Boosting your metabolism is the key to getting and staying in shape. A sluggish metabolism does not allow the body to get rid of excess calories. The result is overweight and its attendant problems. When your metabolism is functioning well, you use energy and burn fat even while you are asleep. The key to boosting your metabolism lies in two things: diet and exercise.
Diet
When some people hear the word diet they immediately think of something that makes you lose weight. However, the word diet simply means “foods habitually eaten”. Therefore, the diet you choose can either boost or slow down your metabolism. Dieting, as in trying to lose weight, can slow down the metabolism. The reason is that the body goes into starvation mode to keep you from burning too many calories. When you start eating normally again, your body stores the calories as fat.
Some types of foods also work to slow down your metabolism. Refined white flour, pasta and rice that have had the wholesome parts removed and can cause a slowing of your metabolism. Sugary foods such as candy and sodas are also guilty of the same thing. To boost metabolism and keep your body healthy, substitute whole wheat products for white products. Use lots of green vegetables and fresh fruits which cooperate with your body to boost your metabolism.
Exercise
This opens the door to a healthy metabolic rate. Exercising just three days a week for forty-five minutes can boost your metabolism, making it easy for you to lose weight and keep it off. Exercise does not have to be rigorous to be effective. Walking is the simplest form of aerobic exercise and targets all the major muscle groups in the body. Swimming, cycling and gardening are also great forms of exercise that raise the heart rate and your metabolic rate. If you are a sedentary worker, try to incorporate some physical activity into your day.
Weight training is another form of exercise that helps burn fat and build muscle mass, which is many times more metabolically active than fat. Therefore if you want to speed up your metabolism, do some weight training with either free weights, machines or resistance bands.
Many overweight people do not necessarily take in more calories than slim people. Genetics or an overactive thyroid may be responsible for their low metabolic rate. If genetics is the cause, they can lose weight by increasing their caloric output through exercise and changing their diet. For those with overactive thyroids, they may need to see their doctor before embarking on any type of diet or exercise program.