Weight Loss Goddess » Metabolism

Sleeping to Boost Your Metabolism

Admin — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 03:44:18 +0000

You thought that getting a good night’s rest was just to avoid getting those matching bags under your eyes, didn’t you? Well, think again. Research has shown that if you get enough sleep at night, up to eight hours or more (if you need more) it will keep you from gaining weight.
People who do not get enough rest are more prone to gaining weight. So get some rest. You will be less stressed, and also, since you will be awake fewer hours, those are fewer chances to eat anything you shouldn’t. We’ve ALL done it, had something to eat as a pick me up, or reward, when we weren’t even hungry, or we were chewing just to stay awake.
While you’re resting, you’re avoiding stress. Stress is known to increase your chances of gaining weight. Stress releases a steroid called cortisol which depresses your metabolism, thereby encouraging your little soldiers to conserve calories as fat. Avoid stress at all costs, and you will be able to keep your cortisol levels in check, and avoid that stubborn belly fat that seems so hard to get rid of.
As for being awake so many hours, if you must eat, then as we suggested in a previous article on your metabolism, it is best to eat 6 small, sensible meals throughout the day. So for example, if you are allowing yourself 1500 calories a day, each of your main meals could be 400 calories, with 3 100 calorie snacks. Or, 3 meals at 300 calories each, and 3 meals at 200.
Remember that it takes 3,500 calories burned to take off one pound, but if you are watching what you eat and also working with your metabolism to make it run at peak efficiency, you will see your body turn into a lean, mean, fat burning machine.
In the battle of the bulge and the fight against fat, boosting your metabolism is one of the best weapons you can have in your arsenal.
Increasing your metabolism means not starving yourself. It means getting out there and putting on some lean muscle mass, eating small meals throughout the day to keep your blood sugar level and it even means avoiding stress and getting a decent night’s sleep.
Getting your internal fire burning will help you lose weight and feel better about yourself, and help you not only lose the weight you want, but keep it off too.
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Chill Out and Heat Up to Boost Your Metabolism

Admin — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 03:42:21 +0000

Do you enjoy a nice long soak in a tub full of water hot enough to blister your skin? Who doesn’t? How about spending time in a steamy sauna with sweat pouring off your body?
Maybe you like turning your thermostat down in the winter till it’s so cold you can see your breath in the house when you talk?
If these activities appeal to you, then slap yourself on the back (yes that will burn calories too) because heating yourself up and chilling yourself down have been shown to boost your metabolism by about twenty percent.
Speaking of heat, add a bit of spice to your life and your food. Studies have shown that eating spicy foods, those with cayenne pepper, or jalapeños or chili peppers will give a boost to your metabolism as well. So will Indian foods, though better to prepare it yourself, since there can be a lot of butter and carbs in some of the dishes.
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Start Eating Properly to Boost Your Metabolism Part 2

Admin — Sat, 31 May 2008 00:01:24 +0000

But of course, the suggestion to eat six times a day to boost your metabolism assumes that you are eating a sensible diet, a big assumption to make in this day and age when we are surrounded by convenience foods.
So when we say small smeals frequently. this does not mean you can go out and have a Mcbreakfast meal in the morning, a steak and fries two hours later, five Twinkies and a ho-ho next, then tacos with sour cream and guacamole for your next meal, BBQ ribs with mashed potatoes for your fifth meal and a trip to that all-you-can-stuff-into-yourself-buffet at the mall for your sixth and final meal of the day.
Sure, you might be boosting your metabolism a bit, but you’re overcompensating with too many calories and losing the Battle of the Bulge in a BIG way. Your soldiers will be so over-run with calories that they will be forced to store them as fat.
Break down your meals into six smaller and HEALTHIER meals during the day. Lower your caloric intake in a healthy manner, and your little soldiers will not only win the battle, you’ve given them the right weapons to win the entire war.
Also, avoid white in your diet. Simple sugars, rice and refined flour are all absorbed quickly by your body and are turned into fat stores. Eat more complex carbohydrates, such as those found in wholemeal bread and grains. They take a longer time to be absorbed into your body and this enables your blood sugar to remain level. Try eating brown rice instead of white rice, whole grains in your breads and pasta made from wheat flour instead of white refined flours.
Avoid caffeine and drink green tea instead. Caffeine is known to block absorption of vitamin C, create unhealthy acid in your system and stimulate sugar cravings. If there’s one thing you don’t need when you’re trying to lose weight, it is sugar cravings. Green tea has antioxidants also, and doesn’t tend to have all those nasty side effects that caffeine can give you, though it does have some.
Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. While recent studies have not proved its benefits conclusively, it does help you feel full if nothing else. Water also flushes out all the toxins that are set free when you’re losing weight. If you are dehydrated, your metabolism slows down.
Try drinking very cold water too, when you’re drinking water. Your body has to remain at a constant temperature, and needs to burn calories to do so. Cold water will boost your metabolism a bit each time it has to warm up after your glass of ice water.

Start Eating Properly to Boost Your Metabolism Part 1

Admin — Fri, 30 May 2008 00:57:03 +0000

This may seem like an odd piece of advice considering your goal is to lose weight.

But the fact is, you have to eat in order to keep your metabolism running in an optimal manner. Are you skipping breakfast in order to cut back on calories and lose weight? Bad battle plan, soldier.

Let’s work out a better plan of attack together, and we can show you just why you need to eat, when you should eat, and what you should eat.
Remember that not eating sends your body into survival mode, right? It believes you are starving and so slows down your metabolism in order to conserve its stores.
So let’s say you’ve been asleep for 8 hours. You didn’t have anything to eat for two to three or more hours before you went to bed last night. Now your body has been without food for about 11 or 12 hours.
If you skip breakfast, you’re adding more time to the starvation mode, and your body is starting to whimper and wonder where its fuel is, and if it’s ever going to get fed again. It will wonder if it should start conserving stores because starvation is just around the corner?
You’ve got your whole metabolism all in an uproar, and that’s NOT a good thing.
Now, what happens if you go to bed, get up and eat a healthy breakfast? You have, in essence, broken your fast. You’ve been fasting for ten or more hours, and now it’s over. Your little soldiers can relax and get back to their normal duty, which is burning calories instead of storing them.
So to keep your metabolism purring along at a good rate, eat small meals and eat them often during the day. Research has shown that breaking down the traditional three meals a day into six smaller meals, spaced evenly throughout the day, will result in a boost to your metabolism.

Move Your Body, Boost Your Metabolism

Admin — Thu, 29 May 2008 17:57:02 +0000

Yes, it’s true. If you want to boost your metabolism, the very best thing you can do is to start moving your body. Some exercise is good for building muscle, while other exercise is good for just plain sweating and giving you a good cardio workout.
While aerobic exercises like running, jogging, playing tennis or riding a bike will help you tone your body and maintain your weight, they don’t do a whole lot to increase your muscle mass-which is what you need to do in order to really boost your metabolism.
Weight training and strength training help build muscle, and this is a good thing. Think of your body in terms of an army. Too much fat means too many soldiers are weak and wounded, not able to carry on the fight.
Body: “Sir! Our numbers have been depleted! We’re not efficiently fighting the incoming calories, I mean missiles!”
Metabolism: “Recruit new soldiers, FRESH soldiers! Put them on the front lines and let them take on the calories! I mean missiles!
Body: “Sir, yes Sir! Commence lifting weights NOW!”

As you increase your muscle mass, and decrease your fat stores, your metabolism speeds up. It burns more of what you eat.
Your body will require more calories to maintain itself, so if you increase your soldiers, I mean muscle mass, through weight training and strength training, and consume a lower calorie amount, you will lose weight. Just don’t lower your calories so drastically that it sends your army into survival and hoarding calories and fat mode again.
Boosting your metabolism through exercise is just one way to light up those calorie-burning fires within you.