Another week, another blog! If you're looking to loose weight this spring, I Applaud You! It can truly turn out to be a Life Changing Decision! It's not just to loose weight for now, but to maintain a healthier lifestyle. But if you have a lot to loose, don't fret. It may seem impossible, but there's hope. More than half of the effort, actually lies in your brain; not the physical activities.
Today I'll be sticking with the general ideas behind your metabolism. I don't think you need to be told that you need to be eating the right foods in order to loose weight. We all know that. Though we don't always like to hear it, sometimes we need to be reminded. But do you know how often or how much? How does 5-6 times a day sound? 3 Regular meals and at least 2 snacks. These smaller meals should be spaced about 2.5-3 hours apart. And especially if you're looking to loose weight, general rule of thumb is not to eat 3 hours prior to when you believe you will be going to bed. For example, if you're used to going to bed at 10, then you shouldn't eat after 7pm.
If you're asking "Wow, that sounds like a lot. Are you sure?" YES. Your body needs food to fuel itself; to keep going. After about 3 hours, if you don't fuel yourself, you brain goes into "survival mode". It thinks you're starving. As a protection mechanism, your body will begin to store fat. Your body needs some fat in order to stay alive. But if your eating within those 2.5-3 hours, you body will know it's fuel and burn those calories, instead of storing them as additional fat. This is how we keep our metabolism going throughout the day. But keep in mind, that although you need to be eating often, it doesn't mean overeating. (I'll touch on this in a later blog)
So, now that you have a better idea of how metabolism works, how do you increase it? How can you make your body burn more calories? Building Muscle. Muscle takes a lot of energy to maintain, so the more you have, the more you burn. This might sound a bit intimidating (particularly for women), but if you read my last blog you should have a good understanding. And for those of you who haven't read it yet, now's a good time to keep scrolling :)
