by Kate Collins, MA, RD/LD
ost of us have heard this before: She can eat that whole cake and not gain a pound. She was blessed with a fast metabolism. Not everyone is born with such luck, so the following tips are for the rest of us who may need a little help to speed up the metabolism.
2. Eating meals and snacks. Eating regularly helps
Metabolism is influenced by several factors, some modifiable, others not. These factors come into play for everyone, regardless of what lifestyle changes you make:
3. Power-eat with protein. The body burns many more
maintain a balanced sugar level and prevents hunger. Breakfast is still the most important meal of the day. It revs up metabolism by breaking the fast your body has been in overnight. Not skipping meals also helps us avoid overeating and binging. calories digesting protein than what it uses for digesting fats or carbs. Although you want to eat a balanced diet, and carbohydrates provide extremely important nutrients for activity, replacing some carbohydrates with lean, protein-rich foods can boost the metabolism at mealtime.
#1 Age. Metabolism naturally slows down about 5% after age 40. #2 Gender. In general, men burn more calories than women. Fortunately, there are several other areas where you do have control to modify your metabolism. The factors listed here can help dramatically boost your metabolism.
For example, instead of two pieces of bread and chips at lunch, replace the chips with some string cheese or nuts. Healthy sources of protein include lean beef, turkey, fish, white meat chicken, tofu, nuts, beans, eggs, and low-fat dairy products.
4. Double up on your fruits and veggies. Research
shows only 12 percent of people in the US eat the recommended five servings of fruit and vegetables a day and 40 percent eat no fruit. Even worse, about 10-20 percent of Americans don’t eat vegetables at all. Fruits and vegetables have vitamins and minerals that are required in virtually every function of our body. From better immunity and night vision to muscle and nerve function, these foods provide nutrients that no other food source can provide. Fruits and vegetables have been proven to reduce risk for cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
1. Exercise to increase your proportion of lean body mass. Since men naturally develop more lean body mass, this is one of the reasons why they have a faster metabolism. However, women too can improve upon their lean body mass. The most efficient way is to work those large muscle groups. Every pound of muscle uses about six calories a day just to sustain itself, while each pound of fat burns only about two calories per day. That small difference can add up over time. Use resistance training. Muscles will become activated, which increases your average daily metabolic rate. Some exercise is better than no exercise and any exercise will put your muscles into action.
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Thrive Oklahoma
Folks who don’t eat enough friuts and veggies are missing out on crucial vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. Fiber is a metabolism super food.