How To Maintain Your Basal Metabolic Rate And Your Body Mass

The Basal Metabolic Rate and You

In my last article, we discussed Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR and how it influences weight either gain or loss. As we age, the BMR decreases by 2% every 10 years after the age of 20.

This results in weight gain for most of the people because we tend to do less exercise and eat the same amount [or more] that we do at the age of 20. Exercising results in more lean muscle mass thereby increasing our BMR.

Loss of lean muscle mass and sedentary lifestyle results in accumulation of unnecessary fats around our trunk which leads to an increase in visceral body fat thereby compressing our vital organs[heart, kidney, liver, etc.] leading to illnesses like hypertension[high B.P.], fatty liver disease[leading to increase in serum cholesterol in the long run] and kidney failure.

Diet and Your Basal Metabolic Rate

Drastic dieting leads to weight loss temporarily due to drastic cutting of calories which sends your body into starvation mode.

The body metabolism[energy production] slows down in order to maintain calories, because it believes there is a shortage of food supply, thereby leading to the accumulation of calories in the form of excess body fats.

So a proper calorie-burning plan of exercise with a proper diet plan is the key to maintaining your BMR and body weight to the optimum.

Daily exercise of any form, be it walking, jogging, aerobic, yoga, or tai chi, along with a properly balanced diet will go a long way in maintaining the desired BMR as per your height and age.

How building your body mass helps your Basal Metabolic Rate [BMR]

Building a lean muscle mass with weight training 3 to 5 days a week helps increase your metabolism and in shedding the excess fat surrounding your middle, thereby giving you not only the look you desire but also improvement in your health by controlling high BP, diabetes, arthritis, etc.