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metabolize food and therefore gain or lose weight, it’s imperative that you know what your rate actually is. Excess calories that your body can’t expend will turn into fat cells. When we starve ourselves, however, our metabolism slows down so we burn less food at a time. We need to give our bodies an appropriate amount of food for the energy we expend.
HOW CAN I INCREASE MY METABOLISM?
The main way you can control your metabolism — which extends to losing or maintaining weight — is increasing the amount of calories you burn through physical activity. The first and most efficient way to burn calories is through consistent aerobic exercise . Thirty minutes of daily walking, running, bicycling, or swimming can make a huge difference in your metabolism. You could even do 10-minute chunks throughout the day. Secondly, strength training is absolutely necessary for combating muscle loss due to aging. Muscle tissue burns more calories than fat, which is why your muscle mass is key to cutting down fat. Third, add extra movement into your day wherever possible . Wash your own car instead of driving down to the nearest car wash or park in a distant parking spot next time you go to the store. Even if it
means doing more regular activity, increasing how often you move every day can improve your calorie consumption.
Don’t fall for products that claim to make your weight loss journey any easier. Make sure to do your research first and ask yourself whether or not a product will help encourage you to be extra active throughout the day.
Top 5 Healthy Life Hacks to Have an Awesome Morning
G etting your day started with coffee isn’t always enough. Sometimes, you need to give yourself an extra boost, especially when you have little energy or trouble focusing. For an awesome start to your day, here are five tips to get you going right off the bat. WAKE UP 5 MINUTES EARLY. What’s the power of five minutes? It can be more than you think. Spend this time
doing simple breathing exercises or a quick meditation so you can get focused for the rest of the day. If that’s not your style, you can prepare a quick to-do list for your day ahead. Either way, it’s always nice to have a little extra time for yourself without losing too much sleep. START WITH GREEN TEA, THEN COFFEE. A cup of coffee at 7 a.m. can leave you burned out by 10 a.m. Try swapping it with green tea for a more gentle wake-up call. After that, you can brew your favorite coffee to keep you going strong. This practice also might help you consume less caffeine overall! TAKE A QUICK MORNING WALK — AND HAVE YOUR MEETINGS ON THE GO. Morning meetings can make us want to fall asleep again. Don’t spend all of them sitting down if you don’t have to! Not only will morning walks help you wake up, but they
can also add some extra physical activity to your day.
WRITE IN YOUR JOURNAL. Who says you have to journal at the end of the day when you’re tired and ready to sleep? You can journal in the morning about what happened yesterday and the things you’re looking forward to that day. Journaling can remind you of your daily goals and motivate you to stick to your commitments. PACK YOUR LUNCH (OR SNACKS!). Staying on track with your goals starts with having the energy to do them. Plan a healthy balance of fats, vegetables, carbohydrates, and proteins. This can be as simple as assembling dips, carrots, wraps, and salads each morning.
It’s time to try these tactics to superboost your day!
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