Five Ways To Speed Up Your Metabolism

We have all heard the word metabolism, but many of us do not exactly know what it means. We mostly associate it with a categorization of someone’s body type by either stating that they have fast metabolism (thin people) or a slow metabolism (overweight people).

Metabolism refers to how much energy your body uses, and most measure it by how many calories you burn in a day. A standard method to measure your metabolism is calculating BMR (basal metabolic rate), which measures how many calories you burn in a sedentary or resting state. There are many websites on the internet with tools to help you determine your BMR. Or, you can stop by your local Max Muscle store where a Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach can help you determine your BMR.

Here are some tips to help you increase your metabolism so you can lean down in time for summer:

• Weight Training: Most of us don’t realize how much of an effect that weight training can have on our metabolic rate. When we train with weights, we break down muscle tissue and we push our heart to supply the stressed muscles with blood. This elevates the heart rate considerably, thus burning fat as the heart is pumping and you’re utilizing oxygen at a higher rate. All of this will stimulate your metabolic rate and help with burning fat. And if that is not enough, the broken down muscle needs to repair, thus stimulating your metabolism again. Weight training can produce incredible results as it works in several different ways.

• Consume Protein: Protein has a greater thermogenic effect than carbs and fats. Protein is also much harder to digest than fats and carbs. It has literally thousands of molecules that must be broken down before digestion. All this activity leads to faster metabolism.

• Eat 4-6 Smaller Meals Each Day: As mentioned, digesting foods will stimulate your metabolism. Experts agree that smaller, more frequent meals will keep you from overeating and stimulate your metabolism, leading to fat loss. Plan smaller, healthy meals throughout the day.

• Drink Water: Studies have shown that drinking water can stimulate your metabolism by up to 30 percent. WOW! Make sure you take your water bottle with you daily. The boost in metabolism starts to work just 10 minutes after you start drinking and lasts for 45 minutes.

• Avoid Stress: Stress has been proven to slow down your metabolism. In this busy and hectic world we live in, stress can be hard to avoid. Meditation and yoga have been proven to help reduce stress and can be essential in helping calm us down.

I hope you found these tips for stimulating your metabolism helpful. If you can incorporate a couple or even all of these, it will help you live a more energetic and healthy lifestyle. Make sure you also stop by your local Max Muscle store, where you can discuss your meal plans and training to optimize your results.