DIET

For most of us, our information concerning metabolism has related in one way or another to eating.  This article looks at some powerful and scientific diet-related tips that will boost your metabolism. Indeed, as you’ll soon learn, it’s not merely what you eat that matters; it’s when, and how, too.

Calories – love or hate?

We constantly come across calorie reduced or low calorie foods. And it’s not uncommon to overhear someone gasp about the immense calorie content of certain foods, such as a rich and creamy desert, or a giant fast food burger.

All of this calorie hype has made a lot of us pretty calorie-phobic; as soon as we see something that has lots of them, we run away. But is this wise?  

Yes, it’s wise in the sense that avoiding that double layer chocolate fudge cake for desert is a good idea. The calories that come from the cake are really going to be the so called empty calorie kind; which means that there’s no real nutritional value that your body can squeeze out and make use of. But in the bigger picture, it’s unwise for your metabolism to become calorie-avoidant. Why?

Because your body is a marvelous machine that tries, at all times, to do what it can to make your life easier. Indeed, while it may not always function at optimal levels, it still tries to do its very best. The body, for all of its limitations and so forth, is not a lazy thing! With this in mind, the body is always trying to keep it alive and functioning in the manner that it deems to be healthiest. And that’s why if you suddenly decrease the amount of calories that you need, your body won’t try to do more with less. In other words, your body won’t respond in the way that you want it to: it won’t necessarily reduce weight and fat cells.

Instead, your smart and wise body will try to keep you alive by slowing down its metabolism. It will simply believe that something is wrong – maybe you’re trapped somewhere without food – and it will just begin to become very stingy with energy. So what’s the end result? If your body needs 2000 calories a day to survive, and you suddenly give it only 1000, it won’t begin to burn off 1000 calories worth of cells that you have lying around on your love handles.

Instead, your body will slow down its metabolism. It will really try and get as much energy out of those 1000 calories, because it doesn’t want to waste anything. Physically, you’ll naturally feel more tired because your body is being very stingy with energy, and will devote its 1000-calorie ration to essential systems, like blood and oxygen supply (and others). Metabolically, you won’t be burning off extra calories.

If you can understand, that drinking a tasty fruit smoothie made with yogurt and nuts, containing high nutrition, can deliver half as many calories than a piece of chocolate cake with zero nutrition can, you are already half-way there.

Eat More?

Eating frequently throughout the day is very good for boosting metabolism. There are a couple of reasons for this.

·        People who tend to eat throughout the day do considerably less snacking. As a result, they tend to avoid the potato chips or candy bars that they might otherwise consume if they suddenly felt hungry. People who eat throughout the day don’t tend to experience severe hunger pangs, because they don’t reach that stage.

·         By eating throughout the day, you are constantly keeping your metabolism in motion. It’s kind of like having a generator run all the time; it will simply use more electricity than if you powered it on 3 times a day.

Now, it goes without saying that just because it’s good for metabolism-boosting to eat frequently, this doesn’t mean that you can eat junk all day long!

Rather, if you choose to eat more frequently, then you’ll certainly need to be very aware of what you eat; because you can easily exceed your required amount of daily calories if you don’t keep an eye on this.

What you want to focus on is HIGH NUTRTION – LOW CALORIE foods.

Eat Early

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And in terms of boosting your metabolism, this is indeed the case! There are a couple of reasons why eating a hearty and healthy breakfast can boost metabolism and lead to weight loss goals.

• People who eat a low-fat, high-fiber breakfast are much less inclined to snack throughout the morning. Having a healthy snack at 10am (apple with nuts and plain yogurt) is necessary however you won’t be starving at that time forcing you to grab whatever is available, which is usually a donut, cupcake etc.
• Studies have shown that metabolism slows during sleep, and doesn’t typically get going again until you eat. Therefore, starting the day with breakfast is like kick starting your metabolism. You’ll actually burn more calories throughout the day, simply by eating a low-fat, high-fiber breakfast.

 Protein and Carbohydrates

There are some foods that are beneficial for metabolic boosting and some that aren’t; and the differences aren’t always well-known.

• Protein
  • Studies have shown that having enough protein in your system can actually increase the speed of your metabolism. This is because protein is difficult to break down. Or rather, it requires more energy to break down.
  • Ensure that your source of protein derives from lean protein. Typically, protein from some fish and chicken is lean; though not all of it. If you’re a vegetarian, or simply looking for non-meat lean protein alternatives, low-fat cheese, legumes (lentils), and yogurt are all good sources. Check the food labels to determine if the source of protein is lean (doesn’t deliver high fat content), or fatty.

• Carbohydrates
  • Refined carbohydrates like white bread, potatoes and white rice have a high glycemic index (GI) and cause a spike in insulin levels which promote fat storage.
  • The good kinds of carbohydrate to consume are complex carbohydrates like wholegrain bread and brown rice, those that are high in fiber, and those from fruit and vegetable sources.

Why?  These sources of carbohydrates don’t score high on the glycemic index (GI).  In other words, they don’t cause a spike in insulin levels, and therefore, they don’t promote fat storage

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The next step – boosting your metabolism – is all up to you. Good luck, have fun, and enjoy your better, leaner healthier life!

Happy training!

LIFESTYLE

In this article we talk about how lifestyle influences the speed of your metabolism.

Most of us live busy lives in one form or another, and therefore it’s challenging to really keep an eye on all of our habits. Balancing work, family, hobbies, and other commitments often means that our lifestyle isn’t so much of a choice, as it is a necessity.

Yet with respect to the fact that many of us face sincere limitations in our lifestyle choices, there are many things that we can do – little things, but important things – that can help speed up our metabolism.

It’s the little things that you change in your regular, day-to-day lifestyle that can indeed have the most profound influence on the speed of your metabolism, and the achievement of your short and long-term weight loss goals.

Party time

Learning to discipline yourself and pass the desert menu makes a big difference however what about the beer or the two glasses of wine or those colorful cocktails? Studies show that drinking alcohol with meals actually encourages over eating; which means more calories that need to be burned away.

Furthermore, many people are simply unaware that many alcoholic drinks are laden with calories; almost as much as sugary-rich soft drinks. A bottle of beer can deliver a few hundred calories, and most cocktails are in the same range. Wine is generally considered to deliver the least amount of calories; but even this is a bit of a slippery slope. Three glasses of wine can be worth 300 calories that the body simply has to deal with in one form or another. The tip here isn’t to stop drinking alcohol altogether. If you enjoy alcohol then there’s no particular reason why you have to quit. Simply, the call here is that you become aware that it influences your metabolism. If you consume excess alcohol, you force your system to deal with more calories.

Take responsibility and make up for that added calories in your exercise routine. This simply means squeezing out an extra set or running a bit harder and longer.

Zzzzzzzz…..Zzzzzzzzz

Most of us don’t have as much control over the amount that we sleep as we should. Work, family, education, housekeeping, and so many other tasks can literally prevent us from getting the amount of sleep that we need.

However, as the experts tell us, getting enough sleep actually improves metabolism. On the other hand, people who are constantly sleep deprived typically find that they have less energy to do regular, daily activities; including digestion.

As a result, sleep-starved people often lower their own metabolism.

They simply don’t have the strength to break down food efficiently, particularly carbohydrates. This is a very difficult issue, because many people can only find time to exercise by borrowing from their rest time. For example, after a long day of work and dealing with family and home commitments, a person may find that the only time they have to exercise (and thus boost their metabolism) is late at night; say around 9:00 pm, or even later. So what should one do?

Ultimately, it’s a question of balance. Naturally, if you’re willing to exercise, and your doctor agrees that it’s healthy for you to do that, then you’re not going to get fit by sleeping instead of exercising.

Yet with that being said, if you steal time away from your sleep/rest in order to exercise, over time, you can actually do more harm than good; because the following day, you won’t have enough energy to digest what you eat. The answer to this catch-22 lies in balance.

You don’t have to work out every night. Or perhaps you can integrate a workout into your life during the day; maybe at lunchtime or right after work. Most fitness clubs are open very early and if you choose to workout at home, you can do so in a generally affordable way.

If you find that you have trouble sleeping, then this can also negatively affect the speed of your metabolism (because you won’t have enough energy the following day). Insomnia and other sleep disorders are very common problems, and there exists a variety of support systems in place to help people get the rest that they require.

Some non-medical tips to help you fall asleep include:

·        Don’t eat late at night

·        Try drinking warm milk before bedtime

·        Don’t turn on the TV at night

·        Try yoga or other stress-relieving practices

·        Try having a warm bath before bedtime

·        Don’t exercise close to bedtime; your body can become so energized that it doesn’t want to sleep!

Relax

Another key influence of your metabolism is stress.Believe it or not, but experts are now telling us that stress can send unwanted signals to our body; signals that lead to slower metabolism. Essentially, what happens is that when the body is under constant stress, it releases stress hormones that flood the system. These stress-related hormones actually tell the body to create larger fat cells in the abdomen. The result can be both increased weight and a slower metabolism. Obviously, these are two very negative factors in the quest to boost metabolism and lose weight. The last thing that we want is more and bigger fat cells in our abdomen, coupled with a diminished metabolism! Yet this is, tragically, what happens to many people who experience constant, continuous stress. And, alas, this is many people; especially those of us who have to balance so many competing objectives, such as work, family, and other vital tasks.

So the advice here is indeed to “relax and chill out”, and there are some simple techniques that can, and should, be added to your life.

These include walking more, listening to relaxing music, meditation, yoga, eating non-stimulating foods (e.g. no caffeine, no sugar, and so on), and building a daily regimen that includes periodic time outs where you can re-center yourself and de-stress. Remember: while relaxing is good advice for anyone, it’s important for you to note that stress negatively influences metabolism. So there is a link between how much stress you experience and your ability to break down cells and lose weight. So if you don’t want to relax because you don’t have the time, then you should realize that your stressed-out life is probably playing a role in your weight gain/your inability to lose weight.

In the next article I’ll discuss the big one: DIET, and what you can do to increase your metabolism when it comes to what you eat.

Happy training