10 Ways to Speed Up Your Metabolism – 2012 edition
Ever wonder why your best friend can go through a McDonalds Happy meal, Galaxy chocolate bar plus take cream with coffee without gaining a pound while just one spoonful goes straight to your hips? The answer lies in your metabolism, that little engine in your body that burns calories all day, every day. Because of genetics, some women burn fat faster than others. But age, weight, diet and exercise habits also play a role. With age, metabolism slows down, mainly because you are losing five or six pounds of muscle each decade starting in the mid-20s, which basically translates to you, may be burning 100 fewer calories a day at 35 than at 25. But there are easy things you can do to stoke your fat-burning potential. There’s no reason you can’t have the same metabolism in your 30s and 40s that you had in your 20s,
Don’t overdo calorie cutting. Putting yourself on a very-low-calorie diet is a surefire way not to lose. Your body is programmed to defend your usual weight, So if you suddenly drop 1,000 calories from your diet, your resting metabolic rate [the number of calories your body burns to maintain basic bodily functions, such as breathing and heartbeat) will automatically slow down, because your body now assumes that you’re starving.” However, there are metabolic benefits to intermittent fasting for some people.
Eat breakfast. Believe it or not, it may be the most important meal of the day as far as metabolism (and weight loss) is concerned. Breakfast eaters lose more weight than breakfast skippers do, according to studies. Your metabolism slows while you sleep, and it doesn’t rev back up until you eat again, So if you bypass breakfast, your body won’t burn as many calories until lunchtime as it could. That’s why it’s smart to start the day with a good meal; it jump-starts your metabolism.
Aim for a breakfast that has plenty of high-fibre carbs and proteins: High-fibre carbohydrates take longer for your body to digest and absorb than fats; thus they don’t cause rapid changes in your blood sugar, so your hunger is kept at bay longer, Some good choices: an omelette with loads of veggies, scrambled eggs and asparagus, a gluten free granola with plenty of nuts; banana or berries.
Pile on the protein. Research shows that getting plenty of protein can boost your metabolism, causing you to burn an extra 150 to 200 calories a day, Protein is made up mainly of amino acids, which are harder for your body to break down [than fat and carbs], so you burn more calories getting rid of them,
You should make sure that 25 to 35 percent of your total daily intake comes from lean sources of protein, such as fish, chicken, and legumes. Aim to have a serving of protein, such as nuts, salmon, chicken or eggs, at every meal and snack.
Don’t avoid all fats. Fats are NOT the enemy – eliminate trans fat but ensure you take in large quantities of Omega 3 Fats. There are numerous studies promoting the benefits of taking a regular fish oil including Cell membrane health, reduces inflammation, turns off fat storage genes & activates fat burning genes, decreases blood pressure, great stress fighter and many many more benefits.
Go for “good” carbs. Refined carbs, such as bagels, and white bread, white rice, pasta, create a surge in insulin that in turn promotes storage of fat and may drive down your metabolic rate, try high-fibre carbs instead. It’s important to keep carbohydrates in your overall diet, but focus on vegetables, fruits and whole grains, which have less of an impact on impact on insulin levels. Load up on green vegetables at every meal. Keep starchy carbs to post exercise only and within an hour of working out.
Spice up your soup. Sprinkle a few hot peppers into your lunchtime soup or evening stir-fry. They temporarily boost your resting metabolic rate, according to research done at Laval University in Canada. Here’s why: Capsaicin, a compound found in jalapeño and cayenne peppers, temporarily stimulates your body to release more stress hormones, such as adrenaline, speeding up your metabolism and thus increasing your ability to burn calories, says study coauthor Angelo Tremblay, . Bonus: The pepper-eaters had less of an appetite, Tremblay found, probably because the spiciness of the food made them feel full.
Pump iron. Experts say weight training is the best way to crank up your resting metabolic rate. As you get older, your resting metabolic rate drops, but weight training can rev it right back up again: A pound of muscle burns up to nine times the calories a pound of fat does, In fact, a woman who weighs 130 pounds and is muscular burns more calories than a sedentary 120-pound woman of the same height. Regular strength training can increase your resting metabolic rate anywhere from 6.8 to 7.8 percent. That means that if you weigh 120 pounds, you could burn around 100 more calories a day, even when you’re just watching TV.
You can get great results with only two 15-minute Body Conditioning session week. Research, published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise in January 1999, found that doing just one set of 10 reps reaps about the same muscle-building benefits as three sets, as long as they’re performed to muscle fatigue. Bonus: Weight training also gives your metabolism a short-term boost. When women lift weights, their metabolisms remain in overdrive for up to two hours after the last bench press, allowing them to burn as many as 100 extra calories, according to a study published in June 2001 in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.
Rev up your workouts. Adding interval training — bursts of high-intensity moves — to your workout is a great metabolism booster. Studies have shown that people who do interval training twice a week [in addition to cardio] lose twice as much weight as those who do just a regular cardio workout, You can easily incorporate interval training into your workout by inserting a 30-second sprint into your jog every five minutes or by adding a one-minute incline walk to your treadmill workout. Do an intense 10 minute body weight circuit that includes exercises such as burpees, squats, lunges & jumping. Since your body is working harder, it’s a more intense workout — and you therefore burn more calories, do a 10 minute body weight circuit
Break up your exercise routine. Whenever possible, slice each of your workouts into two smaller sessions. For example, do a 15-minute weight-lifting session in the morning, then do your 30-minute walk on your lunch hour or at night. You’ll burn an extra 100 to 200 calories that day, Don’t have time? Just add in some stair climbing or short walks throughout the day. Even small bursts of activity are enough to get your metabolism revved, according to a study in the scientific journal Nature. For five minutes out of every hour, get up and do something, even if it’s just walking around your office, You can end up burning a couple of hundred extra calories over a week
Chill out. Long-term stress can make you fat, studies have found. When you’re chronically stressed, your body is flooded with stress hormones, which stimulate fat cells deep in the abdomen to increase in size and encourage fat storage, call this toxic weight, because fat deep within your belly is more likely to increase your risk for heart disease, diabetes and cancer. And stress hormones spark your appetite, making you likely to overeat.
So what’s a frazzled woman to do? Make a list of all the things that relax you: playing with the dog, writing in your journal, even listening to classical music. Then allow yourself 10 to 15 minutes every day to kick back and enjoy one of these activities.
