8 Tips to Rev Up Your Metabolism
- Increase lean muscle mass. If you were to change one thing to improve your metabolism, it should be to add strength training to your weekly program. Notice I didn’t say aerobics! Muscle burns up to 10 times the number of calories as fat. And muscle burns calories even at rest! Intense strength training can boost your metabolism for up to two hours after your workout.
- Eat breakfast. Your body needs to be refueled after 8-10 hours without food. It gives your metabolism a jump-start and gives you the energy you need!
- Eat smaller, more frequent meals and snacks. Once you know the total number of calories you need for the day, break them down into five or six small meals to keep your metabolism stoked all day. Big meals slow metabolism, and excess calories will likely be stored as fat.
- Eat more early in the day. Breakfast should be your biggest meal, and dinner the smallest.
- Avoid sweets and refined sugars. These foods are “empty” calories that trigger a significant insulin response and signal your body to store these calories as fat. They also make us hungrier, thus making us overeat and put on the pounds.
- Drink more water. The energy-burning process needs water to work properly; and you should get fewer calories from sodas and juices, anyway.
- Do cardio early in the day. Cardio exercise burns calories and elevates metabolism.
- Don’t starve. Research suggests that restricting calories below 1,000 per day slows metabolism by 25%; below 500 calories slows it by up to 90%.
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