Best Diet in the Universe – How To Boost Your Metabolism and How To Slow It Down!: Graehm Gray

Hello my fans. This is the second column of a two part series on Metabolism. Metabo what? Yes metabolism- the way life is sustained. Food we consume is converted into energy, which is then utilized for the bodies reactions, which help growth, repair and of course elimination of waste products. I guess you can call metabolism an example of the “circle of life”. Why are we concerned about metabolism? Well you see as we get older (do we have to? Yes we do!), our internal engine slows down. We don’t seem to have the energy we once had as a teenager. Our hair is falling out, our skin is sagging, its harder to straighten up in the morning, our muscles are disappearing and we are gaining weight. We wake up one morning and notice that we now have an additional layer of body fat around our waist. Where did that come from? Who put that there? Its like taking a model of the Earth and placing a 2×2 inch layer of Jello around the equator. OMG! My pants don’t fit any more. That dress-forget it! And the bathing suit-ugh! Cover the mirror! Actually it developed from your steady diet of eating, doing less exercise and your metabolism which slowed down. Yes, our metabolism can slow down by up to 10% every ten years. That’s why our fitness gurus have made exercise guidelines that tell us we need to do more exercise daily just to make up for this slowing down. Yes, 90 is the new 30! Even our children need to continue doing exercise otherwise their daily consumption of food will overwhelm their little energy burning equipment and they will gain weight too!

Is this what we have to look forward to? Yes, maybe, or maybe not. There are ways to manage this process. We have to be aware of the aging process and its metabolic slowing. So here goes-ways to increase that sluggish energy factory of yours and slow it down too!

WAYS TO INCRESE YOUR METABOLISM

A. Increase your exercise time, intensity and add some weight training: weight training and muscle building has been shown to contribute to small increases in metabolism. And as we get older and our metabolism slows down, we need to do more exercise just to maintain our metabolic rate. That’s why 90 minutes a day is the new 30! Remember bulky muscles need more energy (food) to sustain the muscle size-but also may burn more energy-it’s a balance.
B. Eat more fish-studies have shown that fish contain omega-3 fatty acids and these acids can increase your metabolism.
C. Small amounts of caffeine – that’s one –two cups of coffee. Too much caffeine actually works in the opposite direction and can slow your metabolism. And forget the supersize “Latte” and any high fat and sweetened beverage as your choice-that will actually reduce your metabolism and cancel any positive effects of the small amount of caffeine.
D. Get more sleep- studies have shown that the less sleep we get, the more calories we consume.
E. Don’t skip breakfast! Eating less frequently and skipping meals may make your body store more fat and slow your metabolism. Experts suggest eating every 3 hours-that may be with a small snack of high quality proteins, nuts, veggies and high in fiber in between your regular meals.
F. Chose high quality proteins, veggies, nuts, fish, spicy and fiber rich foods-these have been shown to increase your metabolism.
G. Make your last meal ( or snack)at least three to four hours before going to bed- we all know that the metabolism slows during sleep-so that digestion will slow down as well. Any foods eaten prior to going to sleep will not be thoroughly digested and will be stored as fat!
H. Try to eat at least one of your meals in the two hour window after exercising – after exercise your metabolism and digestive capacity are accelerated. So foods that are consumed during this period will be digested better. Healthier meal components consumed during this time (e.g. high quality proteins, fiber rich, fruits and veggies, and low in simple carbs and bad fats) will be able to replenish the requirements of the body that were used up during the fitness period. Replacing exercise losses with healthier foods improves your bodies health, adds to fat burning, and weight loss!
I. Visit the fountain of youth and get younger- that’s for a future article! By the way, a map to the fountain of youth is coming soon!

WAYS TO SLOW YOUR METABOLISM

A. Reduce your exercise time-this may seem like a no brainer, but reducing the amount of time you exercise does slow down the metabolism. By reducing the amount of muscle you have, you will also reduce your energy needs and thereby reduce your metabolism.
B. Sleep less- again, those individuals that get less sleep, eat more. Obesity studies have documented that adults and children that get less sleep, consume more calories.
C. Eat more – again, we all have experienced this-if we eat more than our system can process we will gain weight and our metabolism slows.
D. Too much caffeine – what’s too much- well more than two cups of coffee a day may be too much. A small amount of caffeine acts as a positive booster. But if you tip the balance in the other direction, it may reduce the speed at which your metabolic rate works.
E. Eat lots of carbohydrates and bad fats- as opposed to proteins and fiber rich foods which require lots of energy to digest, carbs and fats are digested rather easily and don’t boost the metabolic energy requirements. You all know this for a fact-remember how you feel when you eat a pasta rich meal (that includes potatoes, ice cream, etc.)? Mostly you all will feel bloated immediately afterwards and for days- with added weight gain. It just hangs around.
F. Eat before you go to bed – our metabolism slows down during sleep so that any foods that are eaten before going to sleep will not be burned off adequately and more likely to be stored as fat!

My friends, stay fit and healthy The Nerdel Way!

Remember the following:

1. Always consult your medical provider before starting a nutrition and or fitness program.
2. Avoid nuts if you have are allergic
3. Avoid caffeine if under the age of 16

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