After years of yo yo dieting and trying every fad diet out
there to lose weight I found that my metabolism had slowed down
I only had to look at a cookie to put on weight. I decided
I needed to make some drastic changes if I was to improve
my chances of losing the extra weight that had been
creeping on for the last few years.
Just think how easy it is to gain 1lb a week, you just
have to overeat by 3,500 calories per week and there you
are at the end of the year 52 pounds heavier. Well, if
you’re built like Victoria Beckham then you could probably
stand to add the extra, but for us regular types, this is
quite a scary prospect.
I decided to do some serious research into what would help
me to get my metabolism back up to normal in order to give
me a fighting chance in my weight loss quest. Here’s what I
found that works:
* Muscle helps to keep your metabolism up. You don’t need
to become a body builder but light weights with plenty of
repetitions help tone and build the muscles. Cycling is
also a good way of building muscle in your legs.
* Some kind of Sustained activity every day is also
important to keep your metabolism revved up. Try walking
the dog for longer, taking the bike instead of the car,
clean the house (vigorously) dig the garden or go dancing.
* Start your day with a substantial meal and tail them off
as the day goes on, make dinner the smallest meal of the
day. This gives you more time to burn off the calories.
* Don’t skip meals. This will just deny your body of
essential vitamins and nutrients needed for optimum health
and slow down your metabolism. Try eating 5 small meals a
day. Remember there is a reason that Sumo Wrestlers eat
huge meals then take a nap after every meal.
* Use spices, spices can make bland food more appealing
and spice can boost your metabolism slightly.
* Drink plenty of water; dehydration can slow down your
metabolism. Water is the most important nutrient in the
body. The liver will concentrate on water retention instead
of burning fat if deprived of water. You will also feel
more tired if dehydrated and therefore less inclined to
exercise.
* Try and make sure that 10-35% of your daily calories
come from protein. These should be lean protein sources,
e.g. fish, chicken etc. Also a small handful of unsalted
nuts can help to keep your hunger at bay as well as
providing a good source of protein.
* Calcium helps to rev up your metabolism, so try and
include 3 servings of low cal dairy and 1200mg of calcium a
day.
* Add interval training to your work-out. It’s easy to add
high intensity bursts, add a 30 second sprint to your jog
every 5 minutes or up the incline for 1 minute in 5 on your
treadmill.
* Steer clear of fad diets such as The Maple Syrup Diet.
It is liquid sugar, your blood sugar will just go up and
down like a yo yo and your body will go into starvation
mode (metabolism drop). Any fad diet purporting to help you
lose weight fast is probably just going to help you to lose
water and muscle and have your metabolism dropping faster
than you can say roly poly.
If you can just incorporate 5 of these tips into your
daily regime then you should see a significant improvement
in your weight loss results.
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