8 Things To Do To Boost Your Metabolic Rate

1. Build Muscle Mass As you age, muscle mass decreases.  Weight loss from “quick” diet programs can cause a significant decrease in lean muscle mass which will negatively affect your metabolism..  It is essential to maintain lean body mass while dieting in order to not regain the weight.  Strength training builds and maintains lean muscle tissue, which burns more calories at work or at rest, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The more lean muscle you have, the faster your metabolism will be. How do you start strength training? Try some push-ups, or a few squats or lunges. Use 5 lb. free weights to perform simple biceps curls or triceps pulls. Do these exercises two to three times per week, and you’ll soon see a boost in your metabolism as well as an improvement in your physique.
2. Do Not Skip Meals or Drastically Reduce Your Caloric Intake If your body senses that food is in short supply, it will slow your metabolism to conserve energy. Over time, the result is that when you do eat (even if you consume the same foods as always) your body will be slower to use the calories as fuel, thus creating a backlog of unwanted pounds. This is often the case for “yo-yo dieting”.  A good general strategy is to cut your caloric intake by no more than 500 calories per day.  Once you determine your daily caloric intake, divide those calories into 6 different small meals/snacks throughout the day.  Never go more than 4 hours without eating.   Be aware of your portion size when dividing your calories into 6 meals/snacks.  EAT BREAKFAST within one hour of waking and add a quality protein.
3. Increase the Amount of Protein in your Diet Most researchers agree that protein helps to stabilize the secretion of insulin into your blood stream, a process that can affect metabolism.  We prefer a diet with 30-40% lean protein, 30-40% complex carbohydrates, and 30% healthy fats.  The average person would benefit from protein intake at a minimum of 70 grams or higher each day (estimate of 1g per kilogram of body weight).  Include some protein with each snack/meal  (e.g. have an apple with some peanut butter, vegetables with hummus dip, lettuce leaf with turkey rolled up, unsweetened apple sauce with chopped almonds).
4. Aerobic Workout 3 Days a Week Even though exercise doesn’t affect your Resting Metabolic Rate, the extra calories you burn could add up to an additional 1-2 pounds of weight loss per month.
5. Increase Movement in Daily Lifestyle The more you move, the more you burn! You can actually make a significant addition to the number of calories you burn each day by relatively minor changes in lifestyle. This can be as simple as taking the stairs instead of the elevator; park a distance from the mall or office; window-shop with your best friend rather than sit over coffee; walk the dog instead of just let him out; do a little gardening or clean house while you talk on the phone. If you sit behind a desk all day try some leg lifts under the desk, walking the halls for 2 minutes every hour, going up and down the stairs during breaks, or even just standing up and sitting down 10 times will increase movement in your daily lifestyle.  Making these types of changes for just 20 minutes of your day will cause you to burn an additional 100 calories per day or an additional pound per month. Making more of these changes can help you burn as much as an additional 1,000 calories per day!
6. Go For an Evening Walk  Many people’s metabolism slows down toward the end of the day. Thirty minutes of aerobic activity before dinner increases your metabolic rate and may keep it elevated for another two or three hours.  Also exercise is great for stress management at the end of a hard day!
7. Get Adequate Sleep As funny as it sounds, sleep deprivation may make you fat and not just because you’re susceptible to cases of the late-night munchies. According to researchers at the University of Chicago, women who got less than four hours of sleep per night had a slower metabolism than those who slept for a full eight hours.
8.  Drink Plenty of Water  It is very important to keep your body hydrated.  Water is involved in many processes and pathways of the body.  Drink 10 x 8 0z glasses of water per day.  Try drinking something (even just ½ cup of water) every 1-2 hours so your body always has a supply throughout  the day.

Boost Metabolism