Lace up your shoestrings and go for a walk. More standing or walking is a great way to boost your metabolism. As we get older, our metabolism slows down. This happens for a variety of reasons:
- Your body produces less testosterone and growth hormone.
- Unless you stay active and lift weights, you lose muscle mass and become more insulin resistant, which promotes fat storage, which promotes higher insulin and the cycle repeats.
- We tend to become less active as we get older.
- We tend to eat more as we get older, and crave sugar more.
There are some simple things you can do to boost your metabolism:
- Lift weights 3 times per week. Try to do 3-4 sets of 6-8 weight training exercises 3 times per week. This may seem like a lot, but you can make it interesting by working out with someone else, doing it outside, or by listening to audiobooks while you work out. Building muscle boosts metabolism.
- Walk or stand more. Try to take 10,000 steps per day. Sitting all day can be destructive for your health.
- Do your workouts earlier in the day. This will give you energy and help you to be more sensitive to insulin the rest of the day.
- Don’t starve yourself. You need to eat. If you take too long between meals every single day, you could actually end up slowing down your metabolism, because eating burns calories. If you’re going to fast, only do it 1-3 days per week.
- Train Fast-Twitch Muscle fibers by doing power exercises and heavier weight training. Fast-twitch muscle fibers burn fat more effectively, which is one reason sprinters tend to be so muscular and lean.
- Do H.I.I.T. exercise sessions. Do interval training (High Intensity Interval Training) will tend to boost your metabolism. 30-90 second intervals mixed with 10-90 second recoveries.
- Moderate Carbohydrate Intake and Fat Intake. Either one can be a problem in excess. You don’t have to eliminate either but the insulin-spike of simple carbs and the high-calorie status of fat can both create problems.
- Mild caffeine use before exercise can help burn fat. 1-2 servings of tea or coffee can be beneficial before a workout to help utilize fat as an energy source. * Be careful with this if you have high blood pressure or heart disease.
- Don’t Become Catabolic. Always time your meals so that you eat after a workout: 200-600 calories, 20-40 grams of protein, 20-60 grams of carbs, 10-30 grams of fat. The bottom line is that you need to eat after you train, or you’ll become catabolic, which means you’ll start to use your precious muscle mass for recovery. You want to preserve and build muscle, not waste away!
Get in the habit of doing these things and they add up. Your metabolism will go up significantly.
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And remember…there’s never been a better day than TODAY to make it happen!
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