When most people talk about metabolism, they mean the metabolism of fat. The problem is that many dieters are doing things that actually slow down their metabolism rather than speeding it up, so their weight loss is often slow and frustrating.

Believe it or not, boosting your metabolism isn’t as hard as you may think. Let’s look at some pointers that can help keep your metabolism running smoothly for maximum weight loss and maintenance:

Metabolism Booster #1 – Green tea

Do you drink a lot of coffee? If so, you may want to consider swapping a few of those daily cups for green tea instead. Green tea has long been believed to stimulate your metabolism and help you burn more fat. Beyond weight loss, green tea also contains a lot of antioxidants, which help you prevent many illnesses.

Metabolism Booster #2 – Eating frequently

One sure way to bog down your metabolism is to skip meals and reduce your caloric intake too far. That is, of course, unless you are fasting. I say this because some people fast for a while, and then they return to eating “paranoid” of gaining the weight back. So they starve themselves. However, eventually they exploded like a water balloon pricked with a pincushion and go on an eating rampage. I can’t blame them.

Instead, if you eat something every 2-3 hours, your metabolism will speed up because it needs to keep moving to process the foods you eat. Since you’re eating regularly, you can easily reduce the portion sizes so you’re not overdoing it on calories.

Also helpful is to include lots of lean protein, and moderate amounts of healthy fats because they keep you feeling satisfied for much longer than carbohydrates do. This is really the key to NOT gaining the weight back after fasting.

Metabolism Booster #3 – Building muscle

You may already be doing cardio workouts like aerobics, running, or brisk walking, but you may also want to include some light to moderate weight training in your fitness routine.

The more lean muscle mass you build, the more calories you’re going to burn each day, even when you’re not actively exercising. It may be helpful to hire a personal trainer, or at least buy some high-quality weight training DVDs so you can be sure you’re using the proper form and avoiding injury.

Metabolism Booster #4 – Water

Your liver cannot metabolize fat efficiently if you are dehydrated – just like all of your organs, muscles, and joints need adequate water to function properly. Drinking plenty of water each day is one of the easiest ways to fire up your body’s fat burning processes.

If you struggle to drink enough water because you don’t like the taste, you can try a few stealth tactics, like gulping down an 8 oz. glass quickly each hour so you don’t have to taste it for more than a minute or so; or “hide” it in a fruit smoothie twice a day; or even drink it hot with a wedge of lemon. However you do it, your body will thank you – and so will the scale!

Metabolism Booster #5 – Reduce sugar intake

Do you ingest a lot of sugar each day, either in the foods you eat or the beverages you drink? If so, that could pose a big problem when it comes to burning fat because your body is too busy trying to process all that sugar and much of it is going to be stored as excess fat. When you reduce your sugar intake, your body is better able to focus on metabolizing fat.

Eating fruit is still okay (keeping it in moderation, of course) because your body doesn’t react to that kind of sugar the same way it does to refined white sugar. Besides, most fruit has a lot of other great benefits, like fiber (which further helps slow down the absorption of sugar) and antioxidants.

These are all very simple ways to help yourself slim down and get healthier. It’s an ongoing process, so be sure to dedicate yourself to positive lifestyle changes over the long term, not just occasionally. I’d love to hear any comments anyone has about this…

Rob

Tags: Health Medical Pharma, water balloon, boosting your metabolism, maximum weight loss, cardio workouts