How to determine if your basal metabolic rate is decreasing: Five indicators to observe

How to determine if your basal metabolic rate has decreased?

Returning to the initial question, everyone needs to maintain their own basal metabolic rate, which is essentially maintaining the body's metabolic activity. Basal metabolic rate is related to factors such as gender, age, muscle mass, body surface area, physical fitness, and climate, as well as disease conditions, thyroid hormone levels, and medication use.

In short, the younger a person is, the higher their basal metabolic rate; the more active and energetic a person is, the higher their basal metabolic rate. For the same basal metabolic rate, the larger the body size, the more energy the basal metabolic rate consumes.

Adult women vary in height, weight, muscle mass, and basal metabolic rate. The energy required for an adult woman to maintain her basal metabolic rate ranges from 1100 kcal to 1500 kcal per day.

After dieting to lose weight, the body loses protein, and the basal metabolic rate will decrease to varying degrees.

So, how do you determine if your basal metabolic rate has decreased? Besides taking measurements, a simple method is to observe the following changes.

(1) Check if your body has become loose. If you have less muscle, your body will become loose; if you have more muscle, your body will become firm.

(2) Check if you are becoming increasingly sensitive to cold. Feeling cold indicates that you are using less energy to maintain your body temperature. People with well-developed muscles and good blood circulation are usually not afraid of the cold, but those who lose protein, reduce muscle mass, and have insufficient blood circulation will become more sensitive to cold.

(3) Check if you often feel tired. Frequent fatigue indicates decreased physical vitality and that the energy from food cannot be fully converted into energy, which is a sign of a lower basal metabolic rate.

(4) Check if you have indigestion. If you can't digest anything or your stomach and intestines feel uncomfortable no matter what you eat, it means that your gastrointestinal function is not being repaired and maintained, which is also a sign of a low basal metabolic rate. Or if you don't feel hungry all day and always feel full even if you don't eat, it means that your body has lost the ability to efficiently convert food into energy.

(5) Check if you are prone to catching colds or getting sick. When the basal metabolic rate decreases, the immune system cannot get enough nutritional support to function properly.

However, this process is reversible. People whose basal metabolic rate has already decreased should immediately stop dieting and replenish their nutrition. Maintaining a regular fitness routine, improving nutrition, gradually increasing muscle mass, and restoring organ function can, to some extent, increase the basal metabolic rate.

In short, people with a low basal metabolic rate need to pay more attention to the nutritional quality of their food and improve their diet. Those with a very low basal metabolic rate not only need today's nutrition but also need to gradually replenish the nutrients they previously lacked. Because the body loses a lot of protein, it's essential to increase protein intake, for example, by adding one egg, one cup of milk, and 50 grams of meat daily. Avoid sweets and fried foods, leaving room in your stomach for more nutritious foods.

Six months later, once your body has gradually returned to normal, you can begin a new weight loss plan (if you genuinely need to lose weight due to excessive body fat, and not just aim to become extremely thin, like skin and bones). At this stage, be patient and reduce your calorie intake by 10%, decrease your staple food intake, but don't reduce your protein and vegetable intake at all, maintaining adequate nutrition. Simultaneously, increase your exercise by half an hour to an hour. If you use a 1600 kcal nutritionally balanced weight loss diet, losing only 1-2 kilograms per month, focusing on reducing pure fat without losing muscle, this type of weight loss will generally not negatively impact your health.

Easy daily activities can also prevent weight gain.

◆ Brush your teeth and wash your face. When brushing your teeth and washing your face in the morning and evening, you can stand on your tiptoes and move your heels up and down (be careful to maintain your balance and avoid falling). After brushing your teeth, wipe down the sink as well.

◆ Sweeping and mopping. Although these chores are tedious and boring, you'll be more willing to do them if you treat them as exercise to lose weight. Don't underestimate cleaning work; mopping for 40 minutes can burn 150 calories, folding a quilt for 5 minutes can burn 25 calories, and vacuuming the floor for 20 minutes can burn about 47 calories.

◆ Tidying up your room. Tidying up your room inevitably involves walking back and forth, which has the same effect as a long walk, burning up to 200 calories per hour.

◆ Doing laundry and hanging clothes. Washing clothes can burn 120 calories per hour and also help slim your wrists. Hanging clothes is also a great form of exercise; try standing on your tiptoes and stretching your limbs-this not only strengthens your shoulder muscles but also helps to improve your body's curves!

Ironing and folding clothes. While these chores aren't strenuous, they can still burn at least 120 calories per hour!

◆Cooking delicious food. If you have time, cook your own food. Even just washing and chopping vegetables will consume at least 120-150 kcal, which is equivalent to eating half a slice of cream cake.

◆ Making phone calls. Can you lose weight while making phone calls? Yes, but you must be standing! A better way is to keep shifting your body weight while making the call, holding the receiver firmly with one hand for 10 seconds, then switching to the other hand. This can exercise your forearm muscles.

◆ Wiping tables and washing dishes. These are also good forms of exercise. When wiping the table, put in some effort, circling around it; when washing dishes, also get absorbed in the task, ideally swaying your body from side to side while humming a tune. This way, 30 minutes can burn 80 calories.

◆Beautify your body while showering. While showering, try moving your neck, twisting your waist, and standing on your tiptoes. If you have time, don't rush; take your time and shower slowly, allowing blood to flow fully to the surface of your body, promoting metabolism, and burning 100 calories while enjoying the pleasure of showering!

◆ Scrub the bathtub. Before and after bathing, try scrubbing the bathtub yourself. Bending over and scrubbing back and forth vigorously can not only reduce waist fat but also stretch your arms.

◆ Do simple exercises while reading or using the computer. Blood circulation is poor when reading or using the computer, easily leading to neck and shoulder fatigue. Try doing some simple movements every now and then, such as shrugging your shoulders or rotating them forward and backward. You can also move your feet, rotating your ankles and shaking your legs; this can help slim your ankles and improve the shape of your legs.