Yes, there really are ways to give your metabolism a boost. But, they do not come in the form of a pill! Here's what you can do to keep your metabolism strong & healthy throughout your life.
1. Increase you muscle mass by strength training. Your muscle is your "fat burning machinery". Muscle is active tissue and requires many more calories than fat. The more muscle on your body, the more calories you burn per day. (This is why we're strength training with heavy weights in BootCamp this week!)
2. Boost your calorie burn with cardio. You continue to burn a higher number of calories for up to an hour after you've finished your workout!
3. Begin your day with breakfast. Going many hours without food in your system, makes your body go into "starvation mode." Your metabolism slows down to conserve calories. Stoke your furnace each morning by eating a good breakfast!
4. Eat small portions more often. Keep that furnace going throughout the day!
5. Drink at least 8 cups of water. All chemical processes in your body require water. Keep yourself hydrated to keep your metabolism working strong.
And now what is the most detrimental thing you can do for your metabolism?
Yo-yo dieting!! When you lose weight quickly, you lose muscle along with the fat. When you gain it back, you gain back only fat. With less muscle on your body, you will burn fewer calories every day.
After months, years & decades of yo-yo dieting, many people have severely lowered their metabolism and they find it increasingly difficult to lose any weight at all.
But there is hope! If you feel you have a slow metabolism, follow our 5 metabolism-boosting tips above. And be patient! It took time to lower your metabolism, so it will take time to speed it up.
Post a comment if you have any questions or comments about metabolism.
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-nutrition11-2010jan11,0,6169742.story
ReplyDeleteThis link is to a really great article in the LA Times about the different kinds of fiber and how healthy it is to have in your diet.
Thanks Jeanne! Yes, we completely agree with this article. Get your fiber from whole foods (vegetables, fruit & whole grains) where it occurs naturally with other nutrients & phytochemicals. Eating a processed food with added isolated protein is NOT going to have the same health benefits!
ReplyDeleteOK, I'm totally into the healthy eating and avoiding processed foods thing, but right now I have a confession to make: I'm a Slendaholic! I use it all the time to make tea, deserts, large vats of lemonaide and herbal iced tea. Is it really that bad for you? What does it do? It can't be as dangerous as Aspartame, can it?
ReplyDeleteHi Phyllis,
ReplyDeleteThis is a very common question and it can be confusing because the Splenda marketing team is very good at convincing the public that Splenda is natural & healthy.
However, here are the reasons we recommend that you avoid Splenda (as well as all the other artificial sweeteners):
1. It increases your cravings for sweets. Because it is so much sweeter than sugar, your taste buds start registering real sugar as "not sweet enough," making it more difficult to satisfy your sweet tooth.
2. It increases your appetite. Your taste buds send the message to your brain that you are eating, but your body receives no nutrition or calories. Some studies show that these mixed messages stimulate your appetite.
3. It's poison. The manufacturers want you to believe that it's "natural" because it comes from real sugar. However, it is made by chlorinating the sugar, which changes its molecular structure. It also contains small amounts of heavy metals, methanol and arsenic. Adverse effects reported include: shrunken thymus glands, enlarged liver & kidneys, decreased red blood cell count, diarrhea and immune and reproductive damage.
At one point, all artificial sweeteners were proclaimed to be safe. Only later did research show they were not. Although the FDA now says Splenda is safe, we predict that in the not-too-distant future, they will have to retract that.
THE BOTTOM LINE: It's not worth it! Don't pour toxins into your body to save a few calories. The more whole, natural foods you eat (vegetables, fruit, whole grains), the fewer sweet cravings you will have. When you really want something sweet, your first choice should be fruit. If that won't do it for you, have a SMALL portion of REAL sugar in your favorite dessert or snack.