GET this: Every little decision you make about diet and exercise can make a big difference in your metabolism. The thing
to understand is that your metabolism isn’t fixed at one rate. You can make big changes depending on what you eat and how active you are. Here are seven smart ways to get your metabolism moving faster:
1 Lifting weights builds muscle. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn. What’s more, the calorie burn keeps going long after the end of the workout. Why? Strength training causes micro trauma to the muscles, and your body will work to rebuild the tissue by burning added protein and carbs. To amp up fat burning, try resistance training three days a week. You don’t need to use heavy weights. As long as the last rep is hard, you are getting the benefit.
2 Lift first, do cardio next; this com- bination will melt more fat. Go right from the weights to the treadmill, bike or stair climber.
3 Spice things up; this can up your metabolism by 5%. Try adding a teaspoon of spices to a typical vinaigrette.
4 Include intervals. On a treadmill, bike, or other cardio machine, changing the intensity levels forces your muscles to work harder.
5 Drink water. This will keep your metabolism running when you’re just hanging around. You can also peel citrus fruits and freeze them, using them in place of ice cubes.
6 Snack 30 minutes after your exercise. Participants in a study who drank a 250-calorie protein shake after a strength training workout lost about 4lbs more fat
than those who didn’t. If you don’t care for a shake, try a banana with peanut butter.
7 Do a down dog; Yoga gets your metabolism going. In one bit of
research, subjects who om’d their way through a 50-minute session saw a drop in levels of the stress hormone cortisol, known to inhibit fat burning. Start with a 10-minute session and work up.
Experts know that metabolism involves a com- plicated network of hormones and enzymes that not only change food into fuel, but also impact how efficiently your body burns that fuel.
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