This and That Thursday

Weight Loss Tips: 10 Ways to Increase Your Metabolism

Weight Loss Tip #1: Maximize Your MuscleMuscles are fat-burning furnaces, so be sure to do enough resistance training to build and maintain them (these fast workouts tone your whole body in 30 minutes), and follow your workout with a healthy meal or snack that contains protein, carbohydrates and fat. Building new muscle raises your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) so you'll burn more calories every day.

Weight Loss Tip #2: Don't Forget Cardio
Cardio improves definition and burns the fat that covers your muscles, especially belly fat. Combining regular aerobic exercise with strength training will give you the slimming effect you've been going for. After all, toning without cardio is like building a house on a weak foundation.

Weight Loss Tip #3: Never Skip Meals
Eat six small meals a day to avoid blood-sugar spikes and minimize urges to binge. Try to schedule meals at the same time each day. If you feed yourself well throughout the day, you'll learn to understand when your body truly needs food. You can't starve yourself and expect to make good choices at the next meal.

Weight Loss Tip #4: Get Real
Fuel your body with wholesome, nutritious foods, and limit your intake of refined carbs (anything sugary or white-flour based). To maximize the calories burned through digestion and stave off hunger, get plenty of complex carbs (fruits, vegetables and beans) and eat a little protein with every meal. It doesn't need to be meat; nuts, lowfat dairy, tofu, and beans are all good vegetarian protein sources.

Weight Loss Tip #5: Sleep Tight
Try to get 7-8 hours of sleep every night. A recent study from Case Western Reserve University found that, on average, women who sleep for 5 hours or less per night are 32 percent more likely to gain weight and 15 percent more likely to be obese than those who get at least 7 hours.

Weight Loss Tip #6: Drink More Water
In a small German study, subjects who drank 16 ounces of water at a time experienced a 30 percent increase in metabolic rate during the following hour, burning an extra 24 calories. The researchers recommend cool water because the body expends extra calories warming it up to your body temperature.

Weight Loss Tip #7: Focus On Your Assets
Playing up your favorite body parts can boost your confidence and draw attention away from spots you want to minimize. Sculpting your shoulders, arms, chest, and back, for example, can help balance heavier hips so you look more proportionate. Plus, you'll be firmer all over.

Weight Loss Tip #8: Eat Until You’re Full
Undereating causes your metabolic rate to drop and your body to hold onto fat. Most nutrition experts recommend that the average, active woman consume at least 1,800 calories daily. But watch out for underestimating the calorie count of "healthy" foods.

Weight Loss Tip #9: Control What You Can
Keep stress levels in check by managing your time, focusing on the present and not over-committing. Many studies have found a link between high levels of stress and weight gain.

Weight Loss Tip #10: Step on the Gas
Alternate the speed and intensity of any cardio workout routines to stoke your fat burners. For instance, if you're walking, do a few minutes at a moderate pace, then speed-walk or jog for a few minutes; repeat. If you're running, go for a few minutes, then sprint for a minute and repeat.