How to Maximize Your Metabolism

You cut calories and you exercise. You do exactly what the articles say – Your calories out are greater than your calories in. You should be losing fat. But if you aren’t, perhaps you’re still not paying attention to an often forgotten factor of fat loss – your metabolism.

Your metabolism is a measure of how many calories you are burning each day. But did you know that the food, exercise, and lifestyle choices you make every day have a significant impact on your metabolism? For example, if you starve yourself (instead of following a sensible fat-loss eating plan) your metabolism will slow down. If your metabolism slows down, it means your calories out will be less. And that means no more fat loss, and possibly even continued fat gain.

So for every day that you continue to slow your metabolism with unhealthy lifestyle choices, you get further and further away from fat loss. To help, I’ve put together a list of the top 10 ways to maximize your metabolism, so that you’ll burn as many calories as possible each day so that you can finally lose the fat.

1) Don’t starve yourself! Cutting calories too much is one of the worst things you can do to your body. Starving yourself actually causes you to lose much more water weight and muscle than fat. Use fitday.com to find out your daily calorie intake.

2) Eat 6-8 small meals per day with an emphasis on lean proteins, fruits, and vegetables. You have to have a nutrition plan, so spend a couple hours on a day off preparing as much food as you can for the upcoming week.

3) Eat breakfast. You have to make this meal part of your daily metabolism-boosting plan. At the very least, eat a lean protein, drink some Green Tea, and consume a fiber-rich fruit to get your fat loss day started right.

4) Eat healthy fats. Sources of healthy fats included nuts, fish, olive oil, and flax oil. I consume 6 grams of fish oil per day. Replace all processed carbohydrates in your diet with almonds. For example, if you currently eat a small bag of pretzels as a mid-afternoon snack, eat almonds instead (eating the same number of total calories).

5) Eat high quality foods that will help you control your blood sugar levels, insulin levels, and energy levels. Insulin management will help you lose fat and prevent you form gaining fat. I’ll be writing more on how to eat and exercise to control your hormone levels – the #1 neglected factor in fat loss programs.

6) Eat 1.14g of protein per pound of lean body mass. If you don’t know your lean body mass, then simply eat 1g of protein per pound of body weight. But if possible, stick to the lean body mass recommendation, as that eliminates excess fat mass when calculating protein needs.

7) Don’t drink alcohol. Alcohol intake can quickly add hundreds of calories and alcohol prevents fat burning. Alcohol intake can also reduce testosterone levels, a big no-no for men looking to Get Lean.

8) Drink Green Tea and water. While I don’t believe that either of these will increase your metabolism, I do believe that they help prevent decreases in metabolism. Not too mention, these are your 2 healthiest beverage options.

9) Stick to a consistent sleep schedule. Don’t stay up all night, and if possible, avoid working afternoon and overnight shifts. If you must work shiftwork, stick to the rest of these principles as strongly as possible.

10) Use the Turbulence Training workout principles for the most efficient and effective metabolism boosting workout. This means strength training with moderately heavy weights (that allow you to complete 8 perfect reps per set) and interval training. For exact instructions, get the TT for Fat Loss Special Report.

Craig Ballantyne trains athletes and executives in Toronto, and writes for Men’s Fitness magazine. His trademarked Turbulence Training workouts and his comprehensive workout manuals (including “The Ultimate Bodyweight Workout”) are featured on his website Turbulence Training.

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