitting calorie deficit programs. The body may slow down your metabolism when you choose to deprive it of energy in form of calories. This means when you follow a calorie surplus or deficit, you may lack enough minerals from certain foods.
On the other hand, you may consider having well-balanced diets. Fibre, protein foods, and healthy diets may do the trick to increase your metabolism with age.
Breakfast Is Important
Many people tend to skip breakfast or maybe have small biting as breakfast. This may be due to lifestyle or work. However, breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day, not only for your health but also your metabolism, especially as you age. Mornings are the best times to hydrate more and eat balanced diets because the body then needs replenishing.
During the night, metabolism may increase due to quality sleep, but eventually, the process slows down as morning approaches. It is because the stomach is empty and all the necessary calories have been burned during this time. This shows how breakfast is important for more metabolism.
Monosaturated Fats
Monosaturated fats may be a key to improving your metabolism. Fat does not necessarily make you fat, especially if you choose the right fat like monosaturated fats. These are types of fat that may increase your metabolism and burn fat more without losing any calories. Healthy monosaturated fats include plant-based liquid oils like canola oil, olive oil, sesame oil, and peanut oil which are also essential for heart health.
Also known as healthy fats, monosaturated fats boost metabolism by allowing the body to generate glucagon, fat-burning hormones. The frequently you consume these healthy fats the more the hormones may be produced.
Reduce Stress Levels
Stress may sometimes be inevitable but it is important to control your stress levels since it may tamper with your metabolism rate and efforts. Stress increases the production of its hormones, cortisol, which may reduce the rate of your metabolism. This may further cause unhealthy weight gain. So to increase metabolism, you must try to reduce your levels of stress.
Try Snacks Before Bed
Snacking before bed may be important if you are on a mission to improve your metabolism. However, you might need to ensure your snack includes high amounts of protein than carbs. Protein may enhance further metabolism while you sleep, unlike carbs which might take longer to digest.
Snacking before bed might be essential as the stomach will not be empty during the night. These snacks may include protein bars, oatmeal, eggs, yogurt, especially Greek yogurt, berries, and kiwis. They all contain compounds that support quality sleep like serotonin and melatonin.
Reduce Sugar Intake
Too much sugar might be the number one fuel for poor metabolism, especially processed sweeteners and sugary drinks. Such drinks and sweeteners increase unhealthy weight gain and reduce metabolism. Instead, focus more on drinking healthy fluids and water and eating less sugary foods. High fibre diets may be considered instead of sugary foods because they are healthier and increase metabolism even as you age.
Seat Less, Move More
Sitting all day may end up reducing your metabolism rate and increase unhealthy weight gain, especially around the waist and stomach areas. Moving more ensures your body is active, even away from the gym area. Activity is not limited to the gym, walking, carrying stuff from one room to another, and generally moving from one station to another increases metabolism.
When this happens, you may burn more calories and feel hungry most of the time. This might lead you to eat in small portions often which is originally important in boosting your metabolism rates. Ensure to move it, move it to increase metabolism with age.
Re-energize After Workouts
Re-energizing after workouts is essential for your body to burn more calories. Workouts use up more of our energy from the body. This means less energy is left to burn calories in the body. Re-energizing through eating protein-based foods and snacks, and lean carbs may be the best way to bring back the energy. Supplements may also be used to increase metabolism as you get older and age.
Feed More On Beans
Beans are both sources of protein and fibre for the body. Beans have no calories since they are rich in fibre. These fibre food may help increase metabolism since you might be fuller faster when consumed. During digestion, beans burn more calories and excess fats from our bodies making them essential for both metabolism boost and healthy living.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we can see the advantages of living a healthy and active life as it indirectly helps to increase metabolism. The older we get, the tendency for our bodies to want to slow down our metabolism, but with these 14 ways we can take back the power and increase metabolism with age.
