Fire up your metabolism
Here’s a secret: slaving away inside your body – right this minute – is your very own personal trainer working tirelessly to help you burn calories and shed fat. It’s called your metabolism, and it’s the sum of everything your body does. Each time you eat, enzymes in your body’s cells break down the food and turn it into energy that keeps your heart beating, your mind thinking, and your legs churning during a gruelling workout. A fast metabolism means more calories burned. The more you burn, the easier it is to drop pounds, and get this – you can increase your metabolism so it works harder, 24 hours a day.
Here are nine great ways to increase your metabolism
- Eat a good breakfast Every Single Day. If you don’t, your body goes into starvation mode so your metabolism slows to a crawl to conserve energy.
- Eat little and often. There’s evidence that eating small, regular meals throughout the day, rather than one or two large meals, may help to keep your metabolism ticking over. Surprisingly, around 10 percent of the calories we use each day go on digesting and absorbing food – so the more times you eat, the greater this effect is likely to be.
- Guzzle water. Drink 1.5-2.5 litres of water a day. Your metabolism needs plenty of water to function properly. Carry a bottle of water with you and drink frequently throughout the day.
- Pick protein for lunch. Cramming protein into every meal helps build and maintain lean muscle mass. Muscle burns more calories than fat does, even at rest. Aim for about 30 grams of protein with every meal.
- Brew up some green tea. The brew contains a plant compound called ECGC, which promotes fat burning. According to other studies, consuming two to four cups of green tea per day may torch an extra 50 calories. That translates into about five pounds per year. Alternatively, take Green Tea capsules for the same desired effect.
- Mix things up with intervals. You’re always looking for a way to shorten your workout, right? Well, step up your intensity and you’ll burn the same number of calories or more in less time. Work hard for a short period then recover for a short period i.e. 30-60 seconds of hard work followed by 30-60 seconds of rest.
- Resistance training. Tone your muscles with weight training three days per week. Toned muscles send your metabolism through the roof, but pass on those featherweight dumbbells – you need to use weights that are heavy enough that you struggle to complete the final few reps.
- Never eat less than 1200 calories per day! Less than 1200 is usually not enough to support your basal metabolism and thus will slow your metabolism.
- Avoid alcohol! Alcohol depresses your metabolism and stimulates your appetite!
- Get sufficient sleep. When you are asleep, your body goes to work repairing, rebuilding and recharging itself (metabolising!) Getting enough good quality sleep is one of the key ways to increase metabolism.
About the author
Steve Cork is a highly experienced Sussex based fitness professional. He co-runs Sussex Bootcamps and also offers personal training and fitness talks. For more details see www.sussexbootcamps.co.uk
www.sussexpersonaltrainer.blogspot.com
Article copyright YourDoc Medical Ltd 2010. All rights reserved.
