by Ryan Fitzstevens

Created on: August 06, 2008

Simply stated, metabolism is the rate at which our body burns calories. We always hear about people with a high-metabolism being able to eat whatever is in sight and still have trouble keeping on weight. For the rest of us we feel that we are not as genetically blessed as it seems even if you would starve yourself you still could not really make a difference on the scale. Fear not! There are plenty of ways to increase your body's natural resting metabolism so that you are burning more calories through the day.

Obviously some of it is affected by how active we are. If I am on my feet all day and walking more than driving then my metabolism is going to be higher than if I am sitting at a desk typing away (like now). This is pretty logical because we need more calories to compensate for what we have been doing through the day which is probably why the active person could eat more than the latter and still end up being leaner. So with this in mind, do the small things to keep your metabolism going through out the day. If at work, take the stairs to your office rather than the elevator. Go for a walk during lunch. Or when you are going shopping do not waste time driving around trying to find the closest parking spot, go ahead and park farther away and walk the extra 20 feet. Something that has happened to me is that my car broke down, and with none on the horizon for awhile given the financial situation I have taken to riding my bike to and from work. I find that generally throughout the day I am a lot more hungry because I am burning more calories.

The biggest mistake that most of us make is underestimating breakfast. Now, if you have not heard that a million times then I would be very surprised. It is overstated for a reason! Your body has been in a state of rest for 8 hours (ideally) and when you are without food for a long time your body works to try and slow down and save fat because it does not know when it is going to be filled up again. So, if you want to jump start your metabolism eat a hearty breakfast of oatmeal because it is a high glycemic carbohydrate and will not only fill you but last longer as energy. Get some proteins in there too so that your body does not burn through it too quick. Have you ever noticed if you eat sugary fruit for breakfast you are suddenly starving a few hours later? It is because of all the sugars that are easy to process your body goes through it real quick.

Second biggest mistake is eating 3 large meals a day, or even 2 for

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>