Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Power-Up Your Metabolism and Lose Weight Faster!You can change your diet and workout so your body burns more calories.
Let’s take a closer look at how you can boost your metabolism to be a fat burning powerhouse. Many dieters are quick to blame a sluggish metabolism for their inability to lose weight. But do you have control over your metabolism? Yes and no. So, how you can change your diet and your workout to increase your metabolism?
Those seeking to lose weight, which seems to be the majority of us these days, often complain that they can’t lose weight because they have a “slow metabolism.” The sad truth is that we are being lied to and taken advantage of by the marketing companies out there, promising the magic bullet for giving you an ‘edge’ to help you raise your metabolic rate and melt those pounds away almost instantly. Why we need to get educated and discover the real story about how your metabolism works and what you can and can’t do to get your body burning fat on its own.
What Is Metabolism?
Metabolism is the process by which your body converts calories from food into energy. So it is the mechanism in the body that takes what you eat and turns it into the ‘gas’ you need to burn for energy. People often misbelieve that a slim person’s metabolism is high and an overweight person’s metabolism is low. Ever heard that before? Did you believe that? Well, this isn’t usually the case. Metabolism alone does not determine your weight. Rather, weight is dependent on the balance of calories consumed versus the calories burned. Eat more calories than you need — you gain weight. Eat fewer calories than you need — you lose weight. Or here is another key point; burn more than you eat and lose weight. But how? Metabolism is merely the body’s engine that burns calories and regulates your caloric needs.
Your Body Burns Calories in 3 Ways:
Normal Body Functions. Basal metabolic rate is the amount of calories your body needs to sustain vital functions — digestion, breathing, blood circulation, adjustment of hormone levels, cell growth and repair, etc. Typically, your basal metabolic rate makes up 66 percent to 75 percent of the total calories your body requires for a day.
Digestion and Absorption of Food. About 10 percent of your day’s calories are burned digesting and absorbing the food you eat. Yes, you actually need calories to burn calories. Happy thought, eh? So the more complex the food, the more you burn in the process of using what you eat. Eat healthy, lose weight.
Exercise. Daily physical activity accounts for the rest of the calories burned. This is where the American society lacks greatly in balancing out. If we just got more active, massive change would happen in the rate of obesity growth and dis-ease in our nation with even just this one way to burn calories. Move your body, lose weight.
What You Can’t Control About Your Metabolism:
Age: Metabolism slows about 5 percent for each decade after 40. That’s because as we get older, we tend to lose muscle and gain body fat. Lean muscle mass is more metabolically active than fat tissue. So when you lose muscle mass, your metabolism slows down. This again, is a huge reason to stay active and to resistive weight training to keep your muscles strong, healthy and fat burning machines.
Gender: Men generally have faster metabolisms than women because they’re larger and have less body fat by nature. Men’s basal metabolic rate is estimated to be 10 percent to 15 percent higher than women’s. Okay, so that is one I will take up with the powers that be at a later date.
Hypothyroidism: An underactive thyroid will slow down your metabolism and ultimately lead to weight gain. The good news is that a simple blood test can determine whether you have this condition or not. If you do, you can control it with the proper medication or natural alternatives to balance out the hormones that affect this issue.
Genetics: Some people are lucky enough to be born with speedy metabolisms — and others are not. Another thing I will take up with the powers that be at a later date.
What You Can Control About Your Metabolism:
Your Diet:
Don’t eat fewer than 1,000 calories a day. Your body and metabolism thrive on food. When you fast or crash diet, your metabolism will slow down in order to conserve energy. Imagine your metabolism as a blazing fire. If the fire burns consistently with the appropriate amount of high-quality wood, it will burn at a steady rate to lose weight healthily. But if it doesn’t have enough wood, the fire goes out. If it has too much wood, it can get out control — just like your waistline! (great visual, but accurate)
Eat every three to four hours. Our bodies work hard to digest and absorb the foods we eat, and your metabolism revs up in response. This is called the thermic effect of food. Take full advantage of this and schedule meals and snacks every three to four hours. And protein no more than 1 serving every four hours or your body will store it as fat.
Make breakfast a priority. Studies show that people who regularly eat a healthy breakfast within two hours of rising are more likely to control their weight. This may be because you’re lifting your metabolic rate after it’s been in a “resting phase” during the night. So those of you that say your not a ‘breakfast’ person, you need to consider your genetic needs and jump start your metabolism every morning.
Eat protein with every meal: All foods create a thermic effect and will slightly boost your metabolism. However, eating protein gives your body a bigger metabolic boost than eating carbohydrates or fats. Plus, eating enough protein will ensure you’ll maintain and build muscle mass. (Remember, the more muscle mass you have, the greater your metabolic rate). Make sure to incorporate lean protein into most every meal. A healthy serving is what will fit in the palm of your hand.
Best protein sources: fish, chicken breast, turkey breast, lean red meat, skim milk, nonfat yogurt, cottage cheese, eggs and egg substitutes, tofu, beans, and lentils.
Meal Examples:
Breakfast: yogurt with fresh fruit and whole grain bread
Lunch: turkey burger on whole-grain bun and a yummy salad
Dinner: grilled chicken with vegetables and a baked potato
Snacks: Drink healthy water throughout the day. East fruits and veggies and whole grains to keep you feeling full.
Exercise
Do aerobic exercise four to five days a week. Aerobic activities, such as running, brisk walking, swimming and bike riding, burn calories and increase metabolism while you’re working out. Several studies show that aerobic activities cause your metabolism to stay at an elevated level for a period of time after you have finished exercising. Look into a program like Greer Childers oxygen burn routines with her Body Flex program. This program touts the ability to super charge your metabolism by using oxygen to burn fat.
Work in strength-training exercise two to three days a week. Lifting weights and other strengthening activities, such as doing push-ups or crunches, on a regular basis will actually boost your resting metabolism all day. That’s because these activities build muscle. And once again, muscle burns more calories than body fat. In fact, if you have more muscle, you burn more calories — even if you’re sitting still.
When it comes to stimulant supplements, I do not recommend them. The ingredients that are effective tend to boost metabolism only slightly and they can be risky. High doses of stimulants can make you jittery, and increase heart rate and blood pressure.
The bottom line: The safest and most effective way to boost your metabolism is to eat an appropriate amount of food every three to four hours, incorporate a portion of lean protein into each meal and a piece of fruit, and exercise regularly!
Excerpts are taken from an article on Today, by Nutritionist Joy Bauer
You can see the original article here.
