The best way to increase your metabolism, in my opinion, is by putting on a little more muscle.
Sure, there are other effective ways to reach the same goal, but I find this strategy better more individuals that are reluctant to change what they eat.
I've preached this idea for years, but the bottom line with weight loss has to do with calories in and out of your body.
If your body burns more calories than it takes in, then you're golden! Of course, you can either decrease the amount of calories coming in by dieting or you can choose to burn away more by being more active and toning your muscles.
But why am I putting so much emphasis on muscle-training? There are other types of exercise too right? Well, of course there are, but they don't have a long-lasting metabolism-boosting benefit like weight-training and muscle-building.
When you build up more muscle, your body is forced to burn away more calories just because those toned muscles require more upkeep.
If they're un-toned, you're body doesn't care and won't pay attention.
This calorie-burning rampage that your body goes through after you weight-train lasts almost 24 hours, and there's a super-charged period that lasts up to an hour right after you finish training.
Now, all of this sounds really good, but the same old problems have to do with time and lack of experience.
None of us have time to do anything.
If you ask someone who's never worked out before to come out with you to the gym, how do they always respond? "Sorry, I'm just too busy.
" That's a likely story! We always say we're too busy only because we have a fear of trying something new and possibly failing.
Well, it's time to get over that.
If tons of normal people can go out to the gym or lift some light weights in front of the television every single day, then you can too! And lucky for you, the best way to increase your metabolism doesn't take a lot of time.
2 or 3 workouts each week can do the trick.
Major bodybuilders that are straight-up addicted to working out will spend all day at the gym because that's what they love to do, but that's not what you have to do by any means.
Just take 20 minutes out of your day and dedicate that to making yourself sweat from weight-training.
Here's a typical fitness plan for the week: Monday - Arms and Shoulders Wednesday - Chest and Back Friday - Abdominals and Legs Pick an exercise for each muscle group.
For example, you can do curls for arms, front lateral raises for shoulders, and dumbbell presses for chest.
Stick to low weight and high repetitions if you're new to weight-training so as to avoid any major strain or injuries.
Maybe 4 sets of 12 to 15 repetitions for each exercise to feel a solid burn.
And that's all there is to it! The most important thing is to get out there and take some action if you're unhappy with your weight.
That's really the best way to increase your metabolism.