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Ask the Nutritionist: Slow Metabolism Print E-mail
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Ask the Nutritionist: Diet Plateaus By Theresa Stahl, RD, LDN

Q: I’m a 54-year-old woman of average weight and height.  My diet is fairly healthy, and I try to monitor my calorie intake.  But any deviation from my normal eating pattern (eating an extra portion at dinner, the occasional piece of cake for dessert) causes me to gain weight.  My best friend is also my age, but she can eat ice cream for breakfast and not gain an ounce! Do I have a slow metabolism?

A: To answer this question, let’s take a closer look at metabolism. Technically, metabolism is the sum of all chemical reactions that take place in living cells.  Energy metabolism includes all of the reactions by which the body obtains and spends the energy from food.  And basal metabolism (often referred to as basal metabolic rate or BMR) is the energy needed to maintain life when a body is at complete rest. 

People have varying metabolic rates, and you’re probably asking this question because you’ve observed this firsthand.  We all know someone who eats anything they want and never gains weight.  This person most likely has a fast metabolism.  People with slower metabolisms often tell me, “I gain weight when I look at food.”  While this may be an exaggeration, this is often how someone with a slow metabolism feels.  But I have good news—you can increase your metabolism.

First of all, as you age, your basal metabolic rate slows down, which is why people tend to gain weight as they get older even though they don’t increase calorie intake. This weight gain is referred to as “creeping overweight,” because it seems to creep up over the years.  The combination of aging along with decreased physical activity leads to even greater weight gain.
 
To increase your metabolism, try the following tricks:

• Eat breakfast. Eating breakfast enables you to break your nighttime fast, which helps to jump-start your metabolism for the day. Also, breakfast eaters tend to be less hungry during the day and less impulsive about unhealthy snacking.  

• Eat regularly. Skipping meals slows metabolism, causing you to burn less calories and store more calories as fat. 

• Exercise regularly. Exercise obviously burns calories, but it also helps keep your metabolism higher after you finish your workout.  Plus, exercise helps to build lean muscle tissue, which burns more calories than fat tissue.  With age, your body naturally increases fat and becomes less lean.  Exercise helps you maintain or build lean tissue so you burn more calories at rest.