Increase metabolic rate                     Home      Ask your question about weight loss

The basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the minimum calorie requirement of  a resting or sleeping person. The basal metabolic rate of an individual depends on a number of factors

1. Age - In youth, BMR is higher because of lean body mass

2. Growth -  infants, children and teenagers have a higher BMR because of growth hormones

3. Body composition - the more lean tissue, muscle in the body, the higher the BMR.  Men have a higher percentage of muscle in their body than women

4. Health and environmental conditions - Fever and stress increase the BMR. Both low and high environmental  temperatures raise the BMR

5. Food intake - Fasting/starvation or malnutrition lowers the BMR as the body tries to conserve energy

An approx. way to calculate the Basal Metabolic Rate is as follows

BMR = body weight in pounds (lb)  X 10kCal/Pound (lb)   (1 kg = 2.2 pounds (lb))

More complicated calculations take into account, the age, height, gender and weight of the person

Calculation of basal metabolic rate

 

To increase your metabolic rate, you can do the following

1. Increase the lean muscle tissue by doing pushups , squats and weight training

2. By increasing the amount of protein in your diet, the level of insulin in the blood stream is stabilised

3. Make small changes in your daily lifestyle - instead of watching TV , go window shopping . Clean the house more often, walk while speaking on the phone

4. Since the metabolic rate often slows down towards the end of the day, by having a evening walk before or after dinner, the calories consumed are used up faster.

5. Studies have shown that persons sleeping for 8 hours daily have a higher metabolic rate than that of persons who sleep for a shorter time.

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