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.