10 Ways To Increase Your Metabolism
By: Daniel Green
Metabolism is the process of breaking down the food we eat to create fuel for energy.
Here are 10 healthy ways to increase your metabolism:
1. Perform cardiovascular exercise. Cardiovascular exercise not only burns the calories that flash on the screen of your treadmill, but your body will respond to the increased demand you have placed on it by becoming more efficient overall.
2. Build muscle with a resistance-training program. There is a direct relationship between muscle mass and metabolism. In other words, by building your muscles you are increasing your ability to burn fat more efficiently throughout the day.
3. Eat small meals throughout the day. By eating four meals and a couple of snacks each day, you are avoiding the peaks and valleys you would experience with the typical small-breakfast, medium-lunch, and big-dinner pattern that so many people follow. The key is to make sure each meal and snack is well balanced and is accompanied by a glass of water.
4. Have an active lifestyle. The one hour you spend in the gym is not the only time you should be burning calories. Stay active by running errands, playing with your children or grandchildren, taking walks through the park or the mall, and doing yard work on the weekends.
5. Get enough sleep. Just as the body needs activity, it needs rest. Not getting enough sleep drains you and will slow your metabolism.
6. Eat breakfast. Skipping this "most important meal of the day" means you are starting your day in starvation mode. Your body needs some fuel to get started on the right track.
7. Fidget. Tap your toes. Pace while on the phone. Air-drum with your pen and pencil. Keep the body moving and you will continue burning calories.
8. Incorporate interval training into your workout. Interval training (a type of aerobic workout in which the intensity is increased and decreased in regular intervals) prevents your body from growing accustomed to a certain intensity level, instead forcing it to constantly adapt to a new workload.
9. Eat a low-fat diet. Fat is far easier for your body to break down than carbohydrates or protein. By eating a low-fat diet you are asking the body to work harder - and burn more calories - as it turns your food into energy.
10. Workout every day even if you have to split your workouts. Performing three 10 or 15 minute workouts each day is just as effective as one 30 or 45 minute workout. You will still reap the benefits of an increased metabolism.
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Daniel Green is the Managing Editor for the American Council on Exercise (ACE) and an ACE-certified Lifestyle & Weight Management Consultant. He is also a Contributing Editor to both ACE
Fitness Matters and ACE Certified News. Visit the ACE Web site at
www.acefitness.org.
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