10 Steps on Improving Your Metabolism

Get 10 tips on how you can increase your metabolism, naturally. You'll be surprised at how little things can affect your metabolism in a big way.

Are you sluggish and low on energy?

Do you feel like you work and work toward your weight loss goal and never seem to make any dramatic improvement?

You could be suffering from a slow metabolism. Even though you may have a slow metabolism, it does not have to destroy your weight loss efforts. You can dramatically improve your metabolism, and boost your energy levels without taking supplements.

Your metabolism simply refers to the conversion of food to usable energy by the body. It is the biological process, by which energy is extracted from food, and the net result is how fast or slowly the body burns those calories.

A few steps you can take to improve your metabolism naturally are:

Drink Water – Water is great to drink and you should be drinking a minimum of 8 to 10, glasses daily, of course, more is better. It will help increase your metabolism and flush out sodium, toxins, and fat. Drinking water before meals will fill your stomach so you feel full and prevent overeating. Avoid excess colas, coffee, teas, and sugary juices. Caffeine will dehydrate you, and the sugar will do more damage than good in the long-run.
  

 Eat Every Three Hours – Eat a small balanced meal every three hours, including snacks. Meals and snacks should be balanced, meaning they should contain a complete protein, carbohydrates, as well as natural fat. Failure to eat consistently can lead to a slower metabolism and fat storage. Also, skipping meals slows down your metabolism. To ignite fat loss you need to be consuming the right foods in a balanced manner throughout the day.

Don't Skip Breakfast – Breakfast is the most important meal of the day because it gets your metabolism running in high gear. You wouldn't drive your car to work on an empty tank, and you shouldn't start your day without adequate nourishment. Your first meal sets your metabolism for the day and keeps it going, as long as you eat every three hours. If you get up early and eat a late breakfast, you miss out on several hours of burning calories.

Don't Fear Fat – Fat has developed a bad reputation. Many people think fat makes you fat. This is false. The type of fat and how much fat you eat impacts your body fat composition. Fat is needed by the body. Those who follow a very low-fat diet have a harder time ridding their body of fat. Choose natural healthy fats such as olive oil, avocados, various nuts, flax, and natural peanut butter to receive your necessary fats.

Omit Trans Fat – Trans fat is the bad fat, the cause of weight gain, low energy, depression, cancer, and heart disease. You will never get the body you desire by eating "healthy" fast food, frozen dinners, and other processed choices. If it's man-made, it's not the best choice, and will halt fat loss endeavors. Eat the foods Mother Nature has provided to meet your fat loss goals.

Be Active Daily – Stay active at least six days a week. Take the stairs when possible or park further out to get that little bit of extra movement to keep the heart and lungs working optimally. The more movement you get daily, the better you will feel overall.

Do Cardiovascular Exercise – Cardio exercise is necessary for heart and lung health. It also burns calories. Doing cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach can tap into fat stores, and keep your body burning calories at a high rate for about an hour after cardio is finished. If you fail to eat adequately daily, first morning cardio on an empty stomach can work against you. Doing morning cardio on very low calorie diet can burn muscle. Another good time to incorporate cardio is in the evening after your last meal. This allows you to burn calories so you are not sleeping on them. You do not have to implement a morning and evening session, choose one or the other or cycle between the two to prevent staleness and boredom.

HIIT It – Blend some High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) into your cardiovascular program from time to time to give your body and metabolism a good shock. The body is programmed for adaptation. Therefore, doing the same cardio format day in and day out can become stale really fast. Take one or two days a week and implement some HIIT to give the body an added shock.
HIIT is basically alternating low intensity and moderate to high intensity cardio training.  For example, a 20 minute HIIT session would look similar to this:

Minute 1 and 2 – Low Intensity (Walking) Minute 3 and 4 – High Intensity (Light jogging or running) Minute 5 and 6 – Low Intensity Minute 7 and 8 – High Intensity and so on…
Weight Train – Resistance training builds muscle, which is metabolically active tissue. The more muscle you acquire, the faster your metabolism will be.  Adding more lean muscle tissue to your body will put curves in the right places and allow you to eat more calories a day.

Listen to Your Body – Killing yourself with workouts is just as dangerous as not working out at all. Listen to your body and get proper rest. Don't train if you are ill, still sore from the previous workout, or just simply too tired. Training in such a state can cause more problems than it solves.

If any of the above fails to prove results in 4 to 6 weeks, there could be an underlying problem, such as a food allergy, sluggish thyroid, hormonal imbalance, toxins, parasites, etc. If so, I recommend searching for a natural healer in your area to determine the cause. and work from there. For the most part, proper diet, detoxifying, and herbs can correct any ailments.

Damian@FitnHealthy

Drink More Water and Start Losing That Extra Weight

Who hasn't heard the idea that drinking water can contribute to you diminishing your weight? Much more than usual! But is this affirmation true? The answer is yes! When you drink more water, you boost your metabolism, suppress that wild appetite, and clean your organism of waste. At the same time, you stop the body from retaining water and thus lose some extra pounds. How can you make sure you drink the right amount of water (8-10 glasses every day), maintaining yourself hydrated and losing weight? Here are a couple of great tips that will help you out!

Drink before eating

Water suppresses the appetite, so it is an excellent idea to drink it before you eat. As a result, you will feel full faster and eat less. Specialists say that drinking water before eating can reduce the calories intake with 75 calories/meal. Thus if you do this each meal daily for one year, you would cut the calories ingestion by 27,000. According to my math, you would be losing 8 pounds/year only by drinking water.

Drink water instead of calorie drinks

Forget all about sodas or juices, and drink water instead. Add a bit of lemon if you think this is too boring for you. You know for sure that a glass of water with a bit of lemon in it can really contribute to you losing weight and cut your food cravings. Don't believe it? Why don't you just start drinking water and convince yourself of the result?

Drink it cold

When you drink cold water, you boost your metabolism by forcing your body to work more in order to warm the water. This will also burn down calories and help you lose weight. Not to mention that cold water tastes better than normal temperature water.

Go to the gym

When you drink water, you prevent the muscles from cramping and you maintain your joints lubricated. This means that you can work out for a longer period of time. The key is to remain hydrated and those extra pounds will disappear quickly.

Get enough

The best trick when it comes to drinking water is to follow a rule called "8x8". Most nutritionists recommend it. You have to drink 8 glasses of 8 ounces with water daily. This will help you lose weight and keep your ideal figure. Keep in mind that you if exercise more, you will sweat more. This requires more water intake, or the same amount of water but completed with other type of drinks, like herbal teas.

What's the best way to know if you receive sufficient water? A good, but somehow weird rule, is to verify the toilet before going to the bathroom. When you are properly hydrated your urine gets light yellow and clear in color. If case your urine is dark, then you will know that you need to drink more water. Remember: drink water if you want to remain healthy and lose weight!

Source Karina Popa/ Ezine

The Right Running Hydration Gear Makes All the Difference In Your Hydrating Needs

Whether you’re a leisure jogger, or you plan on entering the next marathon, having the right running hydration gear can make a difference in your approach to the final destination you seek to achieve!

Hydration gear is starting to be an integral part of the athletes training as a runner, and when the runner’s limits are being pushed further and further to achieve certain personal goals your body needs the right equipment to seriously keep you fully hydrated throughout the day.

Unlike hikers and trekkers, individuals that take long runs or have intensive training programs not only need to replenish their body with cool fresh water, but they need the proper hydration gear that is lightweight and is convenient for them.

You may be able to wear a backpack style hydration system, but it may wind up too bulky, and for longer running programs, you may get very hot and sticky, which eventually will make you feel extremely uncomfortable.


Your Hydration System Should Be Designed For Performance And Convenience!

Running products on the market today are made to be extremely lightweight and have high-tech components that allow for proper airflow and evaporation. It should be no different when you search for quality running packs, and the more features you can find on a pack to help eliminate moisture, provide stability, and have proper design for your convenience, the better chance you will be happy with that product for many years of running.

Now whether you’re searching the local running stores, or online, the best way to find out exactly what will work best for your needs is to compare the level of running and time you spend and measure it up to some of the current pack systems available. The last thing you want to do is spend money on an inferior water pack that will not fit your overall requirements.

The next thing you will want to determine is what you’re more accustomed to using, because you may prefer bottle style packs over the bladder with the water tube style. Even though technology is advanced, you may be more comfortable using the older technology such as the basic water bottle.


Don’t Buy Water Products That Have All The Bells And Whistles If They’re Not Needed!

You want to make sure that you purchase the water hydration product that suits your style of running. If you decide to go with the super advanced system and it winds up not fitting your running style, you will waste your money and more than likely not use the pack because of the extra features getting in your way.

When you come to the hydration pack section, or the website that lists all the running packs, the first thing you should do to determine which one is right for you is see how much water capacity the bladder holds, or how many water bottles they carry.

Once you find the one with the exact ounce capacity that you require during your run, the next step is to make a list of items you need to carry on you during your run. This is an important question to ask, because there is a big difference between what you need to carry with you, and what you’d like to take with you.

I’m sure you would like to carry your Mini-Pinscher in your pack, but do you need to? On the other hand you may need to carry extra energy bars, dry clothing, and necessary running accessories. When you have this information readily available, it will help determine the exact size pack needed.

When running, whether it is on flat surfaces or uneven mountain trails, comfort will be a crucial part of your running packs features. Many overlook this and of course the more expensive systems have more comfort features available, however, it will come down to the level you run, and how much comfort you really need.

Many specific hydration designed running packs are produced with stable ergonomic features and are very well insulated to keep your water fresh and cool, plus they provide quality adjustable straps for complete comfort. If you decide to spend a little more money, you can get additional valuable running features such the lumbar attachment to prevent bouncing that can be very annoying to joggers, and also reflective belts for additional safety, as well as unique pockets for your pedometer, and other necessary jogging items.

I wish you all the best in finding the right hydration system, and if this summer is going to be an extremely hot one this year, keeping your body fully hydrated during an intensive run is even that much more important to you!

Brigi G by Fit 4 Health

5 Healthy Habits of Successful People

The human body is an amazing creation that functions best under a variety of particular conditions. Fitness professionals primarily focus on the specific design of exercise programs, assessments and the development of clients’ fitness levels. While a well-designed exercise program is an essential component of a healthy lifestyle, there are a number of other important health behaviors that greatly contribute to optimal functioning of the human body.
Actively incorporating a variety of healthy habits—in addition to exercising—promotes greater success and improvement in our clients’ overall physical fitness and performance levels. Furthermore, physical gains may be more significant and sustainable when more complete healthful conditions are provided for the human body to flourish.

Here are five crucial healthy habits every fitness professional should actively promote as part of a clients’ fitness program:
1. Sleep at least seven to eight hours per night.

Adults need to sleep seven to eight hours per night for the brain to recharge and cells to repair themselves, and for the body to release vital hormones. Without enough sleep, we can experience a number of consequences, including physical, mental and emotional issues. The human body is unable to perform to the best of its ability when proper rest is not taken on a daily basis.
For more information on sleep, check out my “Everything You Need to Know About Rest” article.

2. Drink at least nine to 13 cups of water per day.

The human body is more than 60 percent water, which plays a vital role in a variety of functions including digestion, absorption of food and chemical reactions. Water is the major transporter of nutrients and it helps regulate body temperature, lubricates joints and assists with getting rid of waste products. Women should consume at least 9 cups (2.2 liters) of fluid per day and men should drink at least 13 cups (3 liters) of fluid per day. When exercising, your clients should consume one cup of water every 20 minutes to stay well hydrated throughout the workout. Without proper hydration, the human body cannot perform to its fullest potential during and outside of workouts.

3. Eat at least three to five servings of fruits and vegetables per day.

Fruits and vegetables are filled with  fiber, vitamins and minerals. In the United States, many adults do not consume the minimum recommended amount of fruits and vegetables, depriving themselves of the essential nutrients the body needs to perform well. Fiber assists with healthy digestion, vitamins help promote and regulate chemical processes, and minerals contribute to the regulation, growth and maintenance of body tissues and cells. Urge your clients to include a variety of fruits and vegetables in every meal throughout the day.

4. Abstain from harmful substances. 
Smoking and using drugs, and the consumption of alcohol, caffeine and sodas all can have detrimental and harmful effects on the body. While some argue that everything in moderation is just fine, here are two questions worth asking:
1. Could the human body perform better during fitness sessions and throughout the day if harmful substances were completely avoided?
2. Do the benefits of using or consuming harmful substances outweigh the costs?
Try answering these questions with your clients, writing down the benefits and consequence of drinking alcohol or caffeinated beverages, for example. Then evaluate whether the choice to drink these beverages actually helps one to be more successful and productive, and to experience optimal functioning in relation to physical fitness.

5. Sit less and move more.

Modern conveniences and the design of our environments have highly contributed to a much more sedentary lifestyle for most Americans. Encourage clients to intentionally incorporate more physical activity into daily living. Energy levels and stamina are automatically increased when one sits less and moves more, even at low-intensity levels. Urge your clients to aim for a minimum of 10,000 steps taken throughout the day, outside of their structured fitness/exercise session. Steps can be tracked by an inexpensive pedometer or one of many free apps currently available. Physical fitness success rates will greatly depend on overall physical activity levels.

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