Speed Up Your Metabolism

You know how they say that your metabolism slows down as you age? Well, it doesn't have to. Why does it? Partly because we become more sedentary and therefore lose muscle mass. You burn more calories with your muscles than you do in fat cells. We also become busier and more stressed, and stress often leads to overeating, eating fast food on the run, and poor sleep habits--all of which affect the metabolism.

Here are a few little tricks to help speed up your metabolism. Maybe you all can add a few more. Some are very simple and you might not have considered them.

1. Start moving. ANY exercise you do is good exercise. Any exercise boosts your metabolism. When you go to the store, park in the back of the parking lot and walk. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Even smiling and hand-gestures burn calories.

2. Start an exercise program that includes both cardio training AND weight training. Ladies, don't worry, working out with weights won't turn you into the Incredible Hulk; you simply don't have the hormones to build muscles like that. But weight training CAN give you some nice curves. Cardio is good for your heart and jump-starts your metabolism. Weight training builds the muscles that burn the calories. One site I visited advised that you do your weight training before you do your cardio training. And that makes sense. With any gym I've joined, the weight training always came at the beginning of a workout with the cardio in the middle of the workout.

3. Change up your exercise routine from time to time to continually challenge your body and build new muscles. If your routine gets stagnant, so does your metabolism. You don't actually have to go to the gym for exercise. We gardeners have a gym in our own yards. Or a hobby or recreational activity can give you a good workout. So vary it up so you and your metabolism don't get bored.

4. Try to sleep 8 hrs every night. Sleeping less stresses the body. It can't repair itself properly so it can't function properly when you're awake. Therefore it slows down, slowing down your metabolism.

5. Don't skimp on the dairy. Your body needs dairy in one form or another. And no, calcium supplements are no substitute. Dairy products help metabolize fat, believe it or not. Research has shown that people who drink milk lose more weight than people who don't.

6. Eat your fiber. Fiber helps fill you up, keep your intestines functioning properly, and help flush out fat and cholesterol.

7. ALWAYS eat breakfast! Anytime you eat, you boost your metabolism. Make sure to have some protein with your breakfast. Yogurt and strawberries is a great, low-calorie, protein-rich breakfast.

8. Eat 5 or 6 small meals a day instead of 2 or 3. Again, anytime you eat, you boost your metabolism. Eating more frequently but smaller meals helps your digestion. And it also stabilizes your sugar level, so your glucose doesn't get real high from one big meal and then go real low from skipping a meal.

9. Add Green Tea to your diet. It contains EGCG and CLA which are said to increase your metabolism.

10. Some reports claim that coffee is a great way to jumpstart the metabolism. The caffiene gives it a boost.

11. Use your spices. Cayenne pepper and other spices require more energy to metabolize. They also make food tastier and make you feel full and satisfied quicker.

12. Drink ice cold water. It takes more energy to process ice water than it does regular tap water, therefore you burn more calories by drinking ice water. You also keep your body hydrated, and a hydrated body functions better.

13. Eat protein with every meal. Protein helps build muscle, which we've already discussed, burns calories.

14. Go Organic. Pesticides affect liver and thyroid functions and change our bodies' cells. They stall out our metabolism.

15. Take fish oil (Omega 3) supplements, especially two hours before any workout.

16. When you diet, don't over-restrict your caloric intake too much. To do so sends your body in starvation mode so it refuses to increase metabolism, fearing it may not get enough to eat.

A lot of these tips are easy aren't they? I may have to add the Green Tea and coffee to my diet. Protein is another that I skimp on, but I'll be increasing protein consumption now. I'm trying to do the 5 or 6 meals a day thing, but that's tough for me. I get busy on a project and I don't like to stop until it's done. I've been known to go all day long without eating because I was so focused. I'll have to change that tendency.

What other tips can y'all add?