Some people have a hard time keeping up with their diet and weight loss programs due to poor metabolism. Whether it’s inheriting your parents’ slow metabolism or age that keeps you from losing those unwanted pounds, the good news is, you’re not stuck with it.
Based on new research findings, you can actually trick your body into burning calories more efficiently when you go the gym or by doing strength-training for just a couple of times a week. According to Gary Hunter, PhD, a professor of human studies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, doing strength training will help reverse at least 50 percent of the seemingly inevitable metabolism slow-down that comes with age.
When running, swimming, or even walking, you can ramp up the intensity for 30-second intervals, before returning to your normal speed afterward. This strategy helps to consume more oxygen and makes your cell powerhouses, the mitochondria, to work harder in burning energy. Mark Hyman, MD, an integrative and functional medicine specialist in private practice in Lenox, Massachusetts, explains that it increases the number of mitochondria and how efficiently they burn throughout the day.
This means you can still get great results even with less exercise time. Here’s how to do it:
Exercise for 5 minutes at 3.5 mph.
Increase your speed to 4 mph for 60 seconds.
Then go back down to 3.5 mph for 90 seconds.
Repeat the entire sequence 5 times, twice a week.
To get a more challenging workout, increase the incline of your body exercise positions or increase your pace. Muscles weigh more than fat, and make use of more energy as well. The average woman in her 30s will increase her resting metabolism by 100 calories a day if she does strength-trainings 30 to 40 minutes twice a week for four months That means you’re resetting your thermostat to keep running at that rate even on the days when you don’t make it to the gym.
They say that “exercise is a gift that you can offer to yourself that keeps on giving.” Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) is a phenomenon in which your body can take hours to recover from a robust workout, so intense that you can’t hold a conversation, and return to its previous resting metabolic rate. The advantage of this is that your body is actually burning more calories than it normally would, even after you’re done with the exercise. However, people who are in better shape are less likely to benefit because their fit bodies replenish energy efficiently. Walt Thompson, PhD, professor of kinesiology and health and nutrition at Georgia State University suggests that you can improve your burn by increasing how often or how hard you work out (think intervals).
Eating lots of fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids such as salmon, herring, and tuna should be a part of your weight loss diet to help speed up metabolism. Omega-3s have the ability to balance blood sugar, reduce inflammation, and regulate metabolism. They may also reduce resistance to the hormone leptin, which researchers have linked to how fast fat is burned. An obesity research study discovered that rats ingesting large doses of fish oil while exercising lose weight. This is why Hyman recommends omega-3 fatty acid supplements of 1,000 to 2,000 milligrams per day. To avoid fishy after taste, try flaxseed oil, walnuts, or eggs fortified with omega-3s.
By making these energy boosters part of your routine, you can take control of your metabolism and achieve your weight loss goals in no time.
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