Whether you want to lose those last 10 pounds or have a larger goal in mind, you will need to begin to increase your metabolism. Most diets cause you to lose weight by severely restricting your Calories and do not address the underlying reasons for weight gain and slower metabolism. I'm going to teach you how to increase your metabolism through resistance training, cardio training, sleep, water, and nutrition. These simple steps are not a short-term fix, but rather a larger investment in your health and well being. Following the advice in this article will help you become healthier and lead a more active and productive life. Now you can't just pick and choose one or two of the ways to increase your metabolism; they all need to be done in conjunction to be successful.
1. Know Your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate)
2. Increase Resistance Training
3. Increase Cardiovascular Training
4. Get More Sleep
5. Drink More Water
6. Eat Small, Frequent Meals
1. Know Your BMR
It is important to get a baseline of what your metabolism is now. BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is the amount of Calories you use per day while at rest; so if you laid in bed all day, it is the number of Calories your body would use to maintain its most basic functions; breathing, blood circulation, etc. There are several websites that will calculate your BMR, like http://www.caloriesperhour.com/index_burn.php. These are not going to give your exact metabolism, but they will be able to give you a good estimate. Here is a manual calculation that you can also use…
Women: 655 + (4.35 x wt in pounds) + (4.7 x ht in inches) - (4.7 x age)
Men: 66 + (6.23 x wt in pounds) + (12.7 x ht in inches) - (6.8 x age)
2. Increase Resistance Training
Resistance training increases your metabolism by causing you to develop muscle. Muscle is what uses up the majority of your Calories. Did you know that one pound of muscle burns 35-50 Calories per day? If you were to put on 10 pounds of muscle you would burn an extra 400 Calories per day. In about 9 days you will burn an extra pound of fat (3500 Calories equals one pound of body fat) assuming nothing else changed. (400 Calories x 9 Days=3600 Calories)
Another reason why resistance training is a great way to improve your metabolism has to do with a complicated term called Excessive Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption or EPOC. EPOC basically means the amount of Calories you burn following your workout. The rate and duration your metabolism is increased depends largely on exercise intensity. After a resistance workout your metabolism can be raised around 10-15% for 10-15 hours, with some studies claiming up to 48 hours of increased metabolism. This is in addition to the hundreds of Calories you burned during your workout. The reason for this increase in metabolism following a workout is due to the fact your body needs to recover. A lot of Calories are needed to recover all of you major systems including your cardiovascular, muscular, skeletal, nervous, and respiratory systems. A certified personal trainer will show you how too safely and efficiently workout by designing a program specifically tailored to your needs and ability level.
Resistance training will help to improve insulin resistance by making muscles more sensitive to Insulin, thus allowing more glucose (blood sugar) into cells to be used as energy instead of being stored as fat. Resistance training positively influences the hormones Leptin, Cortisol, and Growth Hormone. The balancing of your hormones from resistance training helps to reduce cravings, sleep deeper, and decrease stress.
3. Increase Cardiovascular Training
Cardiovascular training is also another way to increase your metabolism. As with resistance training, cardio will also increase your metabolism after you finish your workout. The difference is it will only increase your metabolism for 2-3 hours. The length of time your metabolism is increased and the amount is dependent on your intensity levels. With cardio exercise your body does not have to recover to the same extent as when you are doing resistance training. Cardio also helps to regulate hormones and improve Insulin resistance.
4. Get More Sleep
The next thing you can do is to get some rest. 7-8 hours is still the recommended amount of sleep that adults need. Yet you say "I can function fine off of 5 hours, why would I need more?" Good question, the reason has to do with how sleep helps to regulate your hormones. Cortisol is a hormone commonly associated with stress. Cortisol levels should normally decrease in the evening as you begin to prepare for bed. People with chronic sleep deprivation have elevated evening Cortisol levels, leading to Insulin resistance.
Another hormone, Leptin, signals your brain when you are full. Here is how getting 8 hours is essential; Leptin gets released primarily during the REM stage of sleep. The majority of REM occurs after 3 complete cycles of sleep, each taking about 2 hours (6 hours total). Sleep deprivation leads to lower levels of circulating Leptin, causing you to be hungrier in the morning. Studies have shown an increase in cravings for carbohydrates when Leptin levels are lowered due to sleep deprivation; so if you constantly crave carbs then take a closer look at the amount of sleep you get.
Lastly, when you do not get enough sleep your body will not metabolize glucose as effectively and eventually will become Insulin resistant. Insulin is a hormone that helps glucose enter into the cells to be used as energy. When you become Insulin resistant your body no longer uses the insulin and your glucose levels stay elevated. Insulin resistance is extremely important because people who are Insulin resistant are more likely to develop Type II diabetes. They also tend to have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high triglycerides, and excess fat around the waist. Getting more sleep is one way to prevent or reverse the damage done to your metabolism.
5. Drink More Water
The majority of people are chronically dehydrated. Improving your hydration status will help boost your metabolism, reduce joint pain, and even reduce daytime fatigue. Proper hydration can improve your metabolism by as much as 5%. A 5% increase can yield almost 10 pounds of weight loss per year. Drinking the standard eight 8 ounce glasses of water a day is a good place to start. As you become more active it may be necessary to add an additional 4 glasses. Do not count the water you drink while working out. Also as you become properly hydrated you will begin to lose water weight because your body will no longer have to retain water.
6. Eat Small, Frequent Meals
Learning how to eat and what to eat will also improve your metabolism and correct many health problems people have, for example, indigestion. So you have heard you are supposed to eat small, frequent meals, but why? Part of it has to do with the absorption of food. Your body can only properly digest and absorb small amounts of food at a time. This is necessary in order to get all of the nutrients out of the food you eat and to minimize any deficiencies. Eating regularly allows your body to maintain energy levels and will prevent your metabolism from slowing down in order to conserve energy. Every time you skip a meal your metabolism will slow down. This is done as a precaution to prevent starvation. Also you will keep from getting hungry and eating anything and everything in sight.
Now depending on your daily life; when you wake up, go to bed, your workout routine and your goals; you may need to eat 5-7 times per day. For most people eating 5 times a day will be sufficient. Talk to a nutritionist or another qualified expert to find out what is best for you. You are going to want to structure your meals around when you plan on working out in order to maximize your nutrition pre-workout. In a future article we will discuss more about this.
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day because it jump starts your metabolism by breaking the fast that your body has been going through while you have been sleeping. Make sure breakfast and lunch are your biggest meals of the day, with dinner being very light. Also only eat complex carbs (rice, bread, pasta, potatoes) for breakfast and lunch and leave them out for dinner. Carbs are your primary source for energy, and at night your energy demands are low. Make sure you are eating complete meals, consisting of fats, protein, and carbohydrates. Doing so will insure proper digestion, absorption, and nutrition. Stay away from processed carbohydrate, saturated and trans fats. These will cause hormone imbalances and increase Insulin resistance which you are trying to correct.
By working out, sleeping more, drinking water, and eating better you will increase your metabolism, boost your energy, and decrease your waistline. None of the tips have told you to buy crazy supplements or drugs that stimulate your thyroid in order to increase your metabolism. These are natural, safe ways to increase your metabolism. And like I said at the beginning, you can do all of these things today.
Here's how to get started… begin with breakfast then go for a run, have a snack after and then lunch. Then have another snack and do some resistance training. Follow that with a good dinner and a good nights rest, and all day long keep drinking water. Before you know it, your metabolism has increased and so has your self-confidence.
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