Diet Mistakes That Slow Metabolism and Make You Gain Fat

10 Diet Mistakes That Make You Gain Fat:

The average woman gains 1½ pounds a year during her adult life, so it may be best to fight off the roller coaster of hormones, muscle loss, and stress that conspires to slow her fat-burning engine before she pack on 40-plus pounds by her 50’s.

Let’s begin with the obvious, it’s not easy to boost over-40 weight loss, but it is possible. The amount of calories needed in each meal to fuel your body while keeping you satisfied is somewhere around 400 calories, try to make sure your meals don’t go over this amount. There’s a helpful, easy formula to calculate how many calories your body needs each day:

BMR = 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) – (4.7 x age in years)

For example, a 50 year-old woman who weighs 160 pounds and is 5′ 7″ figures it out like this:

BMR= 655 + (4.35 x 160) + (4.7 x 67) – (4.7 x 50)

If correct that equals approximately 1430 calories a day to maintain her current weight, three meals of 400 calories and two 100 calorie snacks should fit perfectly into a busy lifestyle.

The following are the most common diet mistakes that slow metabolism and make you overweight:

1. You don’t eat enough
Ok, it is clearly important to cut calories to lose weight, it doesn’t mean you need to overdo it. When you eat less than what you need for basic biological function your body sends messages of starvation to your brain and your metabolism slows down as a defense mechanism, then it begins to break down precious, calorie-burning muscle tissue for energy. Eat a 300-400 calorie meal every 4 hours to shed pounds, you’ll be satisfied and it will keep from overeating later in the day.

2. You avoid caffeine
Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant, your daily morning coffee can rev your metabolism 5-8%, a cup of brewed tea can raise it 12%.

3. Your carbs are white
Boost your fiber intake, change all white-flour products to whole-wheat products, and increase your fruit and vegetable intake. Aim for 25g per day.

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