Rev Up Your Engines

Speed Your Metabolism to Reach Your Goals

Have you ever felt like you could just look at food and
gain weight?  Do you remember when you could eat anything
and not gain a pound?  What happened?  Where did the new
Gut come from?  Obviously, there are many factors that
affect our weight.  However, you have more power than you
might think when it comes to supercharging your metabolism.
 A few simple changes in your daily habits can give you the
edge in achieving your weight loss goals. Take a look at
these ten simple steps to get you started.

Eating too much of the wrong things is what gets most of us
in trouble with our weight.  So, how do we lose the weight
without starving ourselves on small portions of meat and
"rabbit food"?  I have some great news.  Seven of our ways
to boost your metabolism involve eating.  First, make sure
you eat within 45 minutes of waking up.  Your mom was right
when she told you that breakfast is the most important meal
of the day.  If you don't eat, you can expect your body to
conserve calories for the rest of the day, instead of
burning them away.  Next, add eating every 4-6 hours to
your list.  Just make sure that you are choosing foods with
protein in every meal.  This includes foods such as egg
whites, cheese, soy milk, lean meat, turkey, chicken, fish,
pork, kidney beans and peas.  Protein helps build muscle
which burns calories much more efficiently throughout your
life.  You will also want to add 7-9 servings of fruits and
vegetables to your daily meal plan.  This means you can eat
a lot of food which is high in fiber to help you feel full.
 Include negative calorie food throughout the day.  Some
examples include apples, asparagus, berries, broccoli,
cabbage, celery, cauliflower, chili, garlic, grapefruit,
lemon, mango, onion, orange, papaya, pineapple, spinach,
and zucchini.  Surely you can find something you love to eat
with all these wonderful foods.

Water is another important factor to losing weight.  An
easy way to determine how much water you need each day is
to weigh yourself and cut that number in half.  You should
drink that many ounces of water each day.  For example, if
you weigh 200 pounds, you should drink approximately 100
ounces of water.  Sound crazy to you?  The first few days
may be difficult.  It's OK not to drink all your water
right away, but try to drink a little more each day and
soon you won't even think about it.  The final step
involving food is the only one that involves cutting back.
Avoid alcohol, sugar, and fasting when choosing your foods.
 There are many choices you can make that are healthy and
tasty, so you should easily find something you like.

It is also important to be active.  Start with 30-45
minutes of cardio in the morning.  This will get your
metabolism started for the day even if you are not pushing
yourself to the limit.  You will also want to build muscle
tone through resistance training.  It will take about 3
months to see results, but remember that your muscles will
help to burn calories more efficiently.  If all this sounds
like hard work to you, the last way to boost your
metabolism will make you very happy.  Make sure that you
get 8 hours of deep sleep every night.  Studies show that
people who get 8 hours of sleep have a higher metabolic
rate than those who sleep less than 6 hours.

exercise that fits into your lifestyle and a healthy diet
of great tasting foods can make all the difference.  There
are many ways to eat what you want and get all the
nutrition that your body needs.  Exercise doesn't have to
be hard, but once you start moving, you'll feel better and
better.  Take time to learn more about the exciting ways
that you can rev up your metabolism.

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Jim is a personal wellness coach who helps people reach
their weight loss goals and lead healthy and active lives.
He has a degree in Kinesiology from the University of
Northern Colorado and has worked in the field of health for
over ten years. Become healthier and more active by
visiting Jim's website at:
http://www.visionquestnutrition.com