29 Jun Laugh Your Fat Off!
Recently a client said to me, “I used to skip dinner and lose a pound. Now I skip dinner and gain a pound!”
It’s true. As we age, techniques that would help us lose or maintain weight no longer work.
With each passing decade, we lose about 10% of our metabolism. This is due to lack of activity and decreasing muscle mass. However, there are some common sense methods to fixing a broken metabolism:
1. Eat every few hours
2. Get more sleep
I was guilty of neglecting both of these for years (honestly, I’m still a work in progress on the sleep issue), I’d get up early, drink coffee and not eat until lunch. By that time, my body was starving, so I would overeat. By starving my body, I had triggered the mechanism that caused my body to collect the majority of its calories as fat — just what I was trying to avoid! I would then get home from work and just “snack” at dinner since I’d consumed so many calories at lunch. Of course, I’d end up eating 1,000 calories of “snacks” and then I couldn’t sleep because I was stuffed like a Thanksgiving turkey 🙂
Here are three simple tips to boost your metabolism…
Drink more water. Your body needs water to work effectively, this includes your metabolism.
If you don’t have one, get a travel water bottle like the Hydro Flask Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel Water Bottle. My daughter swears by it.
Need more motivation than just a travel bottle? These smart bottles from Thermos measure the intake of liquids while providing real-time temperature readings!
My LaCroix Water Lemonade is another great way to stay hydrated! Here’s a 60 second video with the recipe.
Laugh daily. Research shows that you burn 10-40 extra calories with every big laugh. This may not seem like much, but it all adds up!
The picture below was taken during my first time out this season on my Tower Paddle Board. My friend is laughing so hard she had to sit down and I’m behind her apparently trying to get my waiter to bring me a drink (or I was about to fall in the lake). Not sure how many calories we burned but we did laugh at each other for about an hour. Laughter can increase endorphins, lower stress levels and help give you a great night of sleep!
Get your B vitamins. These vitamins are key to having a fully functioning metabolism. Low levels can leave you feeling tired and depressed and will slow down your metabolism.
My favorite sources of B vitamins: spinach, asparagus, beans/lentils, poultry and eggs.
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