Don't let dieting get you down
We all know the feeling. You are in a lovely restaurant tucking in to your teeny tiny salad, trying desperately to keep to that diet you promised yourself you would stick to this time round and then you turn around to see your gorgeous and slim friend stuffing a huge greasy pizza into her mouth! “I have a fast metabolism” she pipes up. Life is so unfair!
Some people just have it all don’t they, they can simply eat whatever they desire without ever feeling the panic setting in when you just can’t get that zip up on those new jeans!
Metabolism is the way in which your body uses the calories from the food you eat and turns them into energy. Having a speedy metabolic rate simply means that you use up these calories at a faster speed than maybe the average person.
Although some people do seem to just be born with it there are ways that we can all speed up our metabolism. Diets will only get you so far, if you suddenly drop your calorie intake to under 1,000 calories a day you metabolism will actually slow down, subtle changes to your lifestyle will in the long run prove much more effective.
Follow our top tips to speeding up your metabolism and you may just turn into that lean mean fat burning machine you had always dreamed of.
1. Eat little and often: Rather than eating two large meals at lunch and dinner, eat small, regular meals throughout the day. Eating 5 or 6 mini-meals will ensure that you’re body is using up more energy to digest the food and therefore your metabolic rate is working faster.
2. Grab a green tea: Being English we all love a good old fashioned cuppa, but why not occasionally swap it for green tea which is thought to contain antioxidants that will speed up your metabolism.
3. Get moving: Being more active in your daily routine is a sure fire way to burn those calories. Aim for about 30 minutes of physical activity every day, it doesn’t even have to be strenuous, simply cleaning the house, or walking to work will still have an effect.
4. Pump that iron: The more muscle you have the faster your metabolic rate will be. This is because even when you are resting muscle tissue will be using energy whereas fat won’t be.
5. Eat proteins and good carbs: It is not often you are told eating carbs will make you lose weight, but they are your main source of energy so will give you the get up and go to actually start burning more calories. wholemeal bread, vegetables and fruit are all good fuel sources. Protein has the highest thermic effect of any food which means that your body burns of its own calories when you digest food. Lean proteins such as chicken and turkey also will enable you to build more muscle.
6. Beauty Sleep: Not getting your full eight hours kip every night could prove detrimental, a lack of sleep is thought to increase hunger and decrease your metabolic rate. So remember this next time you get home at 3am!
It's a cliche but it's true; beauty IS in the eye of the beholder.
But there's always room for improvement!
Your health, and that of your family, is the most important thing in the world. Being healthy means saying yes to feeling good.