How to Maximize Your Metabolism

How to Maximize Your Metabolism

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
TurbulenceTraining.com

You cut calories and you exercise. You do exactly what the articles say, so you should be losing fat. But if you aren’t, perhaps you’re still not paying attention to an often forgotten factor of fat loss - your metabolism.

Your metabolism is a measure of how many calories you are burning each day. The food, exercise, and lifestyle choices you make every day have a significant impact on your metabolism. For example, if you starve yourself (instead of following a sensible fat-loss eating plan) your metabolism slows, and that means your calories out will be less and you’ll lose less fat.

I’ve put together a list of the top 10 ways to maximize your metabolism, so that you’ll burn as many calories as possible each day and finally lose the fat.

1. Don’t starve yourself! Cutting calories too much is one of the worst things you can do to your body. Use fitday.com to find out your daily calorie intake.

2. Eat 6-8 small meals per day with an emphasis on lean proteins, fruits, and vegetables. Spend a couple hours on a day off preparing as much food as you can for the upcoming week.

3. Eat breakfast. At the very least, eat a lean protein, drink some Green Tea, and consume a fiber-rich fruit to get your fat loss day started right.

4. Eat healthy fats. Sources of healthy fats included nuts, fish, olive oil, and flax oil. Replace processed carbohydrates in your diet with almonds. For example, replace a small bag of pretzels with 1oz (22) almonds instead.

5. Eat high quality foods that will help you control your blood sugar levels, insulin levels, and energy levels. Insulin management will help you lose fat and prevent you form gaining fat.

6. Eat 1.14g of protein per pound of lean body mass. If you don’t know your lean body mass, then simply eat 1g of protein per pound of body weight.

7. Don’t drink alcohol. Alcohol intake can quickly add hundreds of calories and alcohol prevents fat burning and can also reduce testosterone levels.

8. Drink Green Tea and water. While I don’t believe that either of these will increase your metabolism, I do believe that they help prevent decreases in metabolism. These are your 2 healthiest beverage options.

9. Stick to a consistent sleep schedule. Don’t stay up all night, and if possible, avoid working afternoon and overnight shifts.

10. Use the strength training with moderately heavy weights (that allow you to complete 8 perfect reps per set) and interval training for the most efficient and effective metabolism boosting workout.

If your metabolism has slowed down due to improper dieting or lifestyle, then follow these tips to help you get back on track to lose fat and gain muscle. Once you correct your metabolism, you will be on the road to losing the fat for good.

About the Author
Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. Visit Turbulence Training to get your free report, “The Dark Side of Cardio”.




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