Some Tips to Boost Your Metabolism

Metabolism is the rate by which the body produces and consumes energy and calories to support life. There are a lot of people who would give a lot to increase their metabolism. Having a high level of metabolism enables one to maintain burn fat and lose weight fast with the least amount of activity.

There are several factors that affect the metabolism of a person, such as the amount of muscle tissue, the frequency of the meals one consumes, genetics, stress levels, personal diet and activity levels. Metabolism slows done due to the following: loss of muscle because of not enough physical activity, the tendency of the body to cannibalize its own tissue because there is not enough food energy to sustain it, and the decrease of physical activity that comes naturally with old age.

Here are several ways to fire up one's metabolism:

1. Build up on lean, mean body mass. It is only natural that metabolism decreases along with age, but it is possible to counter the effects. The amount of muscle a person has is a very strong determinant in the ability to burn calories and shed fat. So it goes without saying that exercise is essential. Build strength and resistance by working out at least twice a week, preferably with weights. Do easy exercises in between workouts. Simple tasks such as walking the dog and using the stairs in place of the elevator can already take off calories. The key is to match the amount of eating to the amount of activity one has.

2. Eat breakfast. A lot of people are ignoring the fact that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Surprisingly, the ones who eat breakfast are thinner than the ones who do not. Metabolism can slow down considerably if breakfast is taken during mid-morning or if one waits until the afternoon to eat.

3. Avoid sugar. Sugar enables the body to store fat. It is recommended that a person consumes food that helps sustain an even level of blood-sugar. Additionally, progressive exercise 2-3 times a week should be in order to stabilize blood sugar.

4. Eat spicy foods. Hot cuisine with peppers can increase metabolism.

5. Sleep more. According to research, it is riskier for people who do not get enough sleep to gain weight. Also, muscles are regenerated during the last couple of hours of slumber.

6. Increase water intake. Water flushes out toxins that are produced whenever the body burns fat. Majority of bodily functions involves water, and lack of water causes the body system's operations to decrease its speed, and produces unneeded stress as a result.

7. Eat smaller meals. It is advisable to consume 4 to 6 small meals that are timed 2 to 3 hours apart.

8. Never skip meals. People tend to skip meals in order to lose weight, which is a big mistake since it slows down metabolism.

9. Plan meals in detail. Always prepare the right amount of food to be consumed at the designated intervals. Do not commit the mistake of eating meals in sporadic patterns.

9. Ditch the stress! Stress, be it physical or emotional, triggers the release of a steroid called cortisol, which decreases metabolism. Also, people tend to eat excessively when stressed.

10. Guzzle up on green tea. It can be used as a substitute for coffee. Tea has the ability to stimulate metabolism, and unlike coffee, it has no undesirable side effects when too much is consumed.

11. Include more energy foods in the diet, such as fruits and vegetables, beans and whole grains.

Achieving the desired body weight is never impossible if one has the determination and patience needed to stabilize the metabolism level, which plays an important role in weight loss. A person needs to realize that eating right and working out is not just a passing fancy, but a way of life.

The gender riddle in weight loss

The fat cells of women are very different than men’s. This can be seen very clearly in the way women and men lose weight when following unisex food regulation and exercise plans. But it’s interesting to see how exactly they differ when it comes to common foods and exercises that people hoping to lose weight usually resort to. Let’s see following examples:

Eating less

When people first begin to notice that they are slightly overweight, they begin to eat less, or at least try and consume fewer calories. The effects on men and women are as follows:
Men: They tend to lose muscle which shows on the scale as weight loss. There is muscle and water loss together with a little of fat loss.
Women: The same diet plan makes women feel starved, which leads to a better control over fat metabolism. This is not good as it sounds. It means that the fat cells become more efficient at storing fat, which means that beyond water loss, a woman will not lose much weight per week on this diet.

Exercise

Men: Men typically burn more carbohydrates and fat during high intensity exercise.
Women: They burn more fat when they do low intensity, long duration exercise.

Fad Diets

Men: They can knock of weight on high protein diets because they have a higher protein metabolizing capacity than women.
Women: They tend to lose weight better when on high fibre diets, because fibre is an excellent fat binder and help flush out fat better.

Eating fatty food

Unfortunately, eating fatty food affects women more since their fat cells are eager to store fat. This is because women are prone to hormonal imbalance, primarily because of the cyclical hormonal flux during menstruation, and also because of effects of pregnancy and menopause. If a woman takes additional hormones during pregnancy that only add to the imbalances. This entire means that a woman’s fat cells react to hormones within the body all the time.

This is why women who want to lose weight must realize that their hormonal status plays an important role in their effort to lose weight. In fact, many weight loss clinics today ensure that women detoxify and purge their liver of accumulated hormones residues before they attempt to lose weight. This makes it easier for them to burn fat.

To summarize, the best way to tame the female fat cell is to decrease the consumption of fatty foods in the estrogenic phase of the menstruation cycle, eat more fibre, eat small frequent meals that are primarily unrefined, control water retention, do low intensity long duration exercises and detoxify the liver.