Your basal metabolic rate is constantly changing and adapting as you go, however for majority of us this is not a problem. The level of fat burn that is needed for getting in shape for holiday or taking your clothes off does not require you to worry about whether you are in ‘starvation mode’. If you are carrying too much body fat then you have meals stored in you, use this stored energy. You don’t need to worry about metabolic rate at this stage,  just focus on consuming less calories and burning more.

What is metabolism? From body repair to digestion, metabolism describes all the processes that go on inside the body to keep you alive, all basic functions for us to live use energy. Energy which we measure from calories that we take in through food and drink each day. The minimum amount of energy which we use each day to stay alive is known as BMR (basal metabolic rate).

What affects metabolism?

1. Muscle mass.

2. Age.

As we get older, we tend to gain fat and lose muscle the reason for this is that most people become less active which is a big factor influencing fat gain. Physically inactive people can lose as much as 3% to 5% of their muscle mass each decade after age 30 therefore it is important to strength train to reduce the speed of this process.

Managing a healthy level of body fat straight forward as building muscle mass and maintaining it requires more calories to support muscle tissue and performance.  This is why it is important to strength train in order to achieve and maintain a healthy levels of muscle mass, strength and body fat.

Key points:

1. Weight train 2 hours a week with barbell overhead shoulder presses, flat barbell bench presses, rows, deadlifts and back squats. This will increase muscle mass which will boost your metabolism and achieve healthy levels of body fat.

2. If you are not losing weight over a 14-day period then you need to consume the correct level of protein, reduce carbs, consume more vegetables, fruits and water with more daily activity.