Your metabolic rate is determined by several factors, including your genetics, the food you eat, your height and weight, your lean muscle mass and your activity level. By changing your lifestyle (one baby step at a time), you can speed up your metabolism and lose weight without struggling so much. You don't have to become a marathon runner, or get to the gym 3 hours a day, but you do have to get up off that couch and make the following changes:
1. Start weight training (especially for women! Remember this phrase "muscle dictates your metabolism!" You need active muscle tissue to burn fat. One pound of muscle burns more calories than a pound of fat. And strength training boosts your "After burn" rate, so your metabolism stays ramped up for hours after your workout.
2. Get moving! Increase either the intensity or the duration of your cardio workouts. To make the most of your heart pumping workouts, try HITT (high intensity interval training). Studies show that people who incorporate HITT training in to their workouts a couple of times a week (i specialize in that!) lose twice as much weight as those who do not.
3. Eat regularly - Eating small meals/snacks every 3 hours or so, to ensure your metabolism will stay hyped all day long. Think of a thermostat at your wall cranked to 100 all day long....burning hot! By going too long without eating puts your body into starvation and fat preservation mode, so it will boomerang on you if you try to starve yourself! And that's NO fun anyway! Who wants to do that?
4. Drink plenty of water - We often confuse thirst for hunger and this is easily preventable by keeping a loaded water bottle nearby. Cut out the soda! Even diet soda! It's worse! With all the chemical and artificial preservatives that can actually INCREASE your appetite, you want to stick with water or selzer. I would rather eat my calories, not drink them.....
Remember, change is for LONG TERM, because if you quit and go back to old habits, they will get you in the same trouble that you have already been in. This is a healthy lifestyle, NOT A FAD DIET/EXERCISE REGIMEN!
Stay healthy, my friends!!!!
1. Start weight training (especially for women! Remember this phrase "muscle dictates your metabolism!" You need active muscle tissue to burn fat. One pound of muscle burns more calories than a pound of fat. And strength training boosts your "After burn" rate, so your metabolism stays ramped up for hours after your workout.
2. Get moving! Increase either the intensity or the duration of your cardio workouts. To make the most of your heart pumping workouts, try HITT (high intensity interval training). Studies show that people who incorporate HITT training in to their workouts a couple of times a week (i specialize in that!) lose twice as much weight as those who do not.
3. Eat regularly - Eating small meals/snacks every 3 hours or so, to ensure your metabolism will stay hyped all day long. Think of a thermostat at your wall cranked to 100 all day long....burning hot! By going too long without eating puts your body into starvation and fat preservation mode, so it will boomerang on you if you try to starve yourself! And that's NO fun anyway! Who wants to do that?
4. Drink plenty of water - We often confuse thirst for hunger and this is easily preventable by keeping a loaded water bottle nearby. Cut out the soda! Even diet soda! It's worse! With all the chemical and artificial preservatives that can actually INCREASE your appetite, you want to stick with water or selzer. I would rather eat my calories, not drink them.....
Remember, change is for LONG TERM, because if you quit and go back to old habits, they will get you in the same trouble that you have already been in. This is a healthy lifestyle, NOT A FAD DIET/EXERCISE REGIMEN!
Stay healthy, my friends!!!!
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