Metabolism is what we commonly refer to as 'burning calories'. It is your body's natural process of converting food into energy for use and consumption by your organs and muscles. A higher metabolism means a higher rate of burning off calories which, means weight loss. Speeding up metabolism is in many ways a vastly misunderstood subject and many companies selling so-called ‘metabolism boosters’ are cashing in on this fact. There are many ways to boost metabolism and pills and potions do not have to be part of your strategy.
Increasing your metabolism is relatively simple and something that you can do without any pills or potions. In fact, these pills and potions almost always results in slowing down your metabolism in the long run. If you put jet fuel into you car, it might go like hell for a hundred miles or so, but in the end your engine will be messed up.
So, how do you increase your metabolism? Here are three very basic, but highly effective ways to boost metabolism and increase weight loss:
1. More Is Less:
Many people think that by depriving themselves of food they will loose weight. This is actually a very logical way of reasoning, but unfortunately it is not true. This is why most diets never work long term. Depriving yourself of food slows down your metabolism which slows down your body's tempo of breaking down food – resulting in an increased storage of fat in your body.
One of the ways to boost metabolism is to eat more, but eat less at a time. You need to keep your 'engines running' by slowly and consistently adding fuel to the fire. It is also incredibly important to add only quality fuel. If you are going to eat more often, you have to eat high energy food. Fresh fruit and vegetables are the ideal source of high energy food that would also help to increase your metabolism.
2. muscle Up!
The more muscle you have the higher your body's demand for energy. With a high demand your body will respond accordingly and raise your metabolism. One pound of muscle can burn up to 50 calories per day just to maintain itself. Building muscle is not about 'bulking up' but about improving your body's overall efficiency.
While cardiovascular exercise is important to raise your metabolism for short periods (2 to 3 hours), building muscle is important to maintain this - even while you are not exercising. By incorporating some simple muscle building exercises into your workout routine you can greatly increase your metabolism in only a few short weeks. Building muscle is one of those things where you do the work 'once' and it continues to work for you.
3. Sleep Well.
Depriving yourself of sleep is just as detrimental to your metabolism as depriving yourself of food. Sleeping is an important part of your body's normal function and when you sleep your body restores itself. Just by judging on the way you feel when you are deprived of sleep you can tell that your whole body operates much slower and everything seems harder to do. This is because the lack of sleep slows down your metabolism. One of the ways to boost metabolism is to get just enough sleep. If someone has to drag you out of bed you probably did not get enough.
Getting plenty of sleep revitalizes you and resting your body is as important as exercising your body. If you exercise regularly, you need the rest even more for it is during this rest period that your metabolism increases significantly. This doesn't mean that you've got the freedom to sleep as much as you please. Sleeping too much on the other hand will also slow down your metabolism. You must remain active. Remember that your body was designed to move.
Article by Deon Du Plessis
If you found this information useful and would like to learn more about how you can increase your metabolism, visit www.Sincere-Advice.Com/Metabolism.php for more information.
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