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all the restrictions and time will soon pay off..

we know what metabolism is, right? that annoying thing that makes skinny girls skinny even though they eat a lot. but how does it actually work? and why do some people have a higher metabolism than others? and how can you boost your metabolism?

metabolism is compounded of 4 things.

1. BMR - basal metabolic rate (70% of your total betabolism)

this is how many calories you burn at rest. if you were to not move at all, not eat, not do anything, just sit and stay alive, this is how many calories you would burn. you can't boost this part, because it depends on age, hight and weight. you can calculate it on different sites. just look up "how to calculate your BMR".

2. NEAT - non-exercise activity thermogenesis (15% of your metabolism)

this is the most important part. these are how many calories you burn by just doing basic activities. ex: brushing your teeth, walking (that is why walking is better than HIITs), sleaning up, washing dishes, talking, moving around etc. (these don't include the exercises you do). by doing as many activities everyday you burn more.

3. TEF - thermic effect of food (10% of your metabolism)

these are how many calories you burn while digesting food. some foods need more energy in order to be burned (ex: protein), some don't. it doesn't make such a huge difference, but usually protein keeps you fuller.

4. EAT - exercise activity thermogenesis (5% of your metabolism)

look at how low the procentage is for exercise. and usually people think that if they exercise they will lose a ton of weight in a short time. ofc, exercising is amazing for health in general and for feeling happier yada yada yada. but it's not the most important when you want to burn more calories. expanding your NEAT activities can burn more than 20 min of intense exercise.

now that we understood how metabolism works, let's see how we can burn more calories and boost our metablism. and no, it's not by drinking some kind of green tea or doing weird rituals.

scientifically, muscle burns a lot more calories than not having it. muscle needs calories to just stay there, on your bones. and this can increase your BMR by a ton.

how do we build muscle? (and no, you won't get bulky by just having a few muscles)

there are two ways. either you do body wight exercises (exercises where you use your body as weight. you can look up exercises) or lifting weights.

for weightloss and metabolism boosting it is recommended to build muscles. doing countless of cardio is not completely useless, but it's not as sustainable. cardio burns more calories ONE time. but afterwards you feel hungrier and with kess energy. strength training doesn't burn as many calories AT ONCE as cardio, but burns more on the long run. and helps you stay skinny longer.