Diet and exercise?? Let's talk about metabolism..

    How come metabolism is really important in weight loss and dieting? First of all, let me give you the definition of metabolism. Metabolism is the amount of energy or calories your body burns to maintain vital function.Your body is constantly burning calories while you are sleeping, shopping, and exercising. However, the metabolic rate different from one person to another.It also depends to the amount of muscle we have. In general, the more muscle we have, the higher our metabolic rate; the less muscle we have, the lower our metabolic rate. This explains why men, who have a high proportion of muscle, have a faster metabolism than women, and why a 20-year-old has a higher metabolism than a 70-year-old - again, they have more muscle.

This also explains why it's crucial to do as much as you can to protect your metabolic rate, especially when you're dieting. And this means dieting sensibly with a suitable, rather than a very low calorie intake so that you lose fat rather than muscle.Well, I would like to share the ways to increase our metabolism. Have a look and try it yourself!

• Get regular exercise like walking,swimming.and even cleaning the house and doing yard work will also help to increase your metabolic rate.
  
  
• Get edequate sleep as lack of sleep negatively affects the way our bodies metabolize carbohydrates. This results in glucose intolerance and can possibly lead to a slower metabolism with increased hunger.

•  Drinking green tea is one of the easiest way as it appears to slightly raise metabolic rates, and also speed up the oxidation of unhealthy fats. Green tea has other health benefits as it contains a significant amount of antioxidants to protect the body from diseases such as cancer and heart ailments.

• Avoid skipping meals.Contrary to popular belief, skipping meals doesn't merely save calories, it actually decreases metabolism causing you to burn calories at a much slower rate than normal. The body goes into a "starvation" mode to try to protect itself and compensate for the lack of calories and nutrition. The body then tries to hold onto its existing fat supply and will actually burn lean muscle instead.

• Eat enough protein as it is essential for the body to build healthy, strong muscles. A good rule of thumb to follow is about one half gram of protein per pound of body weight. Which means that a 180 pound man would need up to 90 grams of protein per day.