Don’t ignore how important your metabolism is. It’s quite simply, the science behind maintaining a healthy weight and body. Your metabolism is the set of biochemical processes that transform food into body fuel. And with all the chemical processes that continuously go on inside your body, if you can influence your metabolism it can make a big difference. Here are some ways you can “makeover” your metabolism:
1 H.I.I.T
One way to give your metabolism a makeover is to try H.I.I.T., or high-intensity interval training. Your metabolism is a direct product of your activity levels, which means that when you are resting, your metabolism will be slow. Getting involved in higher intensity work outs means that you will be exposing your body to much stronger levels of activity on a regular basis, and consequently your metabolism will pick up the pace to stay in accordance with your physicality.
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2 Regular Sleep
Along with good exercise, good sleep is also a key component to kick starting your metabolism. Getting the recommended seven to eight hours of shut eye each night will boost your energy levels and naturally increase your productivity. It has also been discovered that people who only get an average of four hours sleep a night burn calories much slower than those who get seven to eight hours.
3 Turn down the Heating
As a general population trend, we are all living in environments that are too warm for our metabolisms to really flourish. Evidence has shown that reducing the temperature of your living space can cause something called non-shivering thermogenesis which helps to activate the ‘good’ brown fat that naturally insulate you instead of the white fat that stores excess calories. Basically, being slightly colder is better for your metabolism.
4 Avoid Sugar and Saturates
It sounds like an obvious tip to give but it’s worth repeating. The crux of the matter is that a healthy diet promotes a healthy metabolism, and the healthiest diets are those that avoid excessive amounts of sugar and saturated fats. Don’t let your body become to accustomed to high-carb, high-fat foods because it will accept those as the norm and your metabolism will slow down as a result. Not to mention the risk of type 2 diabetes.
5 Lift Weights
The image of people who lift weights as these huge body builders is false, and resistance and strength training is fast becoming one of the most popular forms of exercise today. While it is about calories and weight loss, gaining a leaner body and greater muscle mass is important for staving off the possibility of type 2 diabetes, and this glucose control also helps to kick start your metabolism and keep it working the way you want it to.
6 No Crash Dieting
Though your slow metabolism might be reason for your weight gain in the first place, one of the worst things you can do is to crash diet. By drastically lowering your food intake, your body will think something is seriously wrong and it will go in to what can be described as survival mode, which means that it will slow down your metabolism completely because it thinks you are being starved. This is opposite of what you want to happen!
7 Portion Control
Be careful of your portion sizes. Your body can be very sensitive to too much food and your metabolism can react negatively to having to contend with too many calories to digest etc. Carbs are a big thing to watch out for in terms of getting the portions sizes correct. The body does not respond well to having to digest too many carbohydrates at once.
8 LiMit Partying
A glass a night isn't going to pack on the pounds, in fact, smaller amounts of alcohol more frequently has been linked to healthier bodies than those who drink more less often, but if you're looking to reset your metabolism and lose some weight I'd cut out or limit the drinks to one a night. And always opt for "healthier" alcoholic options such as red wine.
9 Squash Stress
Stress doesn't only affect your mental wellbeing but also your metabolism. From comfort eating to higher cortisol in the body, finding ways to relieve stress or fully eliminate it will do wonders on your metabolic rate.
10 Check Your Meds
If you take medication on a daily basis you might want to check with your doctor about side effects of it. Sometimes certain medications have been known to slow your metabolism down significantly. Certain antidepressants have been known to cause weight gain so see about switching your meds to another option on the market.
It really boils down to what we already know. A healthy, balanced diet and regular exercise is as good for your metabolism as it is your entire health and well-being. How much do you think about your metabolism and how you influence it?
