Increase Your Metabolism in 3 Easy Steps
This blog article about metabolism was written by Dr. Karen DeSimone, KD360 Wellness
Why Increase Metabolism?
According to Dr. Karen DeSimone, there are many things that you need to know about your body and the way it functions, but one of the most important areas to focus on is your metabolism. Your metabolism is essentially the amount of energy that is created, used or stored within the body based on the foods and beverages that you consume. Your metabolism is responsible for various bodily actions like breathing, digestion, cell growth and repair and even hormonal balance. Each of these functions are important, and can make an impact on your day to day life, especially if something’s amiss. Since many diets and healthcare plans are based on your BMR (basal metabolic rate), knowing what this number is and what it means can help you stay healthy even during recovery from an injury or illness, or when you’re working with doctors or physical therapists.
Finding ways to increase metabolism may seem difficult, but there are many different activities that you can take part in that will help to make it possible. The most important aspect of successfully finding ways to increase metabolism is to do research using quality methods and sources – like medical professionals or publications, dietitians or even physical therapists. Dr. DeSimone outlined three of these measures, but although these are three of the most important (and simplest!) methods for increasing metabolism, they are not the only ones that you can do.
Ways to Increase Metabolism
The three easy ways to increase metabolism that Dr. DeSimone discusses are increasing lean muscle mass, eating a healthy diet, and getting enough sleep. Sound simple? It should, because with a few changes made to the daily routine, you should be able to implement these ideas into your everyday life – maybe not all at once, but they are definitely possible over time.
To learn more about these three methods for an increased metabolic rate, you can read the entire chat transcript at the bottom of this page, provided from a video recorded by Dr. DeSimone.
A fourth method for increased metabolism not directly mentioned by Dr. DeSimone is exercising under the guidance of a physical therapist. Though increasing lean muscle mass often goes hand in hand with general exercise, working with a physical therapist is a great way to ensure that the activities you’re doing not only are the right ones for your body and will improve overall health, but that they will contribute to helping make you stronger, too. Exercise with a physical therapy professional is a great option, because as your sessions progress, adjustments can be made to your fitness routine to suit any changes that are experienced regarding strength or mobility.
Benefits to an Increased Metabolism
While the health benefits of any positive changes to the body cannot be overlooked, there are a few that are specific to increasing your metabolism. These include:
- Eliminating toxins from the body: Toxins can harm the body if they stay present for too long, so an increased metabolism will help process them out much more quickly. Decreasing the buildup and removing these harmful bits of waste will improve overall health and wellness.
- Improving blood circulation: In conjunction with toxin removal, blood circulation improvement is a key result of a kick-started metabolism. The better the blood is flowing, the easier and more timely processes like absorption and transport of nutrients will be.
- Increasing natural immunity: In a time when it is essential to boost immunity in a safe manner, simply making changes that result in an increased metabolism can help this happen. What it all boils down to is allowing the body to do what it does best: find ways to fight illnesses and stay ahead of the game when it comes to processes like making and transporting white blood cells to where they need to be.
- Improving your mood: A boosted metabolism can help to support the nervous system as it functions. A low metabolism may result in conditions like anxiety, boredom or agitation, while an increased metabolism can lead to people feeling happier, more alert and more comfortable.
- Increasing energy levels: When people eat the proper items, their bodies respond accordingly. This is why it is so common for people that change their diets to more nutritious ones to experience increases in energy levels at the same time that they notice their bodies are changing as they exercise and stay mindful.
The best action for you to take is to look further into connecting with someone that is able to guide and advise you when it comes to increasing your metabolism. To do this, schedule an appointment by using the BetterPT clinic location tool or downloading the BetterPT app to select a clinic an provider close to you. A third option is to connect with a physical therapy professional using the BetterTelehealth platform Any of these options will put you into contact with qualified and capable physical therapy professionals that will work with you to begin making the changes that can (and will!) help you increase your metabolism and increase your health.
Video from Dr. Karen DeSimone:
KD Metabolism 031120 from Karen on Vimeo.
Video Transcript:
Hi, my name is Dr. Karen DeSimone. Today, three quick tips on how to increase your metabolism.
First, metabolism is another way to say how much energy our body is using to live and function on a daily basis. So three quick ways to increase how much energy your body is using.
First of all is to increase our lean muscle mass. We know that lean muscle burns three times as much energy as fat. So you want to be sure that if you ever go on a weight loss program that you’re not only concerned with how much weight you’re losing, you want to make sure that you’re losing fat – and remember, muscle weighs more than fat.
So sometimes that scale might not be reflective, especially if you’re utilizing good nutrition and you’re getting nice quality protein that will help you increase your lean muscle mass. So you want to be a little bit careful with that and don’t be just focused on how much weight you’re losing, be focused on how much fat weight you’re losing and how much lean muscle mass you’re gaining.
The second tip is making sure that you’re eating whole foods, and you’re eliminating all the processed foods. And what I mean by whole foods… it doesn’t necessarily mean foods that don’t come in a package, because not all packaged foods are processed.
So know the difference between synthetic foods that utilize all the nutrients that you’re trying to get in a very succinct, little package versus processed foods. So highly processed foods, usually those ones that are high in sugar content or have gone through a process of refining and spitting it back out with zero nutrients. So how caloric, how nutrient dense is your calorie intake? So, again, get a little technical there, but making sure that you have nice quality foods to balance out your nutrition program.
And the third one is sleep. The all-forgotten “how important our sleep is to our body’s functioning”. Our bodies only replenish themselves while we’re sleeping. So all that hard work we do all day long, if we’re not getting enough rest, then we’re not able to replenish those cells and rebuild new cells and then we just get more and more tired and deflated, and we need that sleep. So don’t forget about your sleep. And then another good way to get good quality sleep is through a melatonin product. You want to make sure that you’re using a sleep spray so your body can use and absorb those nutrients and help you to get your hormones on track.
And I hope you take those three quick tips, use them to your advantage, increase your lean muscle mass. You can do that through weight training or doing a high quality protein, a protein smoothie maybe even to get nice dense calories in a short little timeframe. And then processed foods versus whole foods, and then get your sleep.
Okay, that’s your tip for today. Increasing your metabolism. Have a great rest of your day!
Dr. Karen DeSimone received her doctorate in Physical Therapy in 2001, but has worked in the fitness industry for more than 20 years. Dr. DeSimone focuses on exercise physiology and nutrition, and has experience working on both group and individual plans of action. In addition to leading and consulting both patients and clients, Dr. DeSimone is certified in Peak Pilates, and enjoys participating in physical activities like the Ironman as well as other triathlon events. She is active in the Cape Cod athletic circle.
