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How Well Do You Burn Calories?

Allison Van Dusen

 
If you've ever struggled to fit into your jeans or lose those last five pounds and failed, you've probably blamed it on your metabolism.

But experts say, metabolism, the rate at which we burn calories, is getting a bad rap for no reason. While, for some, a slow metabolism may be a genuine problem stemming from a medical condition, others are laying blame instead of taking responsibility for their diets and lack of exercise.

And though it's true that our metabolic rates aren't entirely under our control, most people can improve the way their bodies burn fuel.

"There are a lot of things people can be doing to make changes to their metabolism," says Tanya Zuckerbrot, registered dietitian and author of The F-Factor Diet: Discover the Secret to Permanent Weight Loss. "But you've got to put the work in."

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The Weight Train
One of the first things you can do to affect how your body burns calories, doctors and dietitians say, is hit the weights.

 
 
Beyond heredity, your sex (men tend to have faster metabolisms than women) and age (metabolism naturally slows as we grow older), the amount of lean body mass you have plays a big role.

The more muscle you've got, the more metabolically active your body is, says Cheryl Forberg, nutritionist for NBC's weight-loss show, "The Biggest Loser." Unlike aerobic exercise, lifting weights and building muscle increases the number of calories you burn--even when you're away from the gym.

You Are What You Eat
When clients use their metabolism as an excuse for a weight problem, Zuckerbrot will often have them tested to see if their thyroid gland's hormone production is normal, overactive or underactive. Thyroid hormones are essential for normal body metabolism. Hyperthyroidism, in which the thyroid overdoes it, affects an estimated one in 1,000 women per year.

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But her next question usually concerns breakfast. In addition to starting the day with a meal, Zuckerbrot recommends that her patients eat every four hours, since skipping meals puts their bodies into starvation mode and slows their metabolism.

"If you have dinner at 8 p.m., you don't eat breakfast and you don't have lunch till 1 p.m., your body is not going to burn off that meal," she says. "It doesn't know when the next meal is coming."

Eating breakfast within an hour from the time you wake up and munching at regular intervals every day will help turn your body into a more efficient calorie-burning machine.

Beyond how often you eat, the quality and quantity of what you're eating are crucial factors too. One without the others is useless, says Dr. Pamela Peeke, author of Fit to Live: The 5-Point Plan to Become Lean, Strong & Fearless for Life and chief medical correspondent for Discovery Health Television.

When you eat a processed chip, for instance, you're getting refined sugar, salt and a boatload of fat that the body can easily break down. Eat a peach and your body has to put in some effort to try to digest the fructose and fiber. You're also getting potassium and vitamin A in the process.

"The key with food is you want to put your body through a metabolic workout," Peeke says. "So the best thing to give it is all the natural, whole foods."

Quick Tricks?
But what about all of those supplements and drinks that are supposed to boost metabolism?

Beverages that make these kinds of claims usually contain caffeine, a central nervous system stimulant that can slightly increase your metabolism, as well as make you feel alert and irritable. Other common ingredients include guarana and citrus aurantium, ingredients Peeke describes as "kissing cousins" of ephedrine stimulants,which have drawn safety concerns.

Some studies also have shown that spices such as cayenne and green tea, which contain the antioxidant EGCG, can boost metabolism. Eating a ton of cayenne, however, isn't going to completely cut the fat.

Despite the confusion surrounding one's metabolism, most people already know what they need to do to get it going. And it has nothing to do with most of the products advertised on late-night TV.

"People are desperate," Peeke says. "But the most important thing to do is to calm down, quit looking for short-term answers and fixes, and make long-term lifestyle changes."