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Rev Up Your MetabolismMetabolism is the rate your body burns calories. Several factors play a key role in determining what your body's metabolic rate is. Those factors are: diet, exercise, and genetics. Lets explore some ways to boost your metabolism.Understand What Controls Your Metabolism Metabolism is controlled by three different factors. First, the thermic effect of feeding, which is the amount of energy your body uses to break down the foods that you eat. This accounts for 5 - 10 percent of the calories you burn all day. Second, the thermic effect of activity, which refers to the number of calories your body uses during physical activity. This accounts for 20 - 30 percent of the calories burned daily. Third, the most important factor which is your resting metabolic rate, which refers to the number of calories your body uses for basic functions such as breathing, heart and organ functions and even blinking your eyes. This accounts for a whopping 60 - 70 percent of the calories your body uses each day. Clearly you can see that if your resting metabolic rate declines, you could be in for a battle with the bulge. Several factors can lower your resting metabolic rate. If you severely restrict the number of calories you eat, your body thinks it is in famine mode, so it burns fewer calories. This leads right in to the second problem. Deprivation diets strip your body of lean muscle mass, and lean muscle mass is what keeps your resting metabolism revved up. Consider this: One pound of muscle burns approximately 50 calories a day, while one pound of fat burns about 5 calories a day. So if you lose 10 pounds of muscle due to a strict diet or inactivity, your body will eventually burn about 450 fewer calories a day. How To Boost Your Metabolism Maybe you are struggling with a metabolism that is a bit slower than it used to be. Here are some ways you can rev it up. 1) Eat small healthy meals throughout the day If you consume a large amount of calories in one or two meals, there is a large surge of insulin to the bloodstream, which sends a message to store calories as fat. If you eat smaller meals more often, insulin levels stay steady which keeps metabolism moving. Be sure to eat a balanced diet of carbohydrates, proteins and fats, staying away from fad diets which recommend omitting one or more of these groups. Include fiber in your diet which makes the digestive process more efficient and keeps blood sugar levels steady throughout the day. 2) Resistance train to outsmart your genes Researchers speculate that our bodies are programmed to gravitate toward a pre-programmed weight called your set point. The good news is there is one way to alter your metabolic destiny. Resistance training (lifting weights) which is the only way to build lean muscle, will increase your calorie burning mass, which in turn will lower your bodies set point. Additionally, weight training keeps your metabolism revved up for up to 15 hours after your workout, while cardiovascular yields little or no calorie after burn. If you're ready to begin a great home exercise resistance training program that will fire up your metabolism, click here. To find out more about these exercise programs, click here. Click here
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