Discover Your Metabolism and How to Increase It - Part 2

Yesterday we discovered facts about the metabolism and how it works as well as tips to speed up your  metabolism. Here are more tips and the conclusion:

Eating Early

Want to boost your metabolism and assist your weight loss? Eat breakfast. You'll be
much less inclined to snack. It is true that breakfast is the most important meal
of the day. You see, metabolism slows during sleep and doesn't get cranked up again
until you eat. Does this mean you'll burn more calories during the day by eating
breakfast? YES.

Avoid high-fat breakfasts...those that include bacon and sausage. Instead, eat
breakfasts that are high in fiber. They take longer to digest so you won't be
hungry for a longer period of time. High-fat breakfasts are digested quickly,
leaving you hungry before lunch.

Protein

Having the proper amount of protein in your system actually increases your
metabolism. Although intake amounts vary, the USDA Food Guide suggests around 50
grams of protein per day for a somewhat active adult. Sources of protein are many
times also sources of fat. Take your protein from lean sources like fish and chicken.

Carbohydrates

Good kinds of carbohydrates are those high in fiber, and those from fruit and
vegetable sources. When the body processes cookies, for example, as a source of
carbohydrates, insulin spikes. When it is in the system, it promotes storage of fat
and the slowing down of the metabolic speed. Good carbs don't spike insulin levels
and don't promote fat storage so, to boost your metabolism, eat good carbs.

Metabolism-Boosting Myths

The following are metabolism boosting MYTHS. Keep that in mind.

Myth #1: Diet Pills

The biggest problem is their claims are not realistic. Read the fine print. If it
says: "the claims made in this advertisement are not typical," stay away! In some
cases, diet pills can help boost metabolism temporarily but they can be dangerous.
For example, diet pills that are diuretics which promote water loss will cause you
to lose water weight...but this is not the weight you are trying to lose. It is an
unhealthy temporary weight loss that will come back once your body replenishes its
stores. Failing to replenish to stores can lead to coma and death. (VERY unhealthy!)

Myth #2: Drop Caloric Intake

We discussed this earlier. You need to know that the body's ability to lose weight
is controlled by the metabolism. Calories are units of energy; how your body deals
with that energy determines whether you lose or gain weight. If you drastically
reduce your caloric intake, the body reacts by slowing the metabolism so you have
as much energy on hand as possible. When you increase your caloric intake (like on
the weekend or vacation), the body is still dealing with the slower metabolism and
you can actually can weight.

Myth #3: Low Intensity Workouts

While anyone will agree low intensity exercise is better than none, low intensity
workouts DO NOT lead to a faster metabolism.  As we discussed, metabolism is a
process of two types: anabolism which makes cells out of energy and catabolism
which breaks down cells to make energy. Once you reach a basic fitness level, only
aerobic (high intensity) workouts will help increase your metabolism because these
workouts force your body to find energy to maintain the level of exercise.

Myth #4: Too Much Focus

Exercise, lifestyle and diet changes are an effort that speeds up your metabolism.
You cannot focus on only one of these as it is detrimental or down right counter-
productive. You cannot focus on exercise, then lifestyle, then diet. It has to be
done all at once to have a positive effect on your metabolism and to reach your
long-term weight loss goals.

You now know a lot about metabolism and how it works. Now it's time for action.

Hope you have good luck and that you enjoy your leaner, healthier life.



If you enjoyed this series, download the report that is the basis for this post.
It's called, "How to Boost Your Metabolism," and it greatly expands on what you've
read here. Learn to boost your metabolism (download link)  today.

For more from the author, Sean Lombardo, visit his website at:

http://BellyFatBurning.com

He offers a FREE fitness program which includes 6 DVD's, custom meal plans, recipe
book, weight training tutorials, and a progress tracker...all for FREE!



For the truth about how to lose ugly belly fat, go to:

Real Truth About Abs

Discover Your Metabolism and How to Increase It

Discover How to Boost Your Metabolism

Metabolism isn't a body part. It is the process of transforming food (ie nutrients) into fuel (ie energy). This energy is used by the body to perform many functions. Even your ability to read is driven by your metabolism. Without it, you wouldn't move. In fact, such things as circulating blood or transforming oxygen into carbon dioxide require metabolism.

Anabolism and Catabolism
Our bodies are constantly creating more cells. These cells are used to replace dead or dysfunctional cells. This metabolic response is called anabolism.

At the same time, an exact opposite activity is taking place in other parts of the body as energy is being broken down so the body can function. Called catabolism, this metabolic process occurs, for example, when you exercise. Your body begins converting food into energy when you exert yourself.

The metabolism enables the body to create cells when needed and break them down again, as needed.

Metabolism and Weight Loss
Calories - are units of measure...just like an inch is a unit of measure on a ruler. Calories measure energy.

Energy - is created from the food you eat, no matter if it is healthy or not. Energy will be created from whatever you eat.

The body will metabolize via anabolism or metabolize via catabolism. It will either convert the energy to new cells/tissue, or it will use that energy to break down cells. When there is too much energy, the body is forced to create cells with that extra energy. This is what becomes fat cells.

Simply put, the calorie/metabolism/weight gain thing is really just about excess energy. Excessive calories in the body become fat, usually. Sometimes those extra calories become muscle. It takes extra calories to maintain muscle mass. In people with strong muscle tone, the metabolism burns calories to maintain it. When there's more muscle, there's more places for excess calories to go. This is why building muscle is so important...it boosts your metabolism!

Help in Boosting Your Immune System

We will be using the internet publication i-Village's 11 keys to speed up metabolism and have broken them into 3 broad categories:

1) Exercise
Exercise plays a large role in boosting your metabolism and burning calories. Particularly, cardiovascular (aerobic) exercise is what does it. When you increase your heart rate, blood circulation, body temperature, and oxygen intake/carbon dioxide exchange, it sends messages to your body to perform catabolism (breaking down of cells to use them as energy). This process burns calories and you lose weight.

2) Lifestyle is the balancing of work, family, hobbies, and other commitments. But little things can be done to increase the metabolism or undermine it. For example, don't eat low-fat, low-calorie meal choices and then wreck it with an extra glass of wine. Studies show that drinking alcohol not only encourages over-eating, but alcoholic drinks are filled with calories...almost as much as soda. 

Another thing--getting enough sleep will actually increase your metabolism. If you have trouble sleeping, your metabolism won't have enough energy the next day. Two common problems are sleep disorders and insomnia.

Also, you must relax. Stress can actually lower metabolism, experts believe. They say that the body releases stress hormones which actually tell the body to create bigger fat cells in the abdomen. This can result in increased weight AND slower metabolism, never mind the increase in tummy fat.


3) Diet--the dreaded word. Realize if you quit eating so many calories, the body won't respond with catabolism and, therefore, reduce weight and fat cells. Rather, the body will believe there is something wrong and reduce the metabolism. The body will work to get as much energy out of each calorie as possible and will be stingy with energy output. You won't feel as chipper as when you ate what you wanted due to the bodies' conservation effort. You also won't be burning off extra calories....you may, in fact, gain weight if you dramatically reduce your caloric intake. This is due to the decrease in metabolism.

You should consume a diet proportionate to your body size, type and weight loss goals. Make food choices that provide you with essential nutrients, vitamins and everything else the body needs to function healthfully. 

Another way to increase your metabolism? Eat several times a day. People who do this tend to do a lot less snacking and they don't experience severe hunger pains. Also, eating frequently tends to keep the metabolism in motion. You need to keep track of what you eat and drink during the day by way of a journal. Know the calories and nutritional value of the foods you consume. Counting calories isn't enough. Ensure you eat enough protein, carbohydrates, unsaturated fats, and other vitamins that your body needs to be healthy and function properly.

Please join me tomorrow for the rest of "Discover How to Boost Your Metabolism." There's also a special surprise at the end of the series. Don't miss it.

Thanks for visiting my blog. For all you need to know about getting flat abs, visit me here.

8 Dieting Tips to Lose Belly Fat

Looking for a diet to lose belly fat? Do you want six pack abs? Here's some tips for
your flat abs diet.

1) Make sure you are getting enough fiber in your diet. Fiber comes only from plant
sources. To lose belly fat, make sure your eat fresh fruits, vegetables and whole
grains.  Stay away from processed foods as they take much of the fiber out of foods. If
you're going to eat a potato, make sure you eat the skin, too. The potato (with skin)
has about 3.8 grams of fiber. But, if you eat scalloped potatoes from the box, you will
get less than 1 gram of fiber plus more crap in the form of preservatives that just are
not good for your body. For a six-pack abs diet, consume 25 grams of fiber a day.

2) You need carbohydrates for energy so balance your carbs, don't eliminate them. At the
same time, you don't want to have too many carbs as they break down into glucose which
further breaks down into fat. You should have 45 to 65 percent of your daily calories in
carbs to lose belly fat.

3) Proteins are important when trying to lose belly fat. Protein consumption should make
up between 15 and 20 percent of your calories. Protein is needed to build lean muscle
mass.

4) Fat consumption is important as well. Unsaturated fats are essential to the body but
only in small quantities.  They include polyunsaturated oils and monounsaturated fats.
Unsaturated fats are found in vegetable oils, nuts, and oily fish. Fats from all sources
should not make up more than 25 percent of your daily diet.

5) Drink plenty of water. Many mistakenly believe you will get bloated if you drink a
lot of water. Between perspiration and urination, you will burn off all the water you
drink and it will take with it the sodium that actually causes you to bloat.

6) Sodium consumption is another thing you must watch if you want six pack abs. For your
body to function, you only need about 500 mg. of sodium a day. The American Heart
Association recommends capping sodium intake at 2400 mg. a day. Unfortunately, most
Americans get between 3000 and 6000 mg. a day which is too much. The problem comes not
from shaking salt onto food, it comes from consuming too much processed foods which use
salt for taste and shelf stability.  As with fiber, a flat stomach diet relies on fresh,
unprocessed foods.

7) To lose belly fat you must also lose (or seriously reduce) "fizzy" or carbonated
drinks like soda.  When you drink pop or spritzers the carbon dioxide trapped in the
bubbles creates gas which increases bloating.  This reduces the speed at which your
stomach empties.

8) The last and probably most important tip is to reduce stress. Stress causes the
hormone cortisol to act up...and cortisol causes belly fat to increase because it causes
fat deposits around the organs in your abdomen. Of course, your exercise regime is
important to attain six pack abs and is a great stress reliever. Remember these tips
when you lose belly fat.

And remember, where your heads at is more important than your diet or exercise regime.



The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman

Lose Belly Fat to Save Your Life

You know, the vast majority of people have excess belly fat? Most people know their
belly fat is ugly, covers up their abs from being seen, and they are self conscious
about showing off. They know they need to lose belly fat but don't know how.

What they don't understand is that excess abdominal fat is not only ugly, it's downright
dangerous and a risk factor to their health.  Research has proven that while it's
unhealthy to have fat throughout your body, it's particularly dangerous to have excess
abdominal fat.

Two Types of Fat

The type of fat you have in your abdominal area is called subcutaneous fat. It keeps
your abs from being visible as it lies right below the skin and on top of the abdominal
muscles.

The second type of fat, visceral fat, lies deeper in the abdomen beneath your muscles
and around your organs. Visceral fat plays a role in giving some men that "beer belly"
that protrudes excessively but feels hard if you push on it.

Both subcutaneous fat and visceral fat in the belly area are serious health risk
factors. Scientific research has shown excessive visceral fat is more dangerous than
subcutaneous fat.  Health risk factors include an increased risk for: developing heart
disease, stroke, sleep apnea, diabetes, high blood pressure, various forms of cancer and
other degenerative diseases. For example, higher levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), and
indicator of inflammation that can lead to heart disease has been associated with excess
belly fat. 

Visceral fat is particularly dangerous because, in part, it releases more inflammatory
molecules into your system on a consistent basis.

Reducing your abdominal fat should be one of your top priorities if you care about the
quality of your life and your loved ones. A side effect of losing belly fat is that your
stomach will flatten out. You will be able to see those six pack abs if you lose enough.

So how do you lose belly fat?

There are lots of "miracle" fat loss products, but is there a REAL solution?

First realize there is NO quick fix solution. No pills or supplements of any sorts will
help you lose belly fat. The gimmicky ab rockers, rollers and belts will not help get
ride of abdominal fat because you can't "spot reduce" your stomach flat.

The only way to lose belly fat and keep it off for good is by combining a sound,
nutritious diet full of unprocessed natual foods with a strategic excerise program that
stimulates the necesary hormonal and metabolic response in your body.

A study was done with a diet-only group and a diet and exercise group. Both groups made
good progress but the diet-only group lost significantly less abdominal fat than the
group participating in diet and exercise.

Not just any exercise routine is effective to lose belly fat. Most people do typical
boring cardio routines which some experts say are ineffective. They'll throw in a little
body-part weight training and pump away with crunches and side bends. They think they're
doing something to reduce their abdominal fat. They get discouraged after weeks and
months of this routine.

Learn the truth about losing belly fat

Remember meeting Mike Geary yesterday? Well, he is a Certified Nutrition Specialist
and Certified Personal Trainer (with a Bachelor of Science degree) and through years
of work and testing, he has developed an entire solution...nutritional strategies, training
sequences, and exercise combinations...for this problem.

The point of this whole program is NOT abdominal exercises...but showing you the best
ways to lose belly fat so you can be finished with all the dangerous health risks as
well as get a flatter, more defined midsection.

Follow the guidelines and you will lose belly fat that's been "hanging" around for
years. This is a proven system that works for people all over the world. If you apply
the strategies, the results will happen.

If you're really serious about taking charge of your health and losing belly
fat, The Truth About Six Pack Abs is probably for you. Most people fail
in their fitness efforts, even though they have good intentions, because they don't
see any progress and slip back into the old habits that made them the way
they are. With Truth About Six Pack Abs you will lose all over, but especially
lose belly fat. With lifestyle changes, you'll have a flat stomach for good! 


Want to test drive something to see how the Mike explains things? Get his book
Training & Nutrition: Insider Secrets for a Lean Body. In this book he details 27
metabolism-boosting secrets that you can use to strip off ugly body fat faster and 
easier. Get your copy by clicking on the link above. 

Here's what you do with your leftover turkey.

And remember, where your head's at is more important than your workout.

Want to Lose Belly Fat? These Are Not Your Typical Workouts

Usually when you hear someone talk about the best exercises for achieving six pack
abs, the first one out of their mouth is crunches, usually followed by sit ups. 
You're going to learn a unique ab workout that doesn't do any of that.  This work out
is a metabolism-boosting high intensity workout for the entire body. Face it, you
can't "spot" lose belly fat.

This work out is in a tri-set format (similar to a super set but it alternates between
3 exercises).

1. Renegade Dumbbell Rows
Start in a push up position with hands on two dumbbells. Then, while steadying
yourself on your left arm, pull dumbbell in right hand up to chest. Bring the dumbbell
back to the floor and alternate with other arm. Do 3-4 sets of 8 reps.

2. Front Squats with Barbell
Front squats are similar to back squats - the only difference being you have the
barbell in front of the body in front squats. While keeping your elbows up and out,
cross your arms and hold the barbell on your chest by pushing with your hands. Do full
squat while holding barbell in front. Note: This takes practice at first and you may
need to consult a professional trainer to learn the form. Do 3-4 sets of 8 reps.

3. Mountain Climbers on Floor
Start in a push up position. Next, shuffle feet back and forth so knees are moving
under your chest then back out to starting position. Repeat between both feet. It's done
like you are climbing a mountain.  An advanced version would have you moving your
hands back and forth 8-10 inches at the same time as your feet.  Do in sets of 30
seconds each for 8 reps.

Rest about 30 seconds after finishing each exercise and before starting the next
exercise. 

Rest about 2 minutes after each "tri-set," before starting the next repetition.

This is the best way to lose belly fat. Doing these exercises on a regular basis will guarantee
flat abs.

Remember, what you eat and where your head's at are MORE important than the workouts.

Valeo MB10 10-Pound Medicine Ball