LISA MARIE BERNARDI

FOUR WAYS to BOOST your METABOLISM

The key to an efficient metabolism and sustained weight loss is not only the amount of calories you consume but more importantly the type and quality of those calories. Sure anyone can lose weight on a calorie restricted fad diet but how many of those people do you see maintaining that weight loss for lets say… 6months? How about a year or better yet five years?  Yeah we all have "that friend" or know "that one girl" who has seemingly maintained that fad diet for years and supposedly loves it and looks pretty good. But do any of us REALLY know this girl?  I would argue that either these girls don't exist or are genetically predisposed to being skinny.  Take a deeper look at these women and I bet you will find that they have always been skinny regardless of their diet and probably don't partake in alcohol consumption. More importantly are these women really healthy?

But that's not you. You’re not genetically predisposed to be in perfect shape all the time and let's face it you more likely than not enjoy some of life's sinful pleasures. So what I have for you here is realistic critical elements to jump start your metabolism and keep you healthy and fit year in and year out. So let’s say goodbye to the same new years resolution that has failed oh so many times and say hello to your new lifestyle. I promise you will thank me :).

• Eat high quality protein

  What I am talking about here is protein from meat, fish, poultry, whey, eggs and nuts. The reason protein is so important is twofold. First off protein provides our body with the essential amino acids it needs to build new muscle and maintain current muscle. Since muscle is so metabolic increasing it is an excellent way to increase your metabolism at rest.

   

  Secondly, just the process of eating protein increases thermogenesis . What this means is that protein takes more energy to break down than any of the other macronutrients with the same caloric value. In comparison to carbohydrates protein takes 20-30 percent of calories consumed to break it down while carbohydrates take a measly 5-15 percent.  Eating the right amount of high quality protein is essential to keep your metabolism in high gear.

   

  2.  Cycle your Carbohydrates

        If you really want to get your body into a fat burning state you must tap into your fat metabolism. One of the best ways to do just that is to cycle your carbohydrates. This will force your body to use fat for energy. The average American diet consists of mainly carbohydrates. With a high presence of carbohydrates (sugar) in the body at all times it is hard to get the body to break down fat for energy. By restricting the number of carbohydrates you consume and changing your macronutrient profile to contain a higher amount of protein you will prevent this overflow of glucose in your body, increasing the likelihood of lipoplysis (breakdown of fat) for energy. It is essential when carb cycling to keep your protein intake high, this will keep a steady amount of amino acids available for use preserving  your hard earned muscle.

       

  Plateaus are very common road blocks that many people run into. Carb cycling is a great way to prevent these plateaus. After approximately two weeks on a calorie restricted diet your appetite and metabolic hormones start to slow which puts fat loss on a major hold. By spiking your carbs hormones involved in increasing your metabolism are released and your metabolic rate increases drastically. It takes about three full days to get into a fat adaptive state, in which the rate of fat oxidization increases. For this reason try following a low carbohydrate diet for 4-6days followed by one day of high carbs. Low carb days your macronutrients should look as follows: 50% of your calories from protein, 10-20% of your calories from carbs and 30-40% of your calories from fat.

   

  3. Eat good heart healthy fats.

        Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats have been shown to increase fat oxidization, decrease fat storage, reduce hunger and improve body composition. Continuing, polyunsaturated fats have been known to increase lean muscle tissue mass which in turn will increase your basal metabolic rate and indirectly reduce total body fat. Due to their vasodilatory effect, eating 2-3g/day of polyunsaturated fats will promote nutrient delivery to muscles in turn decreasing their availability to be stored as fat.

   

  4. Reduce inflammatory foods

If you weren’t aware, the fat you have hanging around on your body is not an innate object. Fat tissue pumps out inflammatory cytokines and hormones that can impair the function of insulin, leptin and block fat burning receptors. This results in the body becoming insensitive to insulin and leptin. As a result, the body can’t store or use the nutrients we put into it efficiently—not to mention the metabolism can become sluggish.

When the body can’t process food properly, this can result in excess sugar in the blood that forms glycated compounds, which are also inflammatory! Increased fat means greater inflammation and a further reduction in fat metabolism. One way to ensure we reduce inflammation in the body is to reduce dietary causes of inflammation. If you know you are sensitive to gluten, dairy or certain other foods, make an effort to reduce them from your diet. Also, reduce sugar and start eating more whole natural fresh foods including fruit and vegetables, which contain natural anti-inflammatory compounds including antioxidant vitamins and phytonutrients.

References

Buckley JD, Howe PRC. Long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids may be beneficial for reducing obesity – a review. Nutrients. 2010. 2(12): 1212-30.

Crovetti R, et al. The influence of thermic effect of food on satiety. Eur J Clin Nutr. 1998. 52(7): 482 – 8.

Oi-Kano Y, et al. Extra virgin olive oil increases UCP1 content in brown adipose tissue and enhances noradrenaline and adrenaline secretions in rats. J Nutr Biochem. 2007. 18(10): 685-92.

Poudyal H, Campbell F, Brown L. Olive leaf extract attenuates cardiac, hepatic, and metabolic changes in high carbohydrate-, high fat-fed rats. J Nutr. 2010. 140(5):946-53.