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Friday, 5th October

Metabolism talk rounds up our week, and if you can get this vital subject under control, and firing FOR you 24 hours a day, then you are likely to be burning fat and likely to achieve the body you always wanted, AND STAY THERE!!

One of the most unlikely tips i can give you that you wouldn’t have thought about regarding metabolism is water!

Most people don’t regard water as boosting your metabolism but they couldn’t be more wrong!!!

Water is paramount to a lean healthy physique.

Water is crucial for flushing fat out of the sytem, and is crucial for your body’s messaging system to fire correctly. And drinking water can actually raise your metabolism!

Being dehydrated can give you sugar cravings, tricking your mind into thinking you are hungry, rather than thirsty! Keeping hydrated keeps your body in balance, keeping you in tune with your body’s actual needs.

The less cravings you have, the more fat you lose because you’re less likely to make poor choices.

A recent german study showed that subjects who drunk healthy amounts of water, compared to others who didnt drink enough, BURNT around 30% more calories, and their metabolic rates were proven to increase for the same amount. This started within 10 minutes of drinking the water, and reached a peak 40 minutes after drinking the water.

The moral of the story is drink more water, and if you train hard in the gym, drink even more!!!

One minor point is to say that you should keep it to water too. If you fall for misleading information about energy/sports drinks, then you will be consuming almost pure sugar for no real reason apart from some dodgy marketing claim that has no basis. Your performance will go up 33% if you keep fully hydrated, so don’t fall for similar sports drink claims. Sports drinks are only worthwhile after 60 minutes of continuous exercise.

Time to get your metabolism working at its best levels, and make fat loss much easier than you ever thought!!!

Twitt
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Thursday, 4th October

It’s metabolism all the way this week, and here’s some more ways to get it fired up!!

If you eat 5-6 times a day, then you are raising your metabolism nicely, as the act of eating alone will make you burn more calories.

Its vital these meals though are not over-sized, and are smaller in general as you will be eating every 3-4 hours. The idea is to eat breakfast, lunch and evening meal, with mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks keeping you full and energised in between.

So if you eat three meals a day, you will be raising your metabolism 3 times a day, instead of 5-6 times a day with the smaller meals and snacking method.

Another benefit of eating multiple times a day is that you never get hungry, your body will expect food regularly and this will make sure you are not tempted to binge!

Another great way to raise your metabolism is to eat real foods. That may sound strange but eating real vegetabls, real fruit and most importantly, AVOIDING PROCESSED FOOD whenever you can.

Most of the processed food you get in the supermarket these days doesn’t take much digestion, therefore burning less calories and also playing havoc with your digestive system.

If you eat fruit, real vegetables, real oatmeal for example, your body’s whole digestive system is working at its full capacity to break down the food, then use it as an energy source.

This process will not go on when you eat processed rubbish, that seems to fill most of the aisles in supermarkets!! Ready meals are the most guilty example, but anything that takes a minute or so to heat up and eat is usually going to be very poor for your internal digestive system.

Eating natural isn’t always possible, so try to use processed foods before your training session. This way you can at least use the food as energy and get it out of your system as soon as possible!!

Twitt
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Wednesday, 3rd October

We talked about the value of trying to raise your metabolism yesterday, here are some key ways on how to do it!

Number one is to lift weights. If you just do normal cardio that most people do (treadmill, bike etc), then your metabolism will be raised but only for the duration of your workout.

The difference with weights/resistance training is the effect will last a lot longer!

Scientific studies show the elevated metabolism you will experience can last up to 39 hours!!! This is why weight training is so important! Weight training breaks down muscle tissue and usually needs that amount of time to recover.

We have always talked on here about the benefits of weight training, and obviously this another big reason to lift!!

Number two is to train intensely. Whatever workout you do, make sure you train with purpose and if you put a good intensity into it, your metabolism will be raised that much more again, meaning you burn more calories and burn more fat.

Number three is embracing the process of building lean muscle tissue. Experts suggest that for every pound of muscle gained, your body will burn an extra 35-50 calories a day!! Compare that with just 2 pounds for every pound of fat. This is why people who are lean and muscular find it easier to stay like that, whilst people who carry a lot of fat struggle more to get it off.

Number four is eating more  protein, not too much but a sensible amount. With all of this good training, you should also a healthy amount of protein such as the size of your fist in each meal. Not only does it fill you up that much longer than carbs and fat, it also takes 25% more calories for the body to break down protein.  These 25% of the calories in protein are broken down through the digestion process, compare this to 5% of carbs and just 2% effort to burn fat when ingested!!

More tomorrow!!

Twitt
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Tuesday, October 2nd

The word metabolism has become very fashionable these days, but in real terms it refers to the amount of energy your body uses.

We all think about energy in our workouts, but our body uses vital energy resources in just about everything we do.

Your heart beating, sustaining your lean muscle on your body, breathing and regulating your temperature among other functions all require calories, so your metabolism is truly the rate your body burns calories 24 hours a day!

How many people do you know who blams their “slow metabolism” for their lack of progress? I know a huge number for starters, and have spent a career disproving that statement!!

The word metabolism is so misunderstood, that the often corrupt weight loss industry will take advantage of this ignorance by making false claims.

How many times have you fallen for pills that claim to “raise” your metabolism without the need for diet and exercise?

Like i said, how many times have you been told me the media that you cannot lose weight due to your “slow metabolism”?!!

How many times have you been told that “thin” people were born lucky because of their fast metabolisms”?!!

A big myth exploded is the fact that overweight people have actually higher metabolisms than so called thinner people because it requires sometimes a lot more calories to SUSTAIN a much higher weight. The bigger weight person also burns more calories in exercise too, because it is usually a bigger effort.

Genes DO play in metabolism but it has been proven by science that they prove a far smaller role than previously thought!

Luck doesn’t really have anything to do with it, action and eating well has about a thousand times more to do with it so the sooner you realise that the better, and the sooner you realise that actions speak louder than words the better!!!

The main point is we do not have to become “victims” of our so called slow metabolisms at all!

We will talk about many ways to boost your metabolism A LOT tomorrow!!!

Twitt
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Monday, 1st October

It’s monday again, and also the start of the month. It is twelve weeks today to christmas day so if there was ever a day to get psyched up about getting fit and healthy, it has to be today!

We talked friday about how important and convenient it was to train at the weekend, but for those of you who put all your workouts into the week, then today, monday, is the most important day to set the tone for the rest of the week!!!

I always view monday as a huge day, not only its the first day for me back training people, but its an important marker for me in how my own workout is going. I rarely train along anyway and haven’t done for years. I either run or cycle with someone i train, or i do the same with weight training, and i ALWAYS get a better workout training with someone than training alone, as long as that person is committed.

If there is two of you training, then both of you can push each other. Maybe one day you are feeling a bit sluggish and down, then its up to that other person to get you off your behind and push you to your normal high levels!!!

The only problem with training partners is sometimes one of you isn’t great time keeping, and this can really get people fed up i have found!

Then there are many of you i know who like to train alone, to do your own thing when you want to do it, to suit all of the other commitments in your life, i know i used to be one myself!!

So whatever your situation, be sure to get your best workout of the week in today, or at least give it one heck of a shot! Setting the right tone today is a massive indication of the level of commitment you have to getting yourself in top shape!!

Twitt