The Skinny on Metabolism: 4 Ways to Boost your Metabolism

Most who are on the journey to lose weight will utter the “M” word: Metabolism.  If asked most people would be unable to explain that word but they know we need to get it faster. We believe the faster our metabolism is the skinnier we will be. The stress of trying to answer that question may actually make us grab for a donut, but truth be told we have no idea what Metabolism is and most of us don’t care…we just want it to be faster…but how?

So here is the deal: Yes, your metabolism affects your size and the faster yours’ is, the more calories you’ll burn.  But seriously, a slow metabolism isn’t the real reason you’re packing on pounds, you are!  Each of us is in charge of our Metabolic rate; it’s what you do or don’t do with your body that determines whether you’ll fit into those size 8 jeans or not. We are not out of control or are defeated in this area; we can make the choice to kick start our sluggish metabolism today!  

Metabolism is a bunch of chemical reactions that occur in our body.  Simply put consume more calories than your metabolism needs and you will gain weight. Here are some ways to boost your metabolism…the trick is you need to get off the couch, throw away the chemical laden foods in your pantry and choose to be active.  

1. Muscle boosts your metabolism and your ability to burn calories-begin a weight lifting program 3x/week.  You can grab some magazine for routines, work with a personal trainer at a gym, online workouts or take weight bearing fitness classes like body pump, strength or boot camp.

2. Eating affects your metabolism-your body uses slightly more energy to digest protein, but you need to consume all the macronutrients for an efficient body.  Complex carbohydrates, healthy fats and a gallon of water a day will help keep your energy levels high and burn more calories throughout the day. 

3. Starvation=slower metabolism- the days of Twiggy are over so get with the times!  Starving the body will end up storing more calories and increasing body fat as a protective mode…so plan to eta 5-6 times a day whole, healthy foods.

4. Interval training vs. steady state cardio-make the most of your time, spend 20-30minutes doing intervals when you are performing cardio instead of 45min or an hour long run, if you desire to increase your metabolism and see changes in your physique then quit going so long…it breaks down more muscle which then slows the metabolism.