Recently in metabolism Category

We hear a lot about metabolism-and often blame our "slow metabolism" for our inability to keep our weight under control. But what is metabolism, exactly? And is there anything we can do to boost our metabolic rate?

Metabolism basically refers to all the chemical processes that take place in the body in order to sustain life-allowing you to breathe, pump blood, keep your brain functioning and extract energy from your food. When you hear the term metabolic rate-more accurately called basal (or resting) metabolic rate-that refers to the number of calories your body at rest uses each day, just to keep all your vital organs functioning. You burn additional calories through your daily activities and formal exercise, but by far, the majority of the calories that you burn each day are your basal calories.

Keep your metabolism revved with these tips:

• Engage in 30 minutes of activity every day to help minimize weight gain and to boost metabolic rate.
• Tone your muscles by weight training three days a week.
• Start small-try walking with one- to two-pound weights.
• Do not eat fewer than 1,200 calories a day. Eating too little may slow your metabolism.
• Never skip breakfast. It may slow down your metabolism.
• Have a supply of protein-powered healthy snacks on hand as an alternative to carb-loaded junk food.

Your muscle mass works like a furnace, burning calories and stored fat for energy. The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism, the faster you burn calories. Eating plenty of protein daily is essential to maintaining your muscle mass for good health, energy and effective weight management.

More details on How to boost your metabolism?.

Breaking the Fast with a Proper Breakfast: Better energy, weight and cholesterol

It's 8 p.m. The kids are in bed. You're eating a bowl of ice cream and surfing the internet. It's 11 p.m. You fall asleep. At 7 a.m. the alarm rings. You get up, shower, dress, wake the kids, dress them and, by 8:30, you're out the door. By 9 a.m. you are at the office and getting prepared for your weekly staff meeting. What's wrong with this scenario?

For 13 hours, your body has been fasting. How can you expect to run efficiently throughout the day if you haven't fueled up? When you go without eating for an extended period of time, the brain reacts by sending signals to the body that you are "starving" - the metabolism slows to conserve energy.

When you finally eat again, the body thinks it needs to reserve energy in preparation for more food deprivation. Therefore it stores calories in the form of fat. So, not eating can actually lead to weight gain. Some people think that they actually eat more on the days that they consume a morning meal, than on days that they don't eat. Recent research debunks this belief. The study examined how eating and then skipping breakfast altered the participants' daily caloric intake. During the two-week interval when participants skipped breakfast, they consumed 100 more calories than during the two weeks when they ate breakfast. Studies have also shown that people who eat breakfast:

Are less likely to be overweight
Eat less fat and cholesterol
Have more energy and better concentration throughout the day
Have healthier cholesterol levels
To keep you fuller longer, your morning meal should provide a combo of carbohydrate, protein and fat. Also, aim for at least 5 grams of fiber. Dodge the doughnuts, croissants and high-sugar cereals, which provide little nutritional benefit. Although your body physically needs calories, optimizing the health impact of the calories you eat will have a positive result on your health, energy and weight goals.

Soy Protein For Breakfast

Ways to Increase Your Metabolism

With the holidays right around the corner, people are gearing up for one last battle of the bulge before “goodie season” settles in. But fasting, living on lettuce leaves, or excluding entire food groups won't cut it in the long run, because it's just too hard. And the slowed metabolism, bingeing, and self-recrimination that follow can make a weight problem even worse. Losing weight and shaping up for good depends on making some serious (but not unpleasant!) lifestyle changes: