Build a physique that won’t gain weight even if you eat a lot! Nutritionist Zhang Peirong: Master the three key points to increase your basal metabolic rate

Many people have had the following doubts: "My diet and lifestyle are the same as usual, and I exercise occasionally, but my weight has quietly increased!" According to statistics, after the age of 30, the basal metabolic rate decreases with age, and it decreases by 5-10% every ten years on average. When calorie consumption decreases, weight naturally increases gradually. This is also one of the reasons why many people gain weight in middle age. How to build a physique that won’t gain weight? Nutritionist Zhang Peirong said that the key lies in mastering the three elements that increase the basal metabolic rate: water, muscle mass, and sleep.

BOX.What is Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)?

Nutritionist Zhang Peirong said, imagine that you do nothing all day and just lie in bed and relax. At this time, the calories needed to maintain basic physiological operations such as breathing, heart beating, kidney filtering, hormone secretion, etc. are the minimum energy needed to maintain life.

The three main sources of human calorie consumption are:

1.Basal metabolic rate: 60-70%

2. Physiological activities and exercise: 20-35%

3. Thermic effect of food (TEF) is the amount of energy consumed by digestion, absorption, and metabolism after ingestion of food: 5-10%

In other words, the basal metabolic rate is the biggest contributor to calorie consumption. Therefore, if you want to eat without gaining weight, just increase your basal metabolic rate and you will naturally have a physique that is easy to lose weight!

Three elements to increase basal metabolic rate: water, muscle mass, and sleep

1. The first element to increase the basal metabolic rate: water

──Drinking water helps the body metabolize

Nutritionist Zhang Peirong said that about 70% of the human body is made up of water, so "water" plays a very important role in the body. Sufficient water can transport nutrients into the body and excrete waste to promote metabolism. It also helps suppress appetite and is indispensable during exercise.

The National Health and Family Planning Commission's daily dietary guidelines recommend that you drink 6-8 cups of water (240 ml per cup) every day. If you want a more precise calculation, it is recommended that you use your weight to do the calculation. Generally speaking, it is weight multiplied by 30~50 ml, which varies depending on the season, environment, etc.

The National Health and Family Planning Commission's daily dietary guidelines recommend that you drink 6-8 cups of water (240 ml per cup) every day. If you want a more precise calculation, it is recommended that you use your weight to do the calculation. Generally speaking, it is weight multiplied by 30~50 ml, which varies depending on the season, environment, etc.

★Recommended daily water intake = body weight (kg) X 30~50 (ml)

<Example> For an adult weighing 60 kg, the recommended daily water intake = 60 X 30~50 = 1800~3000 ml

There are also some tips on when to drink water! Modern people often forget to drink water unconsciously due to busy work and no feeling of thirst. Here we will teach you the best time to drink water and develop good drinking habits.

★Recommended time to drink water: wake up, before breakfast, before lunch, afternoon tea, before dinner, before bedtime (no more than 100ml)

※Reminder: Refill in small amounts and frequently, about 200~300ml each time.

2. The second element to increase the basal metabolic rate: muscle mass

──The best tool for fat burning metabolism─Muscle

Did you know that muscle burns 5-7 more calories per pound per day than fat? Studies have found that when the body's muscle mass increases, the basal metabolic rate will also increase, automatically helping you burn calories. So how do you increase muscle mass? It's very simple, you just need to "exercise", and do "resistance exercise" such as weight training, push-ups, barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, TRX, etc.

Next, if you combine it with a correct diet, the muscle-building effect will be even greater! Generally speaking, after effective weight training, muscles are in a state of being damaged and torn. At this time, if sufficient nutrition is given, it will be beneficial to the repair and synthesis of muscles, that is, the concept of destruction first and then reconstruction. Therefore, it is recommended to immediately supplement with sufficient high biological value protein such as milk, soy milk, eggs, fish, chicken, beef, etc. (about 2.5 to 3.5 servings) after exercise to promote muscle growth and synthesis.

3. The third element to improve basal metabolic rate: sleep

──Master the golden sleep period and activate the body's metabolism

Good sleep maintains good physical strength and good metabolism. Staying up late will not only affect your spirit the next day, but also affect your body's metabolism, and you may even accidentally consume more calories. From the perspective of Chinese medicine, 11 pm to 3 am is the detoxification time for the gallbladder and liver meridians, and it is also the time for the body's organs to rest. It is recommended to fall asleep before 11 pm and get enough sleep for 6-8 hours. In addition, you should also pay attention to some foods that affect sleep (see the table below), so that you can sleep well all night and sleep through the morning!

(Chart/taken from nutritionist Zhang Peirong's blog)

※This article is from Kate Culture's "Nutritionist's 36-Day Diet Plan"

Teacher Q's Nutrition Classroom_Zhang Peirong