10 Steps on Improving Your Metabolism

By: Karen Sessions

Copyright 2006 Karen Sessions

Are you sluggish and low on energy? Do you feel like you work
and work toward your weight loss goal and never seem to make any
dramatic improvement?

You could be suffering from a slow metabolism. Even though you
may have a slow metabolism, it does not have to destroy your
weight loss efforts. You can dramatically improve your
metabolism, and boost your energy levels without taking
supplements.

Your metabolism simply refers to the conversion of food to
usable energy by the body. It is the biological process, by
which energy is extracted from food, and the net result is how
fast or slowly the body burns those calories.

A few steps you can take to improve your metabolism naturally
are:

Drink Water - Water is great to drink and you should be drinking
a minimum of 8 to 10, glasses daily, of course, more is better.
It will help increase your metabolism and flush out sodium,
toxins, and fat. Drinking water before meals will fill your
stomach so you feel full and prevent overeating. Avoid excess
colas, coffee, teas, and sugary juices. Caffeine will dehydrate
you, and the sugar will do more damage than good in the long-run.

Eat Every Three Hours - Eat a small balanced meal every three
hours, including snacks. Meals and snacks should be balanced,
meaning they should contain a complete protein, carbohydrates,
as well as natural fat. Failure to eat consistently can lead to
a slower metabolism and fat storage. Also, skipping meals slows
down your metabolism. To ignite fat loss you need to be
consuming the right foods in a balanced manner throughout the
day.

Don't Skip Breakfast - Breakfast is the most important meal of
the day because it gets your metabolism running in high gear.
You wouldn't drive your car to work on an empty tank, and you
shouldn't start your day without adequate nourishment. Your
first meal sets your metabolism for the day and keeps it going,
as long as you eat every three hours. If you get up early and
eat a late breakfast, you miss out on several hours of burning
calories.

Don't Fear Fat - Fat has developed a bad reputation. Many people
think fat makes you fat. This is false. The type of fat and how
much fat you eat impacts your body fat composition. Fat is
needed by the body. Those who follow a very low-fat diet have a
harder time ridding their body of fat. Choose natural healthy
fats such as olive oil, avocados, various nuts, flax, and
natural peanut butter to receive your necessary fats.

Omit Trans Fat - Trans fat is the bad fat, the cause of weight
gain, low energy, depression, cancer, and heart disease. You
will never get the body you desire by eating "healthy" fast
food, frozen dinners, and other processed choices. If it's
man-made, it's not the best choice, and will halt fat loss
endeavors. Eat the foods Mother Nature has provided to meet your
fat loss goals.

Be Active Daily - Stay active at least six days a week. Take the
stairs when possible or park further out to get that little bit
of extra movement to keep the heart and lungs working optimally.
The more movement you get daily, the better you will feel
overall.

Do Cardiovascular Exercise - Cardio exercise is necessary for
heart and lung health. It also burns calories. Doing cardio
first thing in the morning on an empty stomach can tap into fat
stores, and keep your body burning calories at a high rate for
about an hour after cardio is finished. If you fail to eat
adequately daily, first morning cardio on an empty stomach can
work against you. Doing morning cardio on very low calorie diet
can burn muscle. Another good time to incorporate cardio is in
the evening after your last meal. This allows you to burn
calories so you are not sleeping on them. You do not have to
implement a morning and evening session, choose one or the other
or cycle between the two to prevent staleness and boredom.

HIIT It - Blend some High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
into your cardiovascular program from time to time to give your
body and metabolism a good shock. The body is programmed for
adaptation. Therefore, doing the same cardio format day in and
day out can become stale really fast. Take one or two days a
week and implement some HIIT to give the body an added shock.

HIIT is basically alternating low intensity and moderate to high
intensity cardio training. For example, a 20 minute HIIT session
would look similar to this:

Minute 1 and 2 - Low Intensity (Walking) Minute 3 and 4 - High
Intensity (Light jogging or running) Minute 5 and 6 - Low
Intensity Minute 7 and 8 - High Intensity and so on...

Weight Train - Resistance training builds muscle, which is
metabolically active tissue. The more muscle you acquire, the
faster your metabolism will be. Adding more lean muscle tissue
to your body will put curves in the right places and allow you
to eat more calories a day.

Listen to Your Body - Killing yourself with workouts is just as
dangerous as not working out at all. Listen to your body and get
proper rest. Don't train if you are ill, still sore from the
previous workout, or just simply too tired. Training in such a
state can cause more problems than it solves.

If any of the above fails to prove results in 4 to 6 weeks,
there could be an underlying problem, such as a food allergy,
sluggish thyroid, hormonal imbalance, toxins, parasites, etc. If
so, I recommend searching for a natural healer in your area to
determine the cause. and work from there. For the most part,
proper diet, detoxifying, and herbs can correct any ailments.

About the author:
Karen Sessions has been in the fitness industry since 1988. She
is a nationally qualified bodybuilder and holds two personal
training certifications. She has written 6 ebooks on fitness and
has helped hundreds of clients transform their bodies.
http://www.theelitephysique.com