In life, many people have such questions: why some people don't get fat no matter how much they eat, and some people gain weight even when they drink cold water?

In fact, this is closely related to the basal metabolic rate of the human body.

　　Basal metabolism refers to the energy consumption required to maintain the normal function and homeostasis of cells and organs in the body in a awake and resting state.

The basal metabolic rate of the human body is related to many factors such as age, gender, height, and weight, as well as body temperature, smoking history, diet and body composition.

　　Our daily energy consumption mainly includes three parts: basal metabolism accounts for 60% to 70% of daily energy consumption; energy consumed by chewing, swallowing, digesting, absorbing and storing food belongs to the thermic effect of food, accounting for about 60% of daily energy consumption. Both exercise and non-training physical activity belong to the thermic effect of physical activity, generally accounting for 15% to 30% of daily energy expenditure.

　　When a normal person's "calories consumed by basal metabolism + calories consumed by exercise > calories consumed by diet", the phenomenon of "no matter how much you eat without getting fat" may appear.

　　Metabolism is like the "engine" in the body, which constantly burns calories to supplement the body's needs and maintains the normal functioning of various functions in the body.

With age, the speed of human metabolism will gradually decrease.

This is also the reason why many people gain weight in middle age: the basal metabolic rate is low, but the food intake has not been reduced accordingly. In addition, life and work have become tense, and physical activities are often not as frequent as when they were young, and the calories that the body cannot consume become fat. hoard.

　　So, how can we increase the basal metabolic rate?

　　Studies have found that exercise can increase the body's energy consumption, increase the proportion of muscles, and then increase the basal metabolic rate.

　　Muscle strength training is the best way to increase the body's basal metabolic rate.

Regular muscle strength training can increase the basal metabolic rate by 6.8% to 7.8%.

　　If you just sit in the office every day and do not do extra exercise, then the total daily consumption is 1.2 times the basal metabolic rate.

But if you exercise 1 to 3 times a week for about half an hour each time, the total daily consumption is 1.375 times the basal metabolic rate.

If you exercise 4 to 5 times a week, this number will increase to 1.5 times.

If you insist on exercising 7 times a week, it is 1.75 times.

　　In addition to the number of exercises, when to exercise is also important.

9:00 to 10:00 is the golden time for sports; 16:00 to 18:00 is also very suitable for sports.

　　Aerobic exercise is a shortcut to improve the basal metabolic rate, such as running, if it can meet the standard of "30 minutes each time, 3 times a week, after exercise, the heartbeat reaches 130 beats per minute", the effect will be better.

　　Breathing patterns also have an impact on metabolism.

Abdominal breathing can expel more waste gas from the body, promote metabolism and improve circulation.

Therefore, it is recommended to effectively combine aerobic exercise with breathing methods (strengthening abdominal breathing training).

　　Studies have shown that high-intensity interval training can burn more fat, speed up metabolism, and increase the body's ability to adapt to a fast-paced life.

High-intensity interval training refers to short-term burst training alternating with gentler movements.

For example, running at top speed for one minute, then walking for two minutes, and repeating the process for 15 minutes is high-intensity interval training.

　　There is also research data that, within 24 hours of completing high-intensity interval training, the human body's growth hormone levels can increase by 450%.

Growth hormone not only increases basal metabolic rate by 15% to 20%, but also promotes muscle growth, slows down the aging process, and makes a person younger both inside and out!

　　(The author is the deputy chief physician of the Department of Endocrinology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University)