subject: Increasing Your Metabolism By Making Your Furnace Burn Calories [print this page] Increasing your Metabolism: Before we even begin trying to increase our metabolism, we need to know what it is. Metabolism is a process which like a furnace, burns down the protein, carbohydrate and fat you ingest and converts it into energy. As simple as that, you need to learn however, how to keep this furnace fueled and burning all day and into the night as you sleep. Boosting metabolism alone will not lead to weight loss but combined with a healthy eating plan and regular activity, it should.
Before you decide to try to boost metabolism, pay your doctor a visit. A slow metabolism can be caused by a number of medical factors and he can check these out for you. For example, hypothyroidism (an under-active thyroid) is rare but certainly can play a strategic part. Insomnia can also be the root cause of low energy levels. Remember too that as you age, you need fewer calories because your fat levels increase as your body muscle decreases. This is especially true for women, men having more muscle mass.
The best way to boost metabolism is to ensure that you have enough oxygen, because mixed with carbohydrates, proteins and fat they release energy. And what is the best way to get more oxygen into your body? By aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise increases the heart rate causing you to breathe more quickly, taking more oxygen into your system and increasing your metabolism to burn calories.
Think of metabolism as a furnace. You need it to literally burn calories. This means that breakfast takes on a more important role and here are the reasons why. Should you not eat breakfast, you will be less active and a little more tired. Your glucose levels will tumble down and by moving around less, you burn fewer calories. The same is true for skipping meals. Although you may feel proud of eating less, you are actually setting your body up for failure because your metabolism will slow down and burn fewer calories.
To burn more fuel for your body, eat something say, every three hours. This way, your metabolism stays high as the furnace inside your body is being fueled with what you eat and drink. This is why diets do not work. On that subject, think about what you are eating and drinking and ensure that it is healthy. Eating all sorts of junk food and saturated fats will definitely play a role in your gaining weight and so will lack of exercise. You need to combine the two. Convert your mind-set into a new way of healthy eating for life.
We have determined that aerobic exercise burns calories. Weight-bearing exercise strengthens muscle. Add wrist and ankle weights when you exercise. Find exercises on the Internet and draw up a schedule of the times you need to eat a healthy snack and the times you are going to exercise. Exercise can be walking, jogging, hiking, cycling or you may like to take out a gym membership or find a personal trainer.
Your body mass index (BMI) can also be worked out on Internet web sites which specialize in this. This handy tool will be able to give you a realistic view of the amount of calories you need to take in daily. They usually give advice on healthy food and even supply wholesome recipes to follow. Change as much of your food to low GI (Glycaemic Index). Remember that for every extra kilo or pound you carry you will need to burn at least 50 calories in that furnace of yours.
By being realistic and setting your goals accordingly, all that is left for you to do is to focus on your program. With the use of a step-counter, you will be able to see how much activity you have achieved on a daily basis. At the end of each week, you can review your program after weighing in and adjust what you eat where necessary. Think about keeping a food diary and remember that there are no quick-fix solutions to increase your metabolism but you can do it through sheer willpower and diligence. Ready?
