She’s the envy of every woman. The svelte, reed-like nymph who eats chocolate, cakes and takeaways with gay abandon 
– and never gains a single ounce of weight. And then there’s you, who just looks at a piece of chocolate cake and says goodbye to wriggling into your jeans forever. Do you ever wonder what the difference is between the two of you? While genetics definitely influence our tendency to gain weight, it’s, thankfully, not all about genes. How readily we gain weight is also influenced by our metabolism, and in particular our basal metabolic rate or BMR.

Metabolism is the name given to myriad chemical reactions that occur in every cell in our body, changing energy from food into energy used to power every aspect of staying alive and moving. At any one time, thousands of different metabolic reactions are occurring in your body.  

The basal metabolism is the greediest of these metabolic processes. The BMR is the amount of energy your body requires to perform all its basic “staying alive” functions, such as beating the heart, breathing, keeping your brain alive and warming your body – it is your kilojoule requirement at rest, doing nothing but the biological tasks of staying alive.

Your BMR accounts for around 70 per cent of the kilojoules you burn every day. The rest of your metabolic energy is used for digestion and assimilation of nutrients; and physical activity.  

If your body is able to perform its basal metabolic functions efficiently, burning through a minimum of energy, it means that your total daily energy requirements are likely to be low. Combine a low BMR with a love of chocolate cake and little exercise, and you have the perfect recipe for weight gain. The skinny overeater you envy probably has an energy expensive body, requiring lots of kilojoules to simply perform the biological tasks of staying alive. 

A person’s BMR is influenced by a multitude of factors. Genetic inheritance is top of the list, with wiry, thin parents likely to breed similarly thin children with a high BMR. Gender influences our metabolism too, with men generally having a higher percentage of lean muscle and thus a higher BMR than women.

Ageing slows down metabolic rate, so that by the age of 55 the average person needs 150 fewer calories a day, than they did at age 35. Living in a cold climate increases our metabolic rate as the body works harder to stay warm. Chronic anxiety, feeling edgy and wound up stokes the metabolic fires. Our dietary habits can also alter BMR, and skipping meals, fasting or undereating will slow down the BMR as the body goes on red alert to maximise its efficiency to stay alive in the face of a seeming famine.

Through dietary and lifestyle changes, it is possible to increase your metabolic rate and lose excess kilos.

MOVE AND GROOVE 

The absolute best way to boost your metabolic rate is through regular aerobic exercise combined with resistance training. This combination will reduce body fat and increase your lean muscle mass. As muscle requires more energy than fat to “stay alive”, the more muscle you can amass, the faster your BMR will be. Aerobic activity also directly boosts your metabolic rate for four to eight hours after completion. Choose either walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, dancing or vigorous yoga or Pilates workouts, and aim for 30-45 minutes daily. If you can’t find a solid block of 45 minutes in a day, try splitting activity into three or four shorter blocks of 10-15 minutes each. Park further away and walk the extra distance to work; power around the block in your lunch hour and walk back to the car at the end of the day, and you’ve painlessly reached your exercise target.

CHECK YOUR THYROID FUNCTION

An underactive thyroid will slow your basal metabolic rate and cause weight gain or difficulty loosing weight. Hypothyroidism is especially common in women and is often overlooked as a cause of poor health. Common symptoms include fatigue, weight gain, mood issues, poor immunity, menstrual problems and sensitivity to cold. See your doctor for thyroid screening tests.

BREAKFAST LIKE A KING

Contrary to the beliefs of many dieters, skipping breakfast will not shift the extra kilos. After fasting all night, your metabolic rate slumps, and by eating a healthy substantial breakfast you will restoke your metabolic furnace. Choose from low-GI carbs such as porridge, wholegrain unsweetened muesli or wholemeal toast, and combine with a protein such as nuts, acidophilus yoghurt, or low-fat cheese or fish.

EAT LITTLE AND OFTEN

Resist the temptation to skip meals due to work or time pressures. Instead, become a grazer, eating five or six small, healthy meals each day. Regular intake of protein, complex carbohydrates and healthy fats will keep your metabolic rate elevated.

NUTRIENTS COUNT TOO

Ensure that you are eating a nutrient dense diet to keep cellular energy production high, as well as safeguarding thyroid health. Take a high-quality multivitamin/mineral formula daily to ensure you are getting a full spectrum of nutrients.

TURN OUT THE LIGHTS EARLIER

Getting eight hours sleep every night is vital to keep your metabolic rate high.  Inadequate sleep reduces our ability to metabolise carbohydrates and reduces sensitivity to the hormone insulin, leading to weight gain.

Even if your genetic heritage has kept you just the wrong side of a healthy weight, by making some small changes you can influence your metabolic rate. In short, sleep like a baby for eight hours every night; build muscle, and exercise aerobically five to seven times a week; banish simple carbs from your diet and replace them with small, frequent meals containing protein, slow-burn carbohydrates and healthy fats, and watch the excess kilos melt away.