One of the biggest questions that I am often asked is “How can I increase my metabolism?” Metabolism is the overall process of taking the calories we ingest and burning those calories for energy for all our body systems.
The “metabolism” dilemma is one that usually deals with weight loss, or with someone that continues to gain weight without knowing why. If a physician has ruled out a thyroid problem, we need to honestly evaluate calorie intake and energy output. Keeping ourselves fi t and lean is essential to our heart health.
1. What type of calories are we eating? A diet that has low to moderate amounts of healthy fats (more Omega-3s), appropriate amounts of complex carbohydrates (fruits, veggies, legumes, whole grains) and lean protein will naturally be lower in calories than a high fat diet. Keeping a log of what we eat will help us honestly assess our calorie intake.
2. How much are we eating? Eating healthy sized portions at numerous meals during the day will help keep our metabolism working eff iciently all day long. Eating too little can cause our body to slow our metabolism.
3. What is my exercise routine? In order to actually have a tangible increase in metabolism, we must increase our lean muscle mass by incorporating more activity into our daily activities, both cardio and strength training. Strength training, especially when done in quick intervals, can be heart healthy and also increase our lean muscle mass.
Having more lean muscle mass will actually increase our basal rate (the metabolic rate of our body when we are generally still). Proper technique is essential for strength training, so seek qualified instruction if you do not have experience with this type of exercise.
These things will help us achieve a Heart Healthy Metabolism that will be beneficial every day.
