5 Ways to AMP your METABOLISM

Most people rely on doing some exercise and cutting calories to lose weight.  That approach makes sense but can easily be undone and the weight comes back with furry.  The more effective approach is to think long term.

Ideally what you want to do is increase your metabolism (Resting Metabolic Rate) because for most people 3/4 of the calories that we burn in a day come from our RMR, not from exercise.  And over 1/2 of our RMR is a direct result of our LBM (muscle) make-up and activity.

Here are 5 simple, not necessarily easy, ways to ramp up your RMR and get the most out of each day, while you are not at the gym!  Don't leave it up to exercise and diet to lose weight, take control of your metabolism to get it off faster and keep it off forever!

1. Get to the gym.  Exercise is great for burning calories while you workout but it also starts many metabolic processes that otherwise lay dormant or are extremely slow.  You will notice that after a good workout your energy will be up all day and that is feeling the impact of exercise on your metabolism.  If you make this a habit for years then you will get these metabolic results even when you don't workout because your body is expecting that activity level, and you will become a calorie wasting machine!
2. Do the little things.  Stay active all day to increase calorie burn.  I have said it many times, but you need to do the little things like taking the stairs, mow the yard, carry your groceries instead of using a cart.  These alone are not huge but the result can be great when you add them altogether.  And again, if you make these habits then your metabolism will adjust and burn those calories even on the days that you aren't as active.
3. Know your muscle.  Imagine that your body is an engine that you want to have burn more fuel.  You can do 2 things that will make this happen.  First, gain some muscle.  Just like putting a bigger engine in your car you will have more go power and you will burn more fuel doing the same amount of work.  Second, you press on the gas peddle.  Move around lots, stay active, play with your kids, go for a walk, do the dishes by hand.  All of these tell your body that you need to make more fuel available for burning.
4. Eat.  Eating has a thermogenic effect, meaning that it burns calories.  It takes energy to digest, absorb and process foods into a usable form.  If you take in the same amount of calories from 1 meal or six meals you will likely burn 180 more calories on the days that you eat six times.  This is easy to do, but again, you must make it a habit to get all of the long-term metabolic effects.
5. Don't fear supplements.  Some supplements have been proven to have a relatively significant effect on the RMR.  They can also increase your energy levels during your workouts and throughout the day, which helps you burn more calories during your workout by working harder, but also by giving you the energy to stay active all day.  Not all supplements are created equal so please see someone who really knows their stuff, not the sales guy at GNC or your buddy who THINKS that they know it all.

PS - Your body adapts over time to whatever lifestyle you lead.  If you lead the above stated lifestyle for long enough your metabolism will turning into a fat burning FIRE!

None of this alone will get you flat abs, but if you make them all part of who you are then you will be blown away by the long term success.  This is how all of the experts do it, so there must be something to it.  Any other way is not a solution, it is just a band aid!