Supercharge Your Metabolism - Eat 6 Meals a Day

THE SIX MEALS A DAY RULE
It isn't a secret that eating smaller more frequent meals leads to a more efficient metabolism.  Digestion takes energy, as you use calories to digest, absorb and assimilate food.  So, the more often you eat, the more calories you burn through digestion.  That doesn't mean that you're allowed to eat more calories throughout the day - you should split your proper, planned food intake into smaller, more frequent meals.  Munching on snacks during the day (like baby carrots or protein bars) is a good way to avoid overeating at breakfast, lunch and dinner and incorporate more low-carb meals into your diet.

By the same token, the fastest way to slow down your metabolism is by following extreme diets.  Starvation diets (around 500 calories or less) can decrease your metabolism by up to 50%.  Even the most physiologically sound diet will gradually lead to a slow decline.  I encourage a moderate (as in weekly) splurge meal to prevetn this from happening. (YIPEE!!!!)

Strength is the ability to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands - and then eat just one of those pieces. ~Judith Viorst

Supercharge Your Metabolism - Pump Up The Protein

Today we look at another way to reach your metabolic best....

PUMP UP THE PROTEIN

Making sure you're getting enough protein is the next best way to raise your metabolism.  It takes more energy to digest protein because you burn more calories duirng its digestion than you do after eating other types of food.  It also stimulates the production of glucagon, a hormone that tells bodyfat cells to give up their stranglehold on fat.  This is a key reason why several studies have shown that higher protein intake leads to faster weight loss, even when calories are the same among study groups. 
Good protein options include eggs, fish and poultry, lean meats; along with vegetable sources such as beans, nuts and wholegrains.

"Red meat is not bad for you. Now blue-green meat, that’s bad for you!" ~Tommy Smothers

Supercharge Your Metabolism - Take Your Vitamins

Love it or hate it, we all have a base metabolism - the rate at which the body burns calories.  Although our genes place us on a metabolic continuum (ranging from that of a racing greyhound to that of a snail), we do have a certain amount of control over our metabolism.   In fact, how and what you eat, in addition ot your activity level, can either elevate you to the top of your genetic potential or make you plummet to the rocks of yo-yo dieting. 

Over the next few days I will outline some no-fuss ways to reach your metabolic best....

TAKE YOUR VITAMINS

First, you need to make sure you're not deficient in micronutrients that support metabolism, such as the B vitamins.  Eating foods rich in these vitamins - like eggs, poultry, spinach and whole grains - aid in carbohydrate metabolism and energy production.  While vitamin B-1 plays a role in energy metabolism, B-2 helps metabolize carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
It is also important to take supplements to boost your immune system, so you can avoid illness and keep your training up to speed.  The immune system is constantly bombarded by free radicals - every cell in the body takes about 10,000 hits per day!  Antioxidants neutralize these assassins and even slow down the aging process, another enemy of metabolism. 
How can you ensure your body is fighting these free radicals?  Try taking a nutritional supplement that provides antioxidants, vitamins and minerals - often these can be purchased in daily serving paks, eliminating the need for several different bottles of supplements taking up room in your cupboard. 

"All those vitamins aren't to keep death at bay, they're to keep deterioration at bay."  - Jeanne Moreau