3 simple ways to speed up your metabolism

Have you ever wondered why your friend can eat a hamburger combo with potatoes and not gain an ounce?

Your friend eats junk food once a week and does not get fat, while you smell a chocolate and you already feel how fat you got.

• Why?

It is the metabolism of each one, that machine that burns calories all day, every day.

Because of genetics, some people burn more calories than others. To which are added other factors such as age, weight, diet and exercise.

"As women get older, their metabolisms slow down, mainly because they lose between 2.1 and 2.7 kilograms of muscle per decade, starting at 25," explains fitness expert Wayne Westcott.

In other words, at 35 you burn 100 calories a day less than at 25.

But there are some things you can do to speed up your metabolism and these are some:

• Do not exaggerate with the calorie cut

Making a diet that drastically reduces calories is not a good idea. "Your body is programmed to defend your usual weight," explains Liz Applegate, professor of nutrition at the University of California. "So if you suddenly remove 1,000 calories from your diet, your metabolism (those calories the body uses to maintain vital functions such as breathing or heart rate) will automatically go down, because it assumes that you are starving."

• Have breakfast

Believe it or not, it is the most important meal of the day in terms of metabolism and weight loss. Studies agree that people who eat breakfast lose more weight than those who do not. "Your metabolism goes down while you sleep, and it does not come back until you eat," explains Barbara Rolls, a nutrition professor at Penn State University. So if you skip breakfast, until lunch your body will not burn as many calories as it could. Here we tell you what is the perfect breakfast.

• Sleeping
  Not sleeping can slow down your metabolism. According to a study from the University of Chicago, people who slept 4 hours a day had more difficulty processing carbohydrates. "When you are exhausted, your body lacks the energy to perform its daily functions, which include burning calories, so your metabolism slows down," says the doctor and author of books on the subject, Pamela Peeke. Do not miss these 9 tricks to sleep like a baby.