Release the inner sexy you! 10 ways to supercharge your metabolism!

By: tmhogirl (12 December 2008)

You have had that awful moment of finding out that your favourite work trousers no longer fit. Actually in your case, quite a few of those moments. You now secretly wear that free flowing trouser that you wouldn't have been seen dead in a year ago. Hello, fitted trousers are for wimps. You tell everyone who will listen that you wear a size 14 jeans, but of course what you conveniently fail to mention is that it is actually a US size 14, which makes it a UK size 18. You also hide that minor fact that the much coveted jeans are maternity style jeans with the elasticated band discreetly hidden by that long top chosen in the mistaken belief that if it covers your ass, no one will notice how fat you really are.

Richard, your friend Lisa's brother who you had a massive crush on eight years ago whilst crushing his third can of beer, and stuffing his face with the biggest sandwich you've ever seen, has just told you that you need to lose a bit of weight. You smile at him through gritted teeth, and politely tell him that you're trying to. He raises his eye brow in disbelief and tells you to do something as you have a pretty face. You flash him a fake smile and wonder what you ever saw in him when he's obviously such a jerk. He has a funny nose and is not the handsome man who you always thought he was.

You want to get a tattoo on your forehead that says, "Fuck off, I know I'm fat, and I'm trying my best to lose weight."

And of course you are trying your best but the pounds are just not budging after that first thrilling 5 pounds loss. Your friend Lisa like so many of your friends, is a stick insect. She never exercises and stuffs her face with the biggest pile of junk ever. A few years ago, you consoled yourself that she would balloon once she had children. Two effortless pregnancies later, she is still a glamorous size 8. But of course you are enjoying your young, free and single life. Boyfriends are so totally last season.

Compared to Lisa and all your friends, you are the healthiest one of all your friends. You are not being paranoid but you firmly believe that they think you secretly binge on pizzas and chocolate every night whilst pretending to be totally healthy. This is of course not true as you are meticulously measuring and counting calories, carbohydrates, fats, or any type of diet you are on this bout of dieting. Although your body is doing its best to disguise this fact, but you always go to the gym three or four times a week, without fail.

Don't despair, help is on its way from someone who knows exactly how you feel!

10 simple ways to supercharge your metabolism!

Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the rate at which your body burns calories whilst you are at rest, that is not exercising or some other activity intended to burn more calories. It is the calories which your body needs to burn to perform its 'normal' functions such as digestion, breathing, etc. Your BMR accounts for about two thirds of your daily calorie expenditure.

It therefore follows that if you can burn more calories whilst resting, you will be able to lose more weight.

If you are avoiding junk food and excessive alcohol, eating healthily, exercising regularly, and still not losing weight, the following tips may help you increase your BMR. You may also wish to visit your doctor to ensure that you haven't got problems with your thyroid or illness such as Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) which may result in slowed rate of weight loss, or even weight gain.

1. Drink more of that magical liquid, water.

You should aim to drink at least eight glasses or two litres of water daily. If you are overweight, you should drink an additional glass of water for every 25 pound of excess weight. You should also drink more when your exercise and if you live in a hot country.

The human body is made up of about 75% of water, and a regular supply of fresh water is needed to help our bodies function effectively. Water is also essential for the proper functioning of the liver and kidney, two key organs essential for fat metabolic and the elimination of toxins.

Drinking water is also helpful in keeping hunger at bay as thirst is often mistaken by the brain as hunger.

As with all good things, moderation is key. Do not overdo it, as drinking too much water is potentially very serious and could even be fatal.

Top tips for drinking water: Allow your body time to adjust to being hydrated. Once this happens, the regular trips to the toilet will stop! Have a bottle of water with you and get into the habit of sipping regularly. Do not wait until you are thirsty to drink water, as if you feel thirsty, your body is already dehydrated. I find it easier to drink water at room temperature, but if cold water is your preference, go for it. Your body will burn even more calories converting cold water to room temperature.

2. Eat breakfast.

It sounds obvious but think about the word breakfast for a minute, breaking the fast. Your body has been starved for eight or more hours from the time you have dinner to the time you wake up in the morning. Breakfast is your first opportunity to nurture and to send an important signal to your body that it is not being starved. You also rev up your metabolism by having breakfast.

3. Eat more frequently, especially protein

Never eat less than 1200 calories a day. Your body needs food to maintain proper metabolism. If your body thinks it is being starved, it will start hoarding fat as storage for the impending starvation period. This not only sabotages your weight loss regime, but also means that any weight loss on a starvation diet could be water and muscle loss. In the long run, loss of lean muscles slows down your metabolism.

Eat small meals or healthy snacks such as fruits, natural nuts, eggs, chicken every three to four hours, and never go more than six hours without eating. By eating regularly, your metabolism is given the boost it needs. In addition, eating protein helps you lose weight by aiding fat burning, and helping with muscle building. It takes more calories to maintain the normal functioning of muscles, than fat, which helps you to lose even more weight!

4. Increase your fibre intake and eat more dark green vegetables

Fibrous foods are great for the digestive system and also help to quench hunger pangs by keeping you full for a longer period of time. They also help to keep the blood sugar level which in turn, helps stop cravings for quick fixes such as sweets, cakes, chocolates, which are low in nutrients and high in calories and bad fat.

5. Reduce your alcohol consumption

Losing weight is about making sustainable life-long changes so I'm not suggesting that you give up alcohol completely. In fact, I treat myself to a glass of red wine now and again. Red wine is full of antioxidants including resveratrol, a polyphenol that has even been found to limit the growth of cancer cells. However, avoid binge drinking and excessive consumption of alcohol. Alcohol not only decreases your metabolism, it also inhibits your body's ability to burn fat. Furthermore, alcohol weakens your inhibitions and resolve, and will make you more susceptible to temptation!

6. Try green tea

Drinking green tea alone will not make you slim. Sorry, no quick fixes here. Green tea has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for over 4000 years and has been shown to help with metabolism and fat oxidation. Green tea also contains important antioxidants which in addition to numerous benefits, help inhibit the growth of cancer cells, reduce cholesterol levels, and even improve the immune system.

7. Exercise regularly

You should aim to exercise three to four times a week, for at least 45 minutes. The human body is designed for movement. I am a firm believer in the hunter gatherer way of living (via Waitrose!), which involves physical activity, and food primarily made up of nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables, protein and complex carbohydrates. Exercise is not only good for vital organs such as the heart and lungs, but it helps in boosting your metabolism. Not only do you burn more calories during your work-out, but you will get an added boost following exercise as your metabolism is increased, and you will burn more calories whilst at rest.

You are never too fat to join a gym. Forget the myth that everyone will be looking at your fat arse, and if they do look, at least you are doing something positive about it! I have been to gyms at my heaviest weights and people are usually friendly, supportive and more concerned with their own work-out than what anyone else is doing.

You do not need an expensive gym membership to get adequate exercise. The best kind of sustainable exercise is finding something you will enjoy like dancing to your favourite music, be a hip hop queen for a day, or disco diva! Why not go for a half hour brisk walk, once or twice a day, and with time, increase your walking distance, try a light jog?

Make your exercise fun by making it a "me" time. Listen to all your favourite music on your i-pod whilst exercising. Invest in a polar counter to track the number of calories or fat burnt during your work-out. Get a step counter, and compete with your friends and family for the biggest step every week.

8. Include strength training exercises as part of your work out

Any exercise is great as a way of increasing your metabolism but it is time to stop treating weight or strength training as the ugly sister or second class citizen. Weight training should be an important part of any exercise regime as it helps to build lean muscles which in turn aids in burning even more calories, even whilst sleeping! Forget the exercise myth that strength training is for men and women would gain heavy muscles if they do weight training! The constitution of a woman's body will not allow this to happen. For women, weight training for 15 to 30 minutes during your exercise routine will do wonders for your tone and body definition without adding extra bulk.

9. Always eat at least 3 hours before you go to sleep.

The demands of today's working climate means that for some of us, eating before seven is impracticable. If this is the case with you, try and have your main meals for breakfast and lunch, and have a lighter supper. Going to sleep almost immediately after eating, means that your digestive system is being made to work hard at digestion, when it should ideally be having some deserved rest period. This effectively slows down your metabolism. You should therefore try and eat, at least three hours before you go to sleep.

10. Sleep more

Remember that childhood rhyme, early to bed, early to rise, makes a man, healthy, wealthy and wise! I don't know about the wealth and wisdom parts but in addition to heathy eating and exercise, sleeping for the recommended minimum of seven hours aids weight loss. This is because lack of sleep affects two hormones which affect our eating; ghrelin which tells you when you're hungry and leptin which tells the brain when you're full. Sleep deprivation causes your ghrelin level to increase and your leptin level to decrease resulting in increased craving, and over-eating by your brain's inability to recognise that you are full.

The model for this article is TMHO's member Rita Amalu. For more information about her, please email contact@tearingmyhairout.com

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Release the inner sexy you! 10 ways to supercharge your metabolism!

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