For many of us, information concerning metabolism has related in one way or another to eating, in that we are told of metabolism-friendly foods, or metabolism unfriendly foods.
But really, while we may be basically aware that, all else being equal, a stalk of celery is better for your metabolism than fries with gravy, our understanding of diet and metabolism is actually pretty low.
To help overcome this, here are some powerful and scientific diet-related tips that will boost your metabolism. Indeed, as you will soon learn, it’s not just the case of what you eat that matters; it is when, and how, too.
So calories – yes, the word calorie has a bad rap. We frequently come across low calorie or calorie reduced foods. And it is not uncommon to overhear someone gasp about the immense calorie content of certain foods, such as a rich and creamy desert, or a giant fast food burger.
All of this anti-calorie rhetoric has therefore made a lot of us pretty calorie-phobic; as soon as we see something that has lots of them, we run away. But is this wise?
Well, yes and no. Yes, it is wise in the sense that avoiding that double-layer chocolate fudge cake for dessert may be a good idea. The calories that come from the cake are really going to be the so-called empty calorie kind; which means there is no real nutritional value that your body can squeeze out and make use of.
But in the bigger picture, it is definitely unwise for your metabolism to become calorie-avoidant.
Why? Because your body is a marvelous machine that tries, at all times, to do what it can to make your life easier. Indeed, even when is does not function at optimal levels (for a variety of reasons, including genetics), it still tries to do its very best. The body, for all of its limitations, is not lazy!
The body is always trying to keep us alive and functioning in the manner that it deems to be healthiest, so that is why if you suddenly decrease the amount of calories you need, your body will not try to do more with less. In other words, your body will not respond in the way that you want it to, it will not necessarily provoke catabolism and thus reduce weight and fat cells.
To the contrary, your smart and wise body will try to keep you alive by slowing down its metabolism. Whether you are genuinely trapped somewhere without food, or are deliberately slashing your calories, to your body the circumstances are irrelevant – it will simply believe something is wrong and become very stingy with energy.
The end result? If your body needs 2000 calories a day to survive, and you suddenly slash it to only 1000, it will not begin to burn off 1000 calories worth of cells that you have lying around on your love handles. Instead, your body will slow down its metabolism. It will really try to squeeze as much energy out of those 1000 calories, because it does not want to waste anything.
Physically, you will naturally feel more tired because your body is being very miserly with energy, and will devote its 1000-calorie ration to essential systems, like blood and oxygen supply (and others). Slash your calories and the bottom line is, metabolically, you will not be burning off extra calories. In fact, you can actually gain weight by dramatically reducing your calorie intake!
The flipside to this is of course, that you should consume a daily caloric intake that is proportionate to your body size, type, and weight loss goals. Once you have got an idea on the amount of calories that you need you can provide them to your body via healthy, efficient calories.
For instance, if your body needs 1500 calories per day, and one slice of double-fudge chocolate cake delivers a whopping 500 of those, then obviously, eating just one of these slices will take up a full 1/3rd of your daily caloric needs and worse still, they are empty calories, which means you are going to be very tired and lethargic.
On the other hand, drinking a tasty fruit smoothie made with yogurt and nuts can deliver half as many calories, and provide you with essential nutrients, vitamins, and other elements that your body needs.
So, the healthy way to lose weight is not by slashing your calorie intake; and if you are looking for easy ways to lose weight, banishing all the bad calories you enjoy in your diet is certainly not the answer either. But if you understand where good and bad calories come from, and ration the bad rather than the number of calories in themselves, you will find that boosting your calories really can boost your metabolism, and it is a whole lot easier than you might think!
Until next time, CLICK HERE and find out how you can boost your metabolism without going hungry!
Sandra
Sunday, 19 September 2010
Boost Your Calories to Boost Your Metabolism
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