It is easy to see how diets wreck our metabolism. Any diet that tries to cut back drastically on anything from calories to carbs is doomed from the start because it doesn’t work with how the human body works. It seems logical: eat less, burn more, lose weight, but the only true way to lose weight is to burn more calories per day than we eat. Our body’s natural instinct isn’t to keep reviving your metabolism once your food intake goes down because not long after you start depriving your body, it is going to lower your metabolism to match the food coming in. This explains why we are successful the first few weeks of a diet and then even though you continue to stick to the diet, the weight loss stops and although you eat like a bird, no more is lost. In fact, when your body consumes less than 1200 calories per day, it actually goes into starvation mode and begins to store fat and your body draws energy from that and from your muscles which in turn causes you to lose muscle.
When you go on a diet, you have to go off it and the more you go on and off, the more confused your metabolism becomes. The key is to fix our metabolism and make lifetime changes that we can live with forever, not temporary ones. Temporary diet = temporary loss.
The good news is that there are plenty of things you can do to fix your metabolism. After over 30 years of messing mine up, I was able to get mine working well in 5 months and high functioning in about 18 months. Here are 5 ways to boost that metabolism:
1. EXERCISE. Find your heart rate target and keep your heart rate there for at least 30 minutes, 3 times a week in order to burn the most calories. Here is an online calculator to figure your target heart rate zone. http://exercise.about.com/cs/fitnesstools/l/bl_THR.htm
2. EAT BREAKFAST Our metabolism is like a fire. At the end of the day, it slowly dies down to a slow burn. By the time you wake up in the morning, there is nothing left but a small spark. You must throw fuel on that spark to get the metabolism burning strong again. Within 30 minutes of waking, it is important to eat, otherwise your spark will go completely out and everything you eat will not burn efficiently at all. A good sign that your metabolism is high functioning is that you feel very hungry when you first wake up. You may have to force a few bites of food in the beginning to retrain your metabolism, but eventually, your body will become hungry.
3. DRINK WATER. Our bodies are made up of 70% water. We all know how important water is. In order to keep your body from retaining water and to flush out toxins, you must drink half your body weight in ounces of water each day.
4. SLEEP WELL. Studies show that people who do not get enough sleep, gain weight. Rest is vital to restoring your metabolism and you need 8 hours a day!
5. STAY ACTIVE beyond your daily exercise regime. You can burn an extra 350 calories a day by doing this; Take the stairs, park far from the store, walk and move as much as you can.
Krista Johnson is the owner of Fit By Faith Fitness Center which was established in October of 2006. She is the mother of 4 children ages 18, 13, 10 and 6 and has a passion for helping others get in shape from the inside out. Krista is a walking testimony having lost over 100lbs and has successfully kept it off . During her weight loss, she had a vision of creating Fit By Faith. She believed she was to change the atmosphere of the gym and create a different environment for people to work out in. Krista is a former High School Theater Arts teacher and is currently attending college to obtain her B.A in Sports Medicine. She holds certifications as Personal Trainer with the International Sports Science Association Tae Bo® fitness instructor (Certified by the creator Billy Blanks) Group Fitness Instructor for Adults, Children and Seniors SilverSneakers® Muscle Strength & Range of Motion for Seniors Black Belt 1st Dan in the art of Tae Bo Kwon. She maintains her certifications annually through continuing education classes and training camps and requires all her instructors at Fit By Faith to do the same. She also competes in races and other competitions regularly. Krista has appeared in 3 Tae Bo® infomercials on national TV Shape, Collage Video, Looking Good Now and Christian Living Magazines Several times in the Brownwood Bulletin Newspaper. She has also been featured on several websites such as The Fitness Zone, The Biggest Loser, ivillage as well as the Billy Blanks Website. Krista has been a motivational speaker at many churches and radio stations. Krista and her husband John, who is co-owner of Fit By Faith, both have hearts to help others to feel good, to be healthy and strive everyday to serve more people in this manner
