Increase your metabolism and shed unwanted LBS

I'm sure we've all heard some version of the following. When people "diet" and allow their calorie levels to drop too low it triggers the body's survival mechanism to kick in. It kicks in by lowering their metabolic set point (or basal metabolic rate). When they go off the "diet" and begin to eat normally again, they gain back any weight lost and then some.  So before too long they are back on another diet.  A vicious cycle that can be reversed with a little patience and consistency.

In my August 5th post, "Calories Consumed vs. Calories Burned", I gave a formula to calculate how many calories you burn each day so that you can then determine how many calories you should consume from fat, how many from protein, and how many from carbs.  Someone smarter than me said that was just too confusing to figure out so I'm thinking she's not the only one.  So here's a much simpler game plan to kick start your metabolism and get it to a stable set point!

Set your daily caloric intake at 12 calories per pound of body weight. (I weigh 125 lbs. so 125 X 12 or 1500 is how many calories I should consume each day). Keep in mind however that this calculation does not take into consideration your activity level.  So, since I do pretty intense cardio and strength training 6 days a week and burn 300 to 400 calories daily, I'm going to take in more than 1500 calories - more like 1900 to keep my metabolism from dropping.  And of course if you read my blog you know I advocate a  balance of healthy fats, protein and carbs obtained from whole foods.  So here's the recommended proportions:

1/6 of your total daily caloric intake should come from fat. For me that would be  250 calories from fat (1/6 of 1500 calories)
1/3 of your total daily caloric intake should come from protein or for me 500 calories (1/3 of 1500 calories)
1/2 of your total daily caloric intake should come from carbs or for me 750 (1/2 of 1500 calories)

If you want to convert the above daily calories to grams divide fat calories by 9;  and protein and carb calories by 4. Example, for me I would shoot for 28 grams of fat each day (250 calories from fat divided by 9); 125 grams of protein (500 calories divided by 4) and 188 grams of carbs (750 calories divided by 4). Is everybody with me so far?

Now, one last very important component. The absolute best way to pump up your metabolism is to EXERCISE. You'll be burning calories not only during your workout but also up to 48 hours after - all the while increasing lean muscle tissue, which speeds the metabolism over the long term. Aim for 5 hours of exercise a week and no fewer than 3 hours per week.