Wouldn't it be nice if you could eat whatever you wanted, blow off
working out and still fit in your skinny jeans? While that's unlikely,
it is possible to speed up your metabolism, that little engine in your
body that burns calories. As you age, your metabolism slows down,
chiefly because you lose around a half pound of muscle each year. "If
you don't use the muscle, it atrophies," explains Pamela Peeke, M.D.,
professor of medicine at the University of Maryland and author of
Fight Fat After Forty.
That translates into burning about 400 fewer calories each day, which
could mean gaining a pound a week. But there's plenty you can do to rev
your fat-burning furnace back up again, says Peeke. Here's the skinny:
Stock up on green tea
Green tea isn't known only for its cancer-fighting benefits: It may
help boost your metabolism, too. People who took green-tea extract three
times a day saw their metabolic rate increase by about 4 percent,
according to a study published in the December 1999
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
(Translation: You could burn an extra 60 calories a day, which equals
about six pounds a year!) It may be because green tea contains
catechins, which increase levels of the metabolism-speeding brain
chemical norepinephrine, says Joy Bauer, a New York City nutritionist
and author of
Cooking with Joy.
Pump iron
Weight training is the ultimate way to burn calories fast. "A pound of
muscle burns up to nine times the calories of a pound of fat," explains
Richard Cotton, M.A., chief exercise physiologist for myexerciseplan.com.
Weight training increases your resting metabolic rate, which is the
number of calories you burn while sitting on your butt. What's more, it
gives your metabolism an added boost after you exercise: It remains in
overdrive for up to two hours after the last bench press, according to a
study published in
Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.
Strapped for time? Try these quick moves: squats, bench step-ups,
lunges, push-ups, pull-ups and crunches. In a pinch, just do single sets
of 10 for each exercise -- you'll get optimal results for the time
invested.
Eat iron
Yeah, we just told you to pump
iron, but you also need to eat it. "If you don't have enough of this
mineral, your body can't get enough oxygen to your cells, which slows
down your metabolism," explains Samantha Heller, R.D., a nutritionist at
the New York University Medical Center. Most multivitamins contain
around 18 mg (the RDA for adults); you can also get your fill by eating
three to four daily servings of foods rich in iron, such as lean red
meat, chicken, fortified cereal and soy nuts. If you are feeling
symptoms such as fatigue and weakness, ask your doctor to test you for
anemia (it's a simple blood test) at your next physical.
Order water -- and ask for a refill
A new German study found
that when you drink 17 ounces of water (about two glasses) within a
certain time frame, your metabolic rate shoots up by about 30 percent.
Using these results, they estimate that by increasing your current water
intake by 1.5 liters a day, a person would burn an extra 17,400
calories a year, resulting in about a five-pound weight loss.
Get your thyroid checked
Suspect you have a sluggish metabolism? You might have hypothyroidism,
or an underactive thyroid gland, which afflicts about 25 percent of
American women -- many of whom don't know they have the condition,
according to the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. "The
thyroid gland controls your body's metabolism, so one of the first
signs that it may be off is an inability to lose weight," explains
Peeke. Your doctor can determine if you're suffering from hypothyroidism
by running a blood test. If you do have an underactive thyroid, you'll
be treated with a synthetic thyroid supplement, which you will need to
take for the rest of your life (it will return your metabolism to
normal, so it should be easier to lose weight).
Avoid alcohol
Want to keep your favorite meals from going straight to your hips
(thighs, belly)? Wash them down with water, not wine. Alcohol slows your
metabolism by depressing the central nervous system. A British study
found that when alcohol was added to a high-fat, high-calorie meal, less
dietary fat was burned off and more was stored as body fat.
Rev up your workouts
Interval training -- in which you add bursts of high-intensity moves
into your workout -- is a surefire metabolism booster, says Glenn
Gaesser, Ph.D., director of the Kinesiology Program at the University of
Virginia and author of
The Spark. Researchers at Laval
University in Quebec found that high-intensity interval training burns
more fat than regular, consistent aerobic exercise. If you usually jog
at a 10-minute-mile pace, for example, add a 30-second sprint every five
minutes. Or add a one-minute incline to your treadmill workout every
five minutes. "Even if you just have 10 minutes for a quick workout, you
can walk at a normal pace and then add in a 30-second bout of
speed-walking every three minutes," recommends Gaesser.
Do more dairy
Women who ate low-fat dairy products, such as
nonfat yogurt and low-fat cheese, three to four times a day lost 70
percent more fat than low-dairy dieters, according to a study published
in the journal
Obesity Research. "Calcium serves as a switch that
tells your body to burn excess fat faster," explains study author
Michael Zemel, M.D., director of the Nutrition Institute at the
University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Sorry, but you won't reap the same
benefits from calcium-fortified O.J. Research shows that you get the
best results from dairy products themselves, not fortified foods. Aim
for 1,200 mg, which includes about three servings of dairy a day.
Take up a new sport
Are you like Old Faithful when it comes to your morning walk or evening
jog? Know this: The more you do an activity, the more your body adapts
to it, so you burn fewer calories. If you want to light a fire under
your metabolism, consider cross-training. For example, if you normally
walk, try biking instead. "Since you're not used to working all those
different muscles, it's a more intense workout, which can translate into
a greater metabolic after-burn because your body is working harder to
recover and get oxygen to all your tissues," says Carol Espel, M.S., an
exercise physiologist for Equinox Fitness Clubs in New York City.
Go fish
Break out the lemon wedges: Regular fish eaters tend to have lower
levels of the hormone leptin -- good because high levels of leptin have
been linked to low metabolism and obesity, says Louis Aronne, M.D., an
obesity specialist at the New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical
Center. Try to consume three to four servings of a fatty fish, such as
salmon, tuna or mackerel, each week.
Say ommm
Stress
may contribute to abdominal fat, according to several studies,
including a recent one at the University of California, San Francisco.
"When you're stressed, hormones like cortisol stimulate your appetite,
slow your metabolism down and encourage fat storage inside your
abdomen," explains Shawn Talbott, Ph.D., director of the Nutrition
Clinic at the University of Utah. So what's a frazzled girl to do? "Find
an activity that reduces stress for you, whether it's listening to
soothing music or taking yoga, and do it daily," advises Talbott.
Have a PB & J
Think peanut butter is only for pint-sized
palates? Think again. PB is rich in magnesium, a mineral that motors up
your metabolism by giving your cells energy. Aim for 320 mg a day of
magnesium: Good food sources include a peanut butter sandwich made with
whole-wheat bread (100 mg) or spinach (1/2 cup has 80 mg).
Exercise off that PMS
You could lose more weight exercising during the later phase of your
menstrual cycle than at any other time in your cycle, according to a
recent study from the University of Adelaide in Australia. Hormones
estrogen and progesterone fire up your fat-burning furnace: They promote
your body's use of fat as an energy supply, so more is burned off when
you exercise. "Women burned about 30 percent more fat for the two weeks
following ovulation to about two days before menstruation," explains
study author Leanne Redman.
Don't blow off breakfast
Studies show that eating breakfast plays a part in successful weight
loss -- almost 80 percent of people who successfully keep weight off
chow down on this meal, according to a study published in
Obesity Research.
"Your metabolism slows as you sleep, and the process of digesting food
revs it up again," explains Heller. Aim for a 300- to 400-calorie
breakfast, such as a high-fiber cereal (another metabolism booster) with
skim milk and fruit.
Pump up protein
Not in an
extreme, Atkins sort of way, but having a little protein at every meal
fires up your metabolism. "Your digestive system uses more energy to
break it down, so you burn more calories," explains Lisa Dorfman, R.D.
However, keep protein levels to between 20 and 35 percent of your diet;
eating too much of it can cause kidney strain and may cause your body to
store too much fat.
Snack away during the day
Grazing is a surprisingly good
idea because it helps you avoid metabolic slowdown. "Your body will be
tricked into thinking it's constantly eating, so it will never slow your
metabolism down," explains Bauer. Aim for five small meals (200 to 500
calories) a day rather than three large ones. Also try not to go more
than four hours without eating -- if you eat breakfast at 7am, for
example, have a snack at 10am, lunch at noon, another snack at 3pm and
dinner at 7pm.
Skip the starch
Carb crazy? Consider
this: Refined carbohydrates, such as bread, potatoes and rice, create a
surge in insulin that in turn drives down your resting metabolic rate,
explains Aronne. "It's important to keep carbohydrates in your diet, but
really focus on fruits, vegetables and whole grains, which have less of
an effect on insulin levels," he explains. And when buying whole-grain
breads and cereals, make sure the first ingredient listed is whole
wheat, whole oat or cracked wheat.
Break up your workouts
Try dividing your workouts into two shorter 20-minute sessions. You'll
rev up your metabolism for an hour or two after each workout, which
means you'll burn more calories than if you did one longer session.
Don't have time? Even small bursts of activity will get your metabolism
chugging again, according to a study in
Nature. "Just a
five-minute walk around the house every hour translates into an extra
200 to 300 calories burned every day," says Peeke.
Pace while you're on the phone
People who are constantly in motion -- crossing and uncrossing their
legs, stretching and pacing -- burn more calories. When researchers at
the Mayo Clinic asked subjects to eat an additional 1,000 calories a day
for eight weeks, they found that only the nonfidgeters stored the
calories as fat.
Eat more bananas
They're full of potassium, which revs up
your metabolism by regulating your body's water balance, says vitamin
expert Susan Lark, M.D., author of
The Lark Letter. If you're
dehydrated, you'll burn fewer calories. Make sure you're getting at
least 2,000 mg: a banana has 450 mg, a cup of milk has 370 mg and an
orange has 250 mg.
Get enough z's
Yeah, Russell Crowe may be on
Letterman,
but it's way more important for your waistline if you don't stay up. A
study at the University of Chicago Medical Center found that people who
got only four hours of sleep had much more difficulty processing carbs.
The culprit? Increased levels of insulin and the stress hormone
cortisol. "When you're exhausted, your body lacks the energy to do its
normal day-to-day functions, which includes burning calories
efficiently," says Talbott. So the best way to make sure your metabolism
runs smoothly is to get six to eight hours of shut-eye each night.
Note from blogger: Brian.
All rights reserved to author: RLHL Success Stories
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