-
Feb 9, 2007 11:37 pm US/Eastern
-
Digg |
Facebook |
E-mail
|
Print
Special Report: Mastering Your Metabolism
Learn The Tricks Needed To Help Burn Those Extra Calories
dg
(CBS4)
Some people are blessed with fast metabolisms, others are cursed by slow metabolisms. And age brings a metabolic slow down for all of us. The good news is anyone can speed it up--at least a bit--if they learn how to master their metabolism.
Everyday Cristina Macias tries to pump, and pace, and pedal her way to a faster metabolism. But being female, forty, with four children. She's a set-up for slow-motion metabolism.
"I've noticed that throughout the years it does tend to slow down especially if you have children," Macias says.
Women naturally have slower metabolisms than men do and for both sexes the ability to burn calories wanes as we get older--about 1% per year after age thirty. Plus our genes help set our metabolic rate. With so much out of your control like your age, your genes, and your sex, how much can a good exercise and diet plan really help your metabolism? It turns out, quite a bit.
"The metabolism is fairly stable but there are things that we can do to rev it up," says Pamela Downer, she's a registered dietitian at Memorial Hospital West. The first step to mastering your metabolism is mastering your mealtimes. Downer says it all starts with breakfast, "Most of the time when you eat breakfast you end up eating less throughout the day."
Studies have shown three light meals placed about 4 hours apart are the best boosters of metabolism. With some light snacks in between. Contrary to popular belief, the time you eat doesn't affect metabolism, and neither does eating late at night. But be careful.
"Usually the problem with snacking at night is that people eat a lot of junk food in front of the TV and they tend to overeat," Downer says.
Exactly what you eat is also critical. Optimum metabolic meals follow the 'fuel formula'--30% protein, 30% good fats, 40% carbs. And whatever you do, Downer says don't starve yourself or diet too drastically.
"You don't want to go anywhere below 1200 calories, because that's gonna actually help lower your metabolism," she says.
You might want to add a little tea time to your table. Doug Kalman is a food and pharmaceutical scientist at Miami Research Associates. He says daily green tea can raise metabolism 3-to-4 percent. It doesn't sound like much but over a year...
"That's about an extra 8-10 pounds of weight that's easily lost by doing nothing other than drinking green tea," Kalman says. Also try some hot peppers. They contain capsaicin--a chemical that raises metabolism. But Kalman says, only in normal weight or thin people.
"Meaning that a normal weight person will have a greater metabolic effect of having a hot pepper, a hot black pepper, green pepper red pepper," Kalman says, "But an overweight person doesn't get that same benefit,"
The next step in mastering your metabolism is get your body burning at the gym.
"Most people can really influence their metabolism," says Rob Herzog, a sports physiologist at Memorial Hospital West. He adds cardio provides best boost for quick results--but that may not mean a faster metabolism.
"Cardio is king when it comes to losing weight in a short period of time," he said.
And all equipment may not be equal. While it really doesn't matter which type of cardio machine you use, one study did show that people who use the treadmill tend to burn more calories over time. But once you get good at any cardio exercise--your ability to boost your metabolism bottoms out. That's when it's time to step it up, or change it up.
Weight training builds lean muscle, and those muscles can be metabolic machines-burning calories all day long even while you sleep.
"You do need to think about the entire day. How active are you throughout the day," Herzog says.
There are some important medical conditions that can slow metabolism--most notably low thyroid function, otherwise called hypothyroidism. So if you're dieting and exercising, and not getting results--make sure you check with your doctor.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)