Put simply, metabolism is the rate at which your body burns calories. Men tend to burn through calories faster than women due to having more muscle, but everyone’s metabolism tends to slow down with age.
Weight gain can have a serious negative impact on your health and wellbeing, especially as you get older. These suggestions address one important factor in weight gain — slowed metabolism. Use these tips to speed up your metabolism and prevent the weight gain so many people encounter with age.We lose muscle little by little, we move less, and we eat the same as (or perhaps more than) we used to. Sometimes we eat less, but still put on pounds, due to factors of aging and hormonal changes.
If you want to lose weight, finding ways to increase your metabolism can help you slim down more quickly, without cutting more calories. Here are 10 things you can do every day to speed up your metabolism and hopefully ward off mid-life weight gain.
1. Eat breakfast.
It gets your metabolism going early and tends to help people eat less during the day. For maximum metabolism boosting benefits, eat in the first 30 minutes after waking up.
2. Sit less.
Sitting still at a computer and watching TV can really keep your metabolism in a lull. Get up and move around often. Set a timer for 30 minute intervals to remind yourself you’re due for a quick stretch or walk.
3. Eat smaller, more frequent meals.
It revs your metabolism and helps fight cravings. Focus on portion control. As pictured above, there are some great tools to help you practice portion control including spoons, spatulas and plates that do all the work for you.
4. Build muscle.
Muscle burns more calories than fat per minute. Weight training is essential to preserving muscle mass as you age. There are many books and videos on strength training and you may want to work with a trainer to work your muscles 2-3 days a week. Or you can work on rotating specific exercises so that you do something every day without over working certain areas.
5. Drink more water.
It may speed up metabolism by as much as 28% in an hour. Drink it cold for the best results.
6. Take CoQ10.
CoQ10 which will boost your energy levels and help you exercise longer and with more vitality.
7. Eat a little protein with every meal.
It helps build muscle and can also stabilize your blood sugar and control hunger.
8. Take green tea extract or drink green tea.
Green teaboosts metabolism both with compounds called catechins and with caffeine. It takes about four cups of green tea increase calorie burn by about 50 calories a day. A standardized green tea extraxt can deliver more catechins, with no caffeine.
9. Exercise for minimum of 30 minutes daily.
Both aerobic and resistance exercise, even doing stretches, can boost metabolism and burn calories. You can break that up into 10 minute segments if necessary.
10. Take CLA.
CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), which occurs naturally in dairy products and meat, has gained popularity as a powerful weight-loss tool. Research has shown that CLA can decrease the amount of fat your body stores and increase and maintain lean muscle by helping your body use calories more efficiently.CLA can practically helps build muscle even when you’re on the couch.
Recommended for you: