Basal metabolic rate refers to the minimum amount of energy required for various metabolic functions such as maintaining body temperature, respiration, and heartbeat. It is energy that is consumed even if you are not active or lying still, so it can be said that it is an energy that is essential for maintaining life. This basal metabolic rate varies depending on the person, such as height, weight, age, and muscle mass, and it also varies greatly depending on what kind of activity you usually do. Those who consume the same amount of food as energy and those who gain weight due to the accumulation of body fat can be said to be due to the difference in basal metabolic rate.
Even if you eat the same meal, you can say that your basal metabolic rate is directly related to your diet because of the difference in calories consumed. Therefore, when the basal metabolic rate is increased, the amount of calories consumed to maintain the overall metabolism in the body increases, and even a small amount of movement results in a diet effect. So today, let’s take a look at various information that helps to increase the basal metabolic rate one by one.
How to increase your basal metabolic rate
1. Increase in muscle mass
The first way to increase basal metabolic rate is to increase muscle mass through steady strength training. It is known that muscle consumes about 40% of basal metabolic rate for energy. Therefore, an increase in muscle mass plays a very important role in increasing basal metabolic rate by consuming energy faster than a body with a lot of body fat. In particular, it takes a lot of energy to maintain the chest, thigh, and buttock muscles among body parts, so exercising these muscles is very important to increase your basal metabolic rate.
In addition, if you do aerobic exercise together with these muscle exercises, it is said to be more effective in increasing your basal metabolic rate. In addition, the body metabolizes more to maintain body temperature in cold places, and it has the effect of breaking down fat faster. Therefore, it is said that exercising in a slightly cold place plays an important role in increasing the basal metabolic rate than exercising in a place with a high temperature.
2. Drink plenty of water
It is also important to drink enough water a day to increase your basal metabolic rate. Water intake activates various organs and organs in the body, so it is a very important management habit to increase basal metabolic rate. In addition, sufficient water intake not only increases basal metabolic rate, but also helps to discharge accumulated waste products in the body, and is known to help maintain healthy and elastic skin.
3. Get enough sleep
Lack of sleep and irregular sleep patterns are the main causes that interfere with normal metabolism, resulting in a decrease in basal metabolic rate. Therefore, it can be said that getting enough sleep of about 7 hours a day is an important management habit to increase basal metabolic rate. It is also known that the body uses more energy to maintain body temperature in colder climates, so it is better to sleep in a place that maintains the right temperature rather than one that is too hot.
4. Regular meals
Irregular eating habits also impede normal metabolism, which is a major factor in reducing muscle mass and lowering basal metabolic rate. In addition, if this irregular eating pattern and the habit of eating excessively at once continue, the basal metabolic rate will further decrease, resulting in the accumulation of fat in the body. Therefore, it is important to consistently implement three regular meals a day.
5. Eat protein-rich foods
Protein is the main component of various organs, enzymes, and hormones in the body. Protein performs various roles in our body, and among them, it can be said that it plays an essential role as a substance that composes muscles. Therefore, it is important to eat enough protein-rich foods to increase muscle mass and increase basal metabolic rate. Meat such as chicken, pork, and beef, fish such as salmon and tuna, legumes such as tofu, soybeans, soy milk, cheese, milk, and various dairy products are foods rich in protein, so it is important to consume them regularly. .
In addition, in order to increase the basal metabolic rate, eating various foods such as spicy food and coffee as well as protein-rich foods promotes the consumption of calories and helps to activate the metabolism. . However, excessive consumption of spicy food can cause damage to the gastric mucosa, and excessive consumption of coffee can also cause various side effects caused by excessive consumption of caffeine, so it is important to consume in moderation.
6. Half bath
It is said that half-body bathing not only helps burn fat by raising body temperature, but also improves blood flow and increases basal metabolic rate. In particular, half-body bathing consumes about 20 to 30 kcal in 5 minutes just by soaking in the bath, which is beneficial for rapid fat burning and increase of basal metabolic rate. In addition to these half-body baths, foot baths are also said to be involved in fat burning, helping to increase basal metabolic rate. However, please note that if you have blood vessel or heart-related diseases, it can put a great strain on your body, so it is better to focus on foot baths rather than half-body baths.
