Snack on Peanut Butter to Give Your Metabolism a Lift

Want a great snack that can boost your metabolism, help you lose weight, eradicate hunger and keep you full until dinnertime? Try peanut butter.

Peanut Butter is high in the good fats and protein that will chase away those hunger pangs while working to burn extra calories and melt stomach fat by giving your metabolism a lift.

All peanut butters are not created equal. Some peanut butters contain extra oils and added sugars. Your best peanut butter bet is freshly ground butter from the natural food store. You can even grind your own peanut butter at home in your food processor. Not a peanut butter fan? Try making your own nut butters out of almonds or cashews for a delicious change of pace.

To get the most benefits from your snack, try dipping apple slices into a tablespoon or two of nut butter. This fiber-filled snack will keep you fill you up without filling you out.

Ready to Lose Weight? Take A Deep Breath

What is the easiest thing you can do to boost your metabolism, burn more calories and lose weight? Breathe deeply.

Taking time to stop and take a deep breath can do wonders for your waist line and your state of mind. Deep breathing cleans toxins out of your system, increases your circulation, calms your mind and helps you focus. Breathing deeply is also an aerobic activity that actually burns calories.

Typically, we tend to take shallow breaths, using just the top part of our lungs. This creates a back-up of carbon dioxide and slows metabolism. But spending just 10 minutes a day focusing on deep breathing brings more oxygen into your system, making you more alert and speeding your metabolism.

To get the most out of your breath, sit or stand up straight and put your hand on your stomach. As you breathe in deeply, your shoulders should be still, but your hand should move as your diaphragm fills your lungs. Now you are using your lungs to capacity, taking in oxygen and burning calories with every breath.

Drink Up to Lose Weight

Drink More Water

We’ve all heard that we should drink plenty of water. The benefits are well known. Water removes toxins from your system by flushing out all the bad stuff, it keeps our muscles hydrated and supple and improves skin tone and elasticity. But did you know that water helps your body burn calories?  Even at low levels of dehydration, your metabolism slows down and uses fewer calories. Studies have shown that people who drink eight or more glasses of water every day burn far more calories than those who drank four or less glasses per day.

Water also helps you lose weight by controlling your hunger and filling you up. Try drinking a glass of water or iced tea 10 minutes before every meal or snack. You’ll eat less and consume fewer calories, both which will help your weight loss efforts.

Drink To Your Health!

Try Toning to Firm Up and Lose Weight

Are you a cardio junkie? Many women are - spending all their time at the gym on the Stairmaster or elliptical machines. While cardio is a great way to burn calories and stay fit, don’t skip the toning.

Adding a day of toning to your exercise routine is a great way to slim down, increase lean muscle mass and sculpt your body. What’s more, toning burns calories, increasing the effectiveness of your regular cardio workouts.

Toning helps you slim down because it increases your metabolism. When you add lean muscle, you’re adding more calorie burning power, making it easier to keep weight off. Toning also helps to rebuild bone mass, preventing osteoporosis and weakening bones as you age. Add in a boost to your immunity, more energy, lowered risk of injury and a great body image and the benefits of toning are hard to top.

So add a day or two of toning to your workouts. You’ll love your firm, sculpted body and the health benefits go far beyond skin deep.

Using Your Metabolism to Lose Weight

Are you trying to lose weight, but it feels like your body is fighting you every step of the way? It’s frustrating when you get off to a great start, losing a few pounds, but then you hit a plateau. Even if you keep doing all the “right” things - cutting calories and exercising, sometimes your body just won’t cooperate.

Maybe the problem is your metabolism.

Your metabolism is the engine that keeps your body going and depending on how it’s running, it’s either burning calories and fat or storing them for later use. Knowing how to keep your metabolism in fat burning mode is the key to weight loss.

When most people start a new diet program, they drastically cut back on the calories they take in. This does  results in weight loss, but your metabolism quickly adapts, burning fewer calories as it tries to save up for the lean times to come. This is why you plateau.

Don’t cut too many calories. Eating less than 1200 calories a day puts your body into starvation mode and shuts your metabolism down. Keep your metabolism running high by eating 5 or 6 small meals a day. This will burn the maximum calories and fat, resulting in a new and slimmer you!

Foods that Boost Metabolism

Trying to drop a few pounds? Try these nutritious foods for a slimmer you.

Your body works hard to digest the food you eat and just knowing which foods to feed it can help it work a little bit harder, burning even more calories.

Your body digests carbohydrates easily and eating too many starchy foods can result in stored fat and tighter jeans. But when you eat protein and fat, your body has to work nearly 30% harder to digest them, resulting in more calories burned and a metabolism that’s running on high for the next 2-3 hours.

Your best bet is to indulge in foods that are high in both protein and fiber. This combination gives your body what it needs to perform well and keeps your metabolism high. Have a handful of nuts as a snack and try rice and beans or lentils for supper.

Also, when you eat matters. Try to consume most of your calories before 5:00 pm. Eating the majority of your calories while you are active and your metabolism is running at its peak will burn far more calories than food eaten right before bedtime, which is mostly stored as fat.

Cashews, anyone?

Use Exercise to Pump Up Your Metabolism

Want To Give Your Metabolism an Early Morning Lift? Exercise!

Nothing gets your metabolism up and running like exercise, and doing it first thing in the morning gives your metabolism a boost that lasts all day, maximizing your fat burning potential. Exercise burns calories and increases muscle tissue that continues to work hard to keep you lean, even while you sleep.

To burn calories, the best workout is aerobic exercise, like walking, swimming, stair climbing or cycling. In addition to the calories you burn during your workout, your metabolism stays pumped for 6-8 hours, burning calories long after you’ve put away your gym shoes.

Consider adding a day or two of toning to your fitness regiment. Toning not only burns calories, but it increases muscle mass to keep you looking your best - fit and lean.

Get Moving!