Let's just face it....after forty our metabolism takes a hit. I can't tell you exactly when it started happening but one day, around forty-something, my furnace tanked. It was a sad day indeed, the day I realized my metabo-time bomb had blown. And when it blew baby, it wasn't pretty. Something akin to my thighs being caught in a hail storm. You know what I am talking about. One day you notice those darn puckers all over the place. Hey...how did I become Crisco overnight? You know, fat in the can, LOL. Well let me tell ya, it is no laughing matter.
So what is a girl to do?
Boost it baby. Rev up you engine. Move it or lose it.
Build Muscle
Could it be as simple as that. Well partly. It is a known fact that our Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is higher with more muscle. One pound of muscle uses 6 calories a day just to sustain itself. Now take one pound of fat. It takes 2 calories a day to sustain itself. Huh? These things sustain themselves? Well yes silly, fat cells are alive and clicking. Well truth be told, cells that carry fat are alive and well. OK, skip that. But really, 2 calories vs 6 calories? This is per pound, so multiply that by the number of pounds you carry around a day in fat or muscle and yes, it begins to add up over time, say a year.
Another tidbit to remember about muscle, is that its fibers get pretty excited after stimulus (exercise) which in turn activates and increases your energy needs post workout. Yippeee. So kick it up a notch cause higher intensity delivers bigger and longer metabolic bucks = increases metabolic rate. Yep Yep.
Drink More Water
Your beloved bod needs good ole H2O to process calories. Simple. Even being mildly dehydrated can slow down your metabolic rate cause of the lack of the body's ability to do the work. Bonus: Fresh fruit and veges are ....ummm...mostly H20...ever notice your quick trip to the ladies room after munching on a big green salad with veges. Oh, of course. Ding Ding.
I'll take mine on the rocks. Yes, drink your tall cool one with added ice (water girl, water!) Research has shown cold water prompts the body to burn more calories, if only a wee bit. 10 calories a day. Again, these things do add up over time.
Drinking and want more? In addition to good old water, turn to black coffee or green tea for bonus metabolic boosts, altho small, who cares cause it's something.
Eat More Often
Burn baby burn, disco inferno. Burn baby burn. Train your body to burn more by simply eating every 3 to 4 hours. When studying snackers, it was shown they consume less at their main meal times because they simply are not STARVING!!! You know what starving means; it's the biggest setup to failure, a ravenous appetite often leads to overeating.
Spice up your meals while you are at it. 1 tablespoon of chopped red or green chili pepper can temporarily boost your metabolic rate by 23%. But this is short lived, like maybe 1/2 hour but still you can't complain about the fact that you get a tiny boost so grab those red pepper flakes and sprinkle them on your next main dish. Waaa laaa! You'll be zipping in no time.
Eat more protein. I have chirped about this one enough. Protein is satisfying, along with good fats. They satiate your appetite. Satiate and I am a happy girl, enough said. Protein also makes the body work twice as hard to digest it vs. how hard the bod works to digest fats or carbs. But...(there is always a but hahaha) balance is important. Please note I am not advocating a high protein diet. I'm a rather staunch supporter of moderation. Simply substitute a little protein in for some of your carbs or fats.
Avoid Crash Diets
Do NOT ever dip below 1000 calories a day. Can you say metabolic disaster grander than the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster? These diets are notorious for quick weight loss, but guess what? At the expense of muscle (gasp!) ...Oh crap! Really, double CRAP! I don't get excited about much, too often, but this one just sets me off!!! Why on God's green lovely earth would you give up any precious muscle? Isn't this where this discussion started!??? We are losing it naturally, hormonally, honey... Yikes, please do not sabotage your efforts. Never. The worse part of post low cal diets, is the fact that when you start eating normally again, you gain weight easier and faster. And it is now harder to lose cause you have less muscle mass then prior to that crash diet. Less muscle = less calories needed. Oy Vey! I'm just saying.
Best Bet
Here is the fun part. Some of the individual impacts of the above steps are small beans but when lumped together, they really start to add up. Sustained weight loss is attainable. Workout smarter and eat smarter. That's my motto and I am sticking to it.
Get up, slam your ice cold water. Grab a cup of Joe or TWO with your breakfast which is consumed within your first waking hour. Get to the gym for your workout sometime during the day (or get outside and move). Head for the kitchen for your snack or meal (sprinkled with chili flakes LOL) every 3 to 4 hours to keep your furnace firing. Drink lots of water (ice) throughout the day. Grab an afternoon green tea...and incorporate balance into your meals and life. And Laugh, laugh a lot cause nothing is better than a good ole belly laugh. Enjoy your life.
Be Well
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