Will weight loss rebound? Improving basal metabolic rate can help

The road to weight loss is filled with discouraging obstacles. Dieting won’t help you lose weight; if you lose weight, you’ll gain it back immediately; you’re eating the same diet plan as before, but your weight is increasing day by day… What’s the problem? Could it be that you have the legendary body type that makes you gain weight even by drinking water? The results of scientific research are surprising. All these problems may be caused by excessive dieting for weight loss, which artificially reduces the basal metabolic rate.

What is basal metabolic rate?

Basal metabolic rate (BMR) refers to the number of calories that a person's body needs to consume to maintain life when he or she is at rest. It is mainly used for the calories required for breathing, heartbeat, blood circulation, oxygen transport, glandular secretion, kidney filtering and excretion, maintaining body temperature, muscle tension, cell function, etc. To give a simple example, if a person's basal metabolic rate is 1200 calories, then even if he sleeps all day and does not engage in any other activities, he will consume 1200 calories. Derivative question: If this is the case, then as long as this person's total daily calorie intake does not exceed 1,200 calories, wouldn't he be losing weight even if he just lies down?

How to calculate the total calorie consumption of the human body?

To lose weight you must make the total calorie consumption greater than the calorie intake. Therefore, to answer the previous question, we must first know how the total calorie consumption of the human body is calculated. Most people take it for granted that the total calories a person consumes each day must be mostly consumed through exercise. But in fact, for most people, the total calories consumed by the human body = basal metabolism (60%-70%) + calories consumed by activities (15-30%) + thermal effect of food 10%.

In other words, the human body's basal metabolic rate accounts for about 60-70% of the body's total calorie consumption. However, if you want to lose weight easily by reducing food intake based on this principle, you are underestimating the body's self-regulating function.

Can’t lose weight even on diet? Basal metabolic rate in action

When the body's calorie intake is insufficient, the body will reduce its basal metabolic rate in order to save energy for basic operations. Since your basal metabolic rate determines most of your calorie expenditure, when your basal metabolic rate decreases, your chances of gaining weight are greater than when you eat a normal diet. In other words, although you eat less, your body consumes less calories. If you still can't lose weight by dieting, it may be because your basal metabolic rate has dropped too low due to excessive dieting. The impact of a low basal metabolic rate on weight loss goes beyond this.

Lose weight on a diet and gain it back quickly? Basal metabolic rate in action

When the basal metabolic rate drops to an extremely low level, even if the calorie intake is very low, the body will still try to squeeze out some calories for storage. That is to say, after dieting for a period of time, the calories needed by the body will become less and less relative to the normal value, but the body will still store calories, making it more difficult to lose weight at this time. If you resume your normal diet, your basal metabolic rate will be lower, and the previous normal diet will be excessive for your unbalanced body, so your weight will of course rebound significantly. If you don't want to eat as little as a bird for the rest of your life, you'd better not sacrifice your basal metabolic rate to lose weight.

How to calculate basal metabolic rate?

You see, basal metabolic rate is so important for weight loss. Therefore, smart people who want to lose weight will choose to increase their basal metabolic rate to lose weight. This is not only easy to lose weight, but also does not require excessive dieting. It is healthy and there is no fear of rebound. After the basal metabolic rate is increased, the whole person will look younger and healthier. How do you calculate your basal metabolic rate?

①Formula calculation method

Men: Basal metabolic rate (calories consumed daily) = 66 + (13.7 × weight in kg) + (5 × height in cm) - (6.8 × age)

Women: Basal metabolic rate (calories consumed daily) = 655 + (9.6 × weight in kg) + (1.7 × height in cm) - (4.7 × age)

②Machine measurement

The basal metabolic rate calculated by the formula algorithm is only a reference value. The basal metabolism is related to a person's gender, age, weight, body composition and endocrine system. For a more accurate basal metabolic rate, you can use a commercially available body fat scale or measure it at a gym that provides measurement services.

The basal metabolic rate will gradually decrease with age.

Generally speaking, during the growth and development period between the ages of 18 and 25, the body requires a lot of energy, the activities of internal organs such as the heart and gastrointestinal tract are also very vigorous, and the basal metabolic rate is also high. After the age of 25, the basal metabolic rate naturally decreases, and it becomes more obvious after the age of 40. The difficulty in maintaining a good figure after the age of 25 and the weight gain of men in middle age are both related to basal metabolism. Therefore, increasing the basal metabolic rate is of great benefit to maintaining youthfulness and good health.

9 details to improve basal metabolic rate

①Aerobic exercise is the fastest way to increase metabolism

Increasing the amount of exercise will definitely increase metabolism, thereby increasing the basal metabolic rate. No matter what the quality of the exercise is, it is effective, so don't underestimate this little bit of exercise every day. In addition to helping you burn calories and lose weight, its greater benefit is to enhance your physical fitness. Fitness is a daily routine, and there are ways to exercise regularly even when you are busy with work. Daily walking is the best exercise. You may want to use the break time after lunch, on the way to and from get off work, or up and down the stairs to exercise. Aerobic exercise does not necessarily require sweating all over. The key is to increase the basal metabolic rate. It can also help digestion and prevent constipation.

② Avoid starvation or ultra-low-calorie diets

A very low-calorie diet is not an effective way to lose weight. Because the human body has a set of automatic programs to maintain a normal weight, if you suddenly reduce 1000 kcal from your diet, the body's basal metabolic rate will automatically slow down because the body thinks you are now starving. This will not only fail to consume more calories, but will affect the normal functioning of the body and make it easier to accumulate fat.

③You must eat breakfast

Breakfast is the meal of the day that is most closely related to basal metabolic rate and weight loss. Several studies have shown that eating breakfast is more likely to help you lose weight than skipping it. This is because when people sleep, their metabolic rate is very low. When we start eating again, the metabolic rate speeds up as it recovers. So, eating breakfast earlier will mean your body starts burning calories earlier, and breakfast is a metabolism starter.

④Increase the frequency of eating

Compared with three large meals a day, eating small and frequent meals can prevent excessive calories from large meals from turning into fat and can maintain a vigorous metabolic level. Try to keep the time between meals within 2 to 3 hours and no more than 4 hours to avoid overeating after being hungry. At the same time, make sure to have protein in every meal because it is a metabolism enhancer.

⑤ Ensure adequate sleep

Sleep time is the time for the body's organs to rest and detoxify. Without enough sleep, the body’s organs cannot fully function and the metabolic capacity will also be weakened. Make sure you get at least 7-8 hours of sleep every night to have better metabolic capacity.

⑥Eat more protein to increase the thermal effect of food

Studies have shown that consuming adequate protein can increase the body's metabolic rate and result in an additional 20%-35% calorie consumption during the digestion process. Protein is mainly composed of amino acids. It takes longer for the body to digest this type of food than fat and carbohydrates, and it takes more calories to break them down. But this does not mean that the diet must be based on high protein. It is sufficient to ensure that 10% to 35% of the total daily calorie intake comes from protein (such as fish, chicken, low-fat cheese, yogurt, and beans).

⑦ Dairy products are essential

A study in an American magazine pointed out that women who drink (eat) milk, yogurt and cheese 3 to 4 times a day have more than 70% less fat than women who do not consume dairy products. This is because the calcium in milk interacts with other ingredients to enhance the body's metabolic level and increase the rate at which the body burns excess fat. After exercise, the body loses glucose, and replenishing it with chocolate milk immediately can keep the metabolism running normally. Women can achieve the best fat-burning effect by supplementing 1,200 mg of calcium with dairy products every day.

⑧Fragmented exercise is more effective

You can still exercise when you are busy at work. You can choose to park your car farther away from your office, or get off the bus 1 or 2 bus stops earlier, climb stairs and walk more. This can increase your heart rate in a short period of time and also increase your body's metabolic rate. This exercise method is called "mini fat burning exercise". Even if you take 5 minutes every hour to stretch your muscles in the office, you can burn hundreds of calories more every day.

⑨Relax fully before going to bed every day

When work is stressful or too stressful, the body releases cortisol, and too much cortisol will slow down metabolism. To reduce the effects of cortisol, it is necessary to relax your body and mind before going to bed every day. You can choose yoga meditation, or put on soothing music and daydream, use aromatherapy to help you sleep, and other methods to soothe your tense nerves, and then fall asleep after fully relaxing.

Source: 39 Health Network www.39.net

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