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To survive and thrive, your body undergoes millions of essential processes daily. These processes keep your body functional. The collection of these processes is referred to as metabolism, a key component to our health.
A person’s Basal Metabolic Rate is affected by several factors. Being familiar with the factors that influence your BMR will help you manage your weight in the best way possible.
Factors Known to Influence BMR
1 – Age
As you age, you lose more lean muscle as your energy expenditure lowers. Older people should compensate for this by abiding by a well-balanced diet and exercising harder without overexerting themselves.
2 – Amount of Caloric Intake
To effectively shed weight, make sure that you burn more calories than you eat. Moreover, your BMR slows down when you don’t provide your body with the right amount of calories. Maintain a healthy metabolism by aiming for a more robust, highly nutritious, and balanced diet plan.
3 – Muscle Mass
The more muscle mass you have, the more energy your body needs for maintaining basic physiological functions. This will, in turn, significantly boost your BMR. Include regular cardiovascular exercises and strength training.
4 – Genetics
This is something you can’t change but can manage. If you genetically have a slow metabolic rate, eat a well-balanced diet, and exercise regularly. By doing this and making sure that you have healthy sleeping habits, your metabolism will cooperate to your advantage.
5 – Gender
Women have lower BMRs compared to men since men naturally have additional muscle mass and lesser fat. Therefore, the approach for females and males can vary a bit.
6 – Physical Activity
When you have higher activity levels, your body usually burns more calories. By simply exercising more and increasing your activity level, you will naturally improve your BMR and eventually achieve your weight loss aspirations.
7 – Stress Levels
When experts claim that stress makes you gain more weight, they’re absolutely right.
Individuals who have higher stress levels or are deprived of sleep tend to overeat, binge, or develop other unhealthy lifestyle habits that tend to slow down metabolism. The recommended amount of sleep is 7 – 8 hours.
Stress management is also key to maintaining stable BMR. You can manage stress levels by keeping a healthy work-life balance, doing yoga, or meditating.
Other factors that may modify your BMR are as follows:
- Hormones
- Drugs
- Caffeine or Nicotine
- Environmental Factors like high or low temperatures
- Body size
Closing Words
In this article, we have enumerated and discussed the varying factors that can significantly impact your BMR. Keep in mind that there are many safe and effective ways to promote a healthier metabolic rate.
By mindfully making the right lifestyle choices, you will undoubtedly achieve not only a higher level of health but the best version of yourself.
