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Boost Your Metabolism

Posted in Fitness @ Sep 5th 2012 11:20am - By Exclusively You - Elisa Miller

First of all, everyone talks about metabolism and the ‘need to speed it up,’ but what does this even mean? Explaining metabolism to me is like trying to explain a car engine – it needs many factors working together to run efficiently! What you really want to focus on is increasing your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). Your BMR is the rate at which your body ‘burns’ energy while at rest and accounts for a huge 50-75% of your metabolism. The remaining 25-50% of your metabolism is composed through processes like digestion,  exercise and involuntary muscular movements. So these are my top 5 tips for increasing your BMR and burning more calories when at rest:

Strength Training – Can help build lean muscle mass. For every 1 kg of muscle we tend to burn 50-77 calories so having that extra  muscle mass will help to keep your metabolism firing.

Eat Regularly – Making sure you eat consistently will keep you in a fat-burning state. Metabolism is like a fire that you have to keep fueling with a little kindling, not just one big log occasionally!

Move – Go for a 20min walk first thing in the morning before eating. This can keep the body burning fat for the rest of the day. Try Interval Training for your other cardio choices – an Australian study showed that participants that bike for 20mins with sprints burned 3x the amount of body fat as those who biked 40mins at a consistent pace. It is all about Intensity not just going through the  movements!

Drink Water – Most people mistake hunger for thirst and tend to reach for food rather than giving their bodies a refill of plain old  water. Our bodies are made up of 70% water that we lose throughout the day so replenishing these stores is essential for the body to run efficiently. Research has found that people who drink eight to 12 glasses of water per day have higher metabolic rates than those who drink less.

Start the day with ENERGY – Start the day off with a great breakfast. Fueling the body in the morning will help keep you satisfied longer into the day and reduce the chances of those ‘unhealthy’ cravings.

Combine these 5 steps and your metabolism is sure to get a rev up just in time to get you into better shape for summer!

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