Many people complain about having a low metabolism, however, there is no reason why you cannot get it running at the same rate when you were in your 20's and 30's. Metabolism is simply defined as the number of calories your body burns per day for fuel.
Here are few suggestions to get yours running at optimum levels:
1. Add strength training or try "weightless" alternatives like Yoga and Pilates to your routine - Most women lose one pound of muscle per year after the age of 35. One pound of muscle burns 35-50 calories per day and once a woman reaches her 30's, her metabolic rate goes down by 100 calories per day every decade due to muscle loss. This can result in a 12-pound weight gain every 10 years. Aim for 2 30-minute weight training sessions per week or try Yoga or Pilates which uses your own body weight for the workout.
2. Eat protein at every meal - this will keep your metabolism up and running high but not too much. Use this formula to determine how much protein you need per day - divide your weight in half - this is the lowest amount of grams of protein you should eat per day. The highest amount would be one gram for every pound you weigh. So if you weigh 150 pounds, you should aim for eating between 75 and 150 grams of protein per day.
3. Water, water, water - water is necessary for every process in the body and help keep everything in the body working efficiently and helps increase your metabolism.
4. Find ways to de-stress - stress can cause your body to produce more of the hormone cortisol which actually helps you fight stress, however, it can slow down your metabolism.]
5. Get enough calcium - the research is still showing that women who do not get enough calcium gain weight. When calcium is in short supply, your body releases large amounts of calcitrol, a hormone that helps retain calcium, however, it signals your body to make more fat and decrease fat burning.
6. Move every single day - aim for doing at least 30-40 minutes of cardio every single day. This will help get you and keep you in the habit of exercising. Change your workout, take a new class, hire a personal trainer and find an exercise you can look forward to.
7. Get enough sleep - try and get into bed by 10 p.m. this will make it easier to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep depending on your schedule. Rest is where you get the results from all you hard workouts.
8. Make sure your thyroid is working properly - Hypothyroidism is 10 times more likely in women than men and often diagnosed in middle age.
9. Watch your portion sizes in restaurants especially - divide your meal in half and save the other half for another meal.
It is possible to increase your metabolism by following the suggestions listed above. Weight training and supporting lean muscle will do more for increasing your metabolism and slowing down the aging process. It is my hope that these suggestions will help you to know if you are on the right track with your metabolism or if you need to make some changes in your daily routine.
Sherry L. Granader, ACE, AFAA, NETA, ACSM, BBU
[www.sgtotalhealth.com]
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