Speed Up Your Metabolism and Burn More Fat

People with a lower percentage of body fat have a higher metabolism than those who are less muscular because muscle uses more calories to maintain itself. A slow metabolism actually causes you to store fat. Use these tips to speed up your metabolism, burn more fat and lose more weight:

Some Things That Slow Your Metabolism

1. Fasting. It causes your body to switch to survival mode and store fat.
2. A diet that is too low-calorie. See number 1.
3. Snacking throughout the day on high sugared foods (such as candy and sodas).
4. Drinking too many sugary drinks.
5. A lack of physical activity (cardio and weight training).
6. You have an underactive thyroid.

Some Things That Speed Up Your Metabolism

1. Do not skip meals (eat 4 to 6 small meals a day).
2. Regular exercise (cardio 5-6 days/weight training 3 days).
3. Build more muscle.
4. Avoid too much alcohol and sugar.
5. Drink 8-10 glasses (8 oz.) of water daily.
6. Eat foods with high nutritional values (such as fiber).

Other Facts About The Body's Metabolism

Fact #1 A slow or sluggish metabolism is not the major cause of weight gain.

A caloric imbalance is the cause of weight gain (taking in more calories than you burn in a day). If you have a slow or sluggish metabolism? A brisk 30 minute walk each day would get you started in the right direction to speed it up.

Fact #2 Lifting weights (or other resistance exercises) and cardio exercise will give you a higher metabolic rate.

Most aerobic exercises give you a calorie afterburn of 10% to 15% of calories used during a workout. So, if you burned 300 calories in a cardio session, you'll burn an additional 30 to 45 calories over several hours. You should do at least 30 minutes of cardio 5-6 times per week (with intensity at least 60% to 70% of your maximum heart rate). Combine your cardio with weight/resistance training (at least 3days a week) and it will speed up your metabolism even more because muscle increases your body's capacity to burn calories during and after exercise.

Fact #3 Sweating is not a gauge of how many calories you are burning.

Weight loss or gain is a product of calories consumed or burned. If you burn more calories than you consume, you will lose weight and vice-versa.

Fact #4 The best time to exercise is whenever you have the most energy.

Working out at any time of the day will increase metabolism for several hours, depending on intensity.

Fact #5 Your metabolism doesn't necessarily have to slow down as you get older.

Your metabolism may get sluggish because of fat gain and lost muscle mass. The easiest way to keep a healthy metabolic rate for life is to engage in consistent exercise.

Now, go speed up your metabolism!

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