Apparently, the key to losing weight is not decreasing your food intake but increasing your metabolism. Yes, and allow me to explain.
According to this article, metabolism is the big kahuna in our body consuming calories. It accounts for 60 -70% of our daily calories while physical activity accounts 20% ( and the last 10% belongs to actual food digestion).
And I have experienced it personally. During my 20 weeks marathon training, I was losing weight in spite of my ferocious appetite. It was not so much of the distance I was running but my metabolism due to the leg muscles I was building.
And it felt wonderful. I would laugh at diets, eat anythings, and not worry about gaining weight. All because my metabolism was burning the lion share of the calories regardless I was exercising, eating or sleeping. Wished it would go on forever.
My metabolism now no longer peaks like it did during training. Furthermore, as we age, our metabolism slows down. And a natural outcome from slower metabolism is that our weight goes up.
So to boost metabolism, the same article suggests:
- include strength training to increase muscle mass
- ramp up workout intensity to get into the training zone, and
- add protein for muscle repair/ building
How is your metabolism?
Running with Buddha 