I can think of some good ways to burn calories with him. Woof!

Your metabolic rate is the rate and which your body burns calories to maintain itself. As we age, this rate decreases by a few percentage points each decade until around age 50 – though the amount of food we eat, often does not. As a result, a slower metabolism is one reason (of many) that people tend to gain weight as they age.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. There are a number of things that all of us can do to keep our metabolism at full throttle:

1. Studies show that B vitamins and magnesium may help increase metabolism. Of course, I’m sure another subsequent study will show that they also cause brain tumors and cancer. Nonetheless, foods that are rich in these nutrients – like nuts, edamame, lentil soup for magnesium and bananas, avocados and tuna for vitamin B – will give you a needed boost.
2. Spread your meals out by eating healthy snacks in between. Try eating 5 – 6 times per day. If you go a long time without eating, your body enters starvation mode and your metabolism slows down to try and compensate.
3. Eat breakfast. Research shows that by eating breakfast, you may boost your metabolism by as much as 10%. Try to eat within one hour of waking up – even if it’s a small meal like a banana and cup of old fashioned oatmeal.
4. Exercise with intervals. Intense bursts of energy followed by slower exercise has been shown to dramatically increase metabolism. This is very easily accomplished on a treadmill doing sprints. Run quickly for a minute and then slow down for 90 seconds. Repeat. And don’t forget to strength train – muscle incinerates fat! As we age, our muscle degenerates and so it is necessary to compensate for this loss through strength training (i.e., lifting weights, weighted machines, etc.).
5. Stop dramatically cutting calories. A calorie deficit is the only way to lose weight, but it’s better to create that deficit though additional exercise than by a reduction in food – especially when considering metabolism. As stated before, your body can switch into starvation mode – and then it will be very difficult to achieve any weight loss goals.
6. Eat foods that are low on the glycemic index. Foods that are higher, like white rice and white bread, tend to have a negative effect on metabolism.
7. Get lots of fiber! Fiber slows down the digestion process which increases your metabolism. High fiber foods include apples with skin, bran cereal and various beans.
8. Sleep. Believe it or not, during sleep, your body produces higher levels of a growth hormone that acts directly on your cells to increase metabolism. Get your full eight hours!

Try some of these tips – whether you’re 20 or 120 – to keep your metabolism pumping and those calories a-burnin’!

Have you noticed any slow down in your metabolism? Let me know in the comments below!

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