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Do you suspect that your metabolism is public enemy number one holding you back in your weight loss struggles? If so, you are not alone. Many people believe that a slow metabolism is standing between... |
Do you suspect that your metabolism is public enemy number one holding you back in your weight loss struggles? If so, you are not alone. Many people believe that a slow metabolism is standing between them and weight loss success – and they may be right. After all, there are many factors that lead to a sluggish metabolism, and many of them are out of your control. Simply growing older leads to a downturn in metabolic rate and the wear and tear of daily life takes a toll as well. If you are stressed out, not getting enough sleep, not eating a healthy diet or not eating regularly, not exercising, and spend your day sitting behind a computer, your metabolism likely thinks it is on some kind of extended vacation. Add to that any health conditions that affect the metabolism, like hypothyroidism or adrenal issues, plus medications that can drag it down and you have a recipe for weight loss disaster.
Although many of those factors are out of your control, the good news is that there are things you can do to boost that metabolism and start burning some more calories. If you want long term success in weight loss and want the best returns from your metabolism, forget the easy road promised by the diet pills. Look at your lifestyle and makes some decisions about how you can improve it so you can improve your metabolic rate.
The first thing you have to do is look for ways to get the basics covered. You need to get a full night of sleep, every single night. You need some way to keep stress to a minimum and to cope effectively with the stress you do have to put up with. You need to make sure you meals at regular intervals, and you need to make exercise a part of your day. If you think that your medications are making you sluggish or that you may have an underlying health condition that is making your metabolism slow, make an appointment with your doctor.
Once you tackle these issues, you can look at tweaks to your eating habits and exercise habits that give you more bang for your buck metabolically. First, think about the foods you eat. Sugar is metabolism killer, but foods that take a long time to digest like complex carbs that are rich in fiber, fruits and veggies, protein, and even some fat will give your metabolism some work to do and keep it moving and burning up those calories. Spicy foods kick your metabolism that little extra kick, and as long as you don’t overdo it, caffeine can also add some fuel.
For your exercise routine, replace some of that cardio with strength training. Muscles burn calories, so weight bearing exercises give your metabolism a kick start. Cross training is the perfect exercise for increasing the number of calories you burn because it combines the best of cardio and weight training in short, high intensity work out.
Stop letting your metabolism control you and instead show it who is boss. These simple changes can turn you into a calorie burning machine so you see a big payoff on the scale.