Boosting Your Metabolism With Mini-Meals

How many times have you tried to lose weight by starvation, diet pills, "fad" diets, or other means? These plans work for a while but fail later, right? Not only is what you eat important, but when you eat is just as important - if not more. You see, our bodies become dependent on sugar intake and, therefore, begin to crave it as we get hungry. This deprivation of food, especially the simple sugars from the food, forces one to stray away from their diet and usually results in overeating.

Boosting your metabolism with mini-meals is the safest way to lose, or at least maintain, one's weight. This is done by eating 6 to 8 small meals each day and is the best way to boost metabolism when not exercising. The advantages to eating smaller meals are that our metabolism is working almost around the clock in breaking down our food intake while we are only eating the calories that we need to simply get to the next meal.

We have all heard that the formula for maintaining weight is calories in versus calories out. Instead of eating the traditional three meals a day - whether we are hungry or not - and storing the excess calories which transform into fat, the mini-meal approach to eating means that we are only eating the calories that we will burn between now and our next meal.




In other words, we never overeat and, if we are consistent with our dietary plan, we are never hungry. The safety aspect of boosting your metabolism with mini-meals plays a role is in our glucose levels. Eating 6 to 8 small meals a day assists in maintaining a consistent level of glucose. Sugar has no nutritional value other than to provide energy, so we have to be careful with it.

As an example, consider someone with diabetes. They struggle every moment to maintain the correct level of glucose or insulin in order to have a better quality of life. If you know someone with diabetes and have been around them enough, you will have noticed that they eat several small snacks and meals throughout the day. Depending on what they are eating, they are either trying to balance or offset their body's natural release of insulin. This is a constant battle for those who have this disease.

Another group of people who can benefit by boosting their metabolism with mini-meals is those who have digestive disorders, such as Gastroparesis. Studies have shown that people with this digestive disorder perform much better when eating several smaller meals each day. However, on some days, it may only be 4 to 5 small meals. Gastroparesis is a paralysis of the stomach muscles and delays one's food from emptying from the stomach into the small intestine. A person suffering from this condition must rely on the smaller meals, as well as supplements such as Ensure, in order to obtain nutrition.

It really does not matter if we have a health issue, such as one of those mentioned above, or if we are just making a life-style change and want to lose or control our weight. The most common approach presented by doctors, nutritionists, and health professionals throughout the world is by boosting your metabolism with mini-meals.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Sameh_Michael/267734

7 Ways to Use Nutrition to Boost Your Metabolism and Burn Stubborn Fat

Boosting your metabolism is really the key to losing stubborn weight. Nutrition plays a very important role in helping you achieve this so that you can still burn fat while you sit around.

Here is a list of the essential nutritional keys to boosting your metabolism:

1. Eat small amounts regularly throughout the day. Not only will this speed up your metabolism but it means your body won't have as much excess energy left over from the meal to store as fat. This happens when you only have 1 - 2 big meals. If you then go for long periods of time without eating (starvation mode) until your next binge, your body will break down your muscle for energy rather than your fat, slowing down your metabolism.

2. Only eat until you are starting to feel full. This will aid you in eating smaller meals more often. If you eat more than when you start to feel full your digestive system gets bogged down, you don't digest or absorb your food properly and your body has to store all the excess as fat.




3. Chew your food at least 20-30 times before swallowing. Your digestive system functions so much better if you do this. It can digest the food much quicker and easier and your body will be able to absorb more of the much need nutrients for proper functioning and speeding up your metabolism.

4. Eat a variety of at least 30 different foods everyday. Eating the same foods everyday and only a few different types slows down your metabolism, causing energy to be deposited as fat. Eating a variety of foods not only speeds up your metabolism but also helps prevent nutritional deficiencies. Adding nuts and seeds to your meals and eating muesli and salads is a good way to add some extra food types into your day.

5. Replace unhealthy packaged snacks with fruits, nuts and seeds. Processed/packaged food are really horrible for your health and your metabolic rate. You need to have fruits, nuts and seeds as a replacement snack. They provide much needed nutrition and boosts your metabolism through the minerals, vitamins and essential fatty acids that your body needs to function healthily.

6. Eat a healthy breakfast. I know you have probably heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I will reiterate that here. After your body has gone through the night without any food, it desperately needs some food in the morning to prevent it going into starvation mode. When this happens you will lose muscle mass and your metabolism will go down. If you find it hard to have time for breakfast then the least you can do is grab a couple of pieces of fruit.

7. Add vegetables to every meal. Vegetables need to make up 2/3 of you meals to help your metabolism speed up. Many people have way too many carbs in their meals without enough veges. This needs to be reversed if you want to increase your metabolism. Stirfrys and side salads are essential to getting enough veges.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Jemima_Holmes/117657

6 Power Foods That Boost Your Metabolism

Your body is like a machine - in order for it to run smoothly, it needs to be well-maintained. Modern lifestyle, stress and the pace of work tends to deprive one of sleep, nutrition and the right balance in life. This, in turn, affects the overall function of the body, and leads to a number of health problems, as well as to weight gain.

Boosting your metabolism is the best way to lead a healthy life, as it enhances the body's ability to deal with the stresses of modern life, and your overall quality of life improves. Does the word "metabolism" sound like something out of a medical textbook that seems beyond your comprehension? Well, it's rather simple - metabolism refers to the process by which your body burns down calories and breaks them up into nutrients that are needed for basic body functions. When your metabolic function is streamlined, your chances of obesity are lower, thereby reducing your risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and a number of other illnesses.

Boosting Metabolism With Simple Tips

If you would like to boost your metabolism, there are a number of ways to do so. Exercising regularly gives your body a jump-start and helps you burn more calories. Getting adequate sleep as well as reducing stress is also very helpful. Added to all this is the right type of food. There are a number of foods that can help boost your metabolism. Some of these are elaborated below.




Carbohydrates And Fibre

Foods rich in carbohydrates and fibre do a lot to regulate insulin levels in the body. This is very crucial when you are trying to boost your metabolism, since high insulin levels lead to accumulation of body fat, thereby reducing metabolic rates. Therefore ensure that you add in carbohydrates and fibre in your diet, preferably in your breakfast.

Calcium

Foods rich in calcium trigger a huge boost in metabolism, thereby reducing body fat mass. Some high calcium foods that you can include in your diet are broccoli, soy and milk.

Proteins

Proteins are needed for normal bodily function. However, in the process of boosting metabolism, proteins are extremely beneficial as a greater amount of energy is needed to burn proteins. This implies that, when your body tries to burn proteins, a larger amount of calories are burnt during the digestive process.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Apart from being excellent for overall health, Omega-3 fatty acids alter the levels of the hormone leptin, which plays a very vital role in the metabolic process. Increase the amount of Omega-3 fatty acids in your diet in order to give your metabolism an extra boost.

Capsaicin Rich Foods And Spices

Spices such as Jalapeno contain a type of chemical known as Capsaicin. This chemical speeds up the heart rate, thereby boosting your metabolism to as much as 25% more than it currently is. Calories continue to be burned for up to three hours after a meal, without any vigorous exercise on your part!

Caffeine And EGCG

Caffeine that is present in beverages such as coffee, is known to boost metabolism by increasing the heart rate. On the other hand, EGCG that is present in tea, boosts the nervous system and thereby boosts one's metabolism. Therefore, be sure to include any one, or both, of these beverages as part of your daily diet.

While consuming foods that boost metabolism will help you for the present, to achieve long-term benefits with regard to weight loss, be sure to complement these foods with a healthy lifestyle and a good exercise routine. This will give you lasting benefits.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/F._P._Fernandes/2115071