subject: Ideas On Increasing Your Metabolism Today [print this page] The first thing many people think when they want to lose weight is that they must eat less. There is more to it than that. You need to be increasing your metabolism and thus burning off more calories than you take in.
Metabolism is that rate at which calories are burned. When you reduce the number of calories that you take in, your body will view it as starvation. To combat the danger of starving to death, it will actually reduce metabolism. Thus, fewer calories are burned each day. Metabolic rate is adjusted to meet the caloric intake. The key is to have the right balance of how many calories you eat each day and how quickly they are used up by your body.
How can you achieve this? The first thing you need to do is build some muscle. Muscles take more energy to maintain and therefore metabolism will stay higher when it is dealing with bigger muscle mass. Weight training is an important component to a good workout routine. Cardiovascular exercise is also important. Not only is a good aerobic exercise good for the heart, it is also great at keeping the calorie burning going at a fast pace. A 15 minute run will have a better impact on metabolism than would a 30 minute walk.
You also need to be particular about when and what you eat. Protein should be high on your list of what to eat. For one thing, protein is a muscle builder. And since you want to build muscle mass, high protein foods are vital. This includes chicken, fish, pork, beef, eggs, dairy products, nuts, seeds, beans and soy. It takes more work to burn protein than to burn carbs, so this extra need for energy will also have an impact on metabolism.
Fiber is another nutrient that takes a little more effort for the body to break down. So, the same effect will occur: eating more fiber will raise metabolism a little. Fiber is found in most vegetables and fruits, legumes, seeds, nuts and whole grains.
When to eat? Well, for one thing never skip breakfast! Eating your first meal early will give your metabolism a kick start and help keep it going through the day. Do not be one of the many who make the mistake of passing on breakfast. And you should also consider eating several small meals during the day instead of the traditional three big ones. Five to six small meals will help maintain steady calorie burning through the entire day.
One thing to avoid is alcohol. Alcohol slows down metabolism just as it slows down the rest of the body. This does not mean you need to cut out alcoholic beverages entirely, but definitely avoid drinking too regularly or you will undo all the progress you make with eating right and exercising.
What else can you do? Well, give yourself little bits of incidental physical activity. During the day you want to have some exercise and not become sedentary. This means doing things like taking the stairs instead of the escalator. If your job is one that has you sitting at a desk all day, take several opportunities to get up and walk around.
