Metabolism. It is evasive. You know it’s there but how can you tell how well it’s working?
It’s somewhat like the wind. You can’t see it, touch it or hear it, and more importantly, you can’t measure it very easily.
So how can you know if your metabolism is doing its job?
Most people want a faster metabolism, but they don’t know how to get it. A few people are genetically blessed with a speedy metabolism but for the most part, diet & lifestyle are the key factors to keeping this important factor working well in our bodies. And to make matters harder, after the age of 40, most people’s metabolism begins to slow drastically.
Though you can’t control your age or inherited DNA, there are some things you can control that will help lead to a better metabolism.
Here are the top 3 ways to improve your invisible friend:
Lift weights – Building muscle is the number 1 way to increase metabolism. That is because everyone has a resting metabolic rate (RMR). Your RMR is what your body uses to keep the most basic cellular functions going in your body. Every pound of muscle you have uses 6 calories a day, but every pound of fat only uses 2 calories per day. That means more muscle & less body fat increases your overall metabolism. Muscle is built by weight training. There is no way around it.
Eat more whole foods – Whole foods are complex, which means it takes your body longer to digest them and it uses them to fuel you over a longer period of time, which in turn helps increase your metabolism. Whole foods have what is known as a thermic effect. Thermic effect is defined as the increase in metabolic rate after a meal. Your metabolic rate after a meal will not only be faster after eating whole foods, but it will last longer after eating whole foods. In other words, 2 cups of berries containing 120 calories is going to burn more & burn longer than 2 cookies containing 120 calories. The effect is the same when you eat quality sourced proteins and healthy fats as when you eat whole fruits & vegetables. Every whole food you eat will increase your metabolism so aiming to fill the majority of your meals with whole foods is getting you closer to building your metabolism.
Stop dieting – A diet seems like a good idea when you are wanting to take a little weight off. But that diet may actually be what is ruining your metabolism to begin with. Low calorie diets are a bad idea if you want your metabolism to actually work more. While you may drop a few pounds, most diets ask you to do this at the cost of good nutrition, which in turn actually hurts your chances of improving metabolism. Plus, fast weight loss generally means you are losing some muscle as well. And remember point #1 above, muscle increases metabolism. And once you get off that diet, you are likely to gain weight back quicker because the diet slowed down your metabolism even more. Pick a way of eating that includes whole foods & is sustainable in order to improve a waning metabolism from previous diets.
The bottom line is that making these small changes can help your metabolism work harder for you 24 hours a day, give you a lot more energy & help you manage your weight in a way that is healthy.
CONTACT ME & let me show you how to make these changes possible in your life!