Sticking to a strict diet regimen is what most people do to take off a few pounds but it is short-lived because as soon as the diet is over, the pounds are back. Of course there are people who cannot seem to lose weight even though they exercise and stick to eating healthy. The one thing we are forgetting is the role increasing metabolism plays in weight loss.
The calories you take in daily are regulated by your body’s metabolism. How many are stored and how many are used are contingent upon increasing metabolism. There is a simple way to look at this when it comes to how metabolism affects the goals you have for weight loss. The individual with a higher metabolism will either lose weight more rapidly or they will not gain even if they eat the same amount as another person who has a slower metabolic rate.
This shows how with everything being exactly the same, your metabolism is in charge of how many pounds you lose and how quickly you do so. The following are some ways you can use for to help get rid of those unwanted pounds.
Include intense cardio and aerobic movements in your exercise regimen: If you want to increase your metabolism, make sure that you step up the aerobic exercises in your exercise regimen. Cardio workouts also help you to lose a lot of calories and can prove instrumental in helping you lose weight faster than if you were to just go for a fast paced walk or jog.
Choose a few workout exercises that will allow you to build muscle mass and stretch those muscles, add them to your routine and you will be boosting your metabolism and burning more calories. For example, if you like to walk at a very fast pace, pair this up with jogging and you will be increasing your metabolism and the weight loss will be more rapid and lasting.
Learn how to manage your diet by consuming the foods that are excellent for building muscle. The amount of sugar and fats should be limited. Some strictly controlled diets will advise you to remove carbohydrates from the food you eat, but this should not be done. Carbohydrates are a necessary food group. You should, however increase proteins because this will decrease the fat that is stored in the cells and help increase muscle mass.
Proteins use up more calories in the digestion process and when the body needs energy, the fats stored in cells are extracted and processed to meet the body’ energy requirements. Proteins also act as the building blocks for muscle tissue and hence consuming a protein rich diet is a sure fire way of building your muscles.
Adding more protein to your diet thus gaining muscle is also a way of increasing metabolism. Muscle tissues go through a lot on a daily basis and this means they need a lot of energy to keep up with all the activities, so this also boosts the body’s metabolic rate.
Decrease the amount of food you eat and increase the amount of water you drink. Failing results from diets that cater to lower carbohydrates or eliminating them totally are the result of the fluid balance in the body not being regulated, which is what carbohydrates do. Removing carbs from your daily diet can cause loss of fluids which can cause severe dehydration. Water is a necessary part of the body’s metabolic processes, it aids in blood circulation and helps your body digest the food you eat. At the very least you should drink 5 to 6 liters of chilled water daily. Ice water will help the body burn more calories than room temperature water. Be sure and add ice to your water and juice.
Try eating smaller portions through the day instead of a two or three large portions; this will keep your metabolic process going. Besides, when you go without food for a while, your metabolic rate slows down in response. On the other hand, eating smaller portions would mean that by the time your digestive system is done processing the first portion, you will be ready with the second portion. Nutritious snacks that do not add to the sugar and fat in your body such as nuts, fruits, raw veggies, whole grains and lean meats can all help to increase your metabolism and will help you to achieve your weight loss goals faster.
Certain spices such as pepper, garlic and cloves etc will also have a bearing on your metabolic rate. Adding these spices to your food can result in a substantial increase in the metabolic rate for up to 30 minutes after consumption, which can equate to a significant number of calories burnt.
Want to discover even more about increasing your metabolism, then take a look at Michael Gale’s site on 101 ways to increase your metabolism for your free copy of Maximize Your Metabolism.