Drink green tea. Build more muscle. Eat chili peppers. The list of ways you can increase your metabolic rate are endless.
But when it comes to reaching your weight-loss goals, how much of a difference do those tactics really make? Not as much as any weight-loss warrior would like, says Tim Church, M.D., M.P.H, Ph.D., professor of preventative medicine at Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University.
That’s because your metabolism largely comes down to two factors: your genetics and your size. If your mom and dad had slow metabolisms, you probably will, too. There’s not much you can do to change that, says Church.
Meanwhile, the larger you are, the faster your metabolism actually is. “Someone who is morbidly obese burns an enormous amount of calories every day,” says Church. On the flip side, the smaller you are, the slower your metabolism is. After all, it takes less fuel (i.e., calories) to run a tiny person than it does to run a large person. It’s a cruel twist for any woman trying to lose weight and get in shape.
Read on at Women’sHealthMag.com