How to rev up your metabolism as you age

Metabolism is the process of breaking down proteins, carbohydrates, and fats to yield the energy your body needs to maintain itself.

Starting at about age 25, the average person’s metabolism declines between 5% and 10% per decade.

Here are some pointers on how to keep your metabolism running efficiently as you age:

* Build some muscle! Putting on just 5 to 10 pounds of lean muscle mass will enable your body to burn at least 100 more calories/day!

* Interval Training: Maximize the calories you burn after exercise by integrating high intensity intervals into your workouts 2-3 times a week! For example, running “all out” 1 minute than jog for 1 minute, 10-15 reps. You can get really creative with interval training. Spinning classes are a perfect interval cardio workout!

* Sleep More:  Lack of sleep can decrease the number of calories your body burns. If you have inadequate sleep, your body has difficulty performing the basic necessities of life, like pumping blood, breathing and repairing damaged tissues.

• * Eat often: eat every 2 to 3 hours. Each time you eat, you stimulate your metabolism for a short period of time, which means that the more often you eat, the more you’ll increase your metabolism. Eating every 2 to 3 hours feeds muscle and starves fat. By eating frequently, you reassure your body that you aren’t going to starve. By skipping meals you are telling your body to store fat as it wonders when your next meal will come.
• * Watch your nutrition: Make sure you have sufficient protein in your diet- it takes your body more energy to digest protein than it does carbs and fat. Each mini-meal should have a serving of vegetables and a healthy source of protein like eggs, chicken, or nuts. Upping your intake of high-fiber foods like vegetables is one of the best ways to increase your metabolism. Vegetables are low in calories, yet high in nutrients. Also, adding some spice to your meals may also rev up your metabolism, like red-pepper flakes to soups!
•  * EPA and DHA: the omega-3 fatty acids found only in fish oil, may have the power to significantly boost your metabolism ( by about 400 calories per day!). Fish oil increases levels of fat-burning enzymes and decreases levels of fat-storage enzymes in your body.

*Stay active: North Americans love their television and they love to drive everywhere! You may think your daily 1 hour workout routine on your lunch break (desk job) is enough to keep the metabolism rolling, but you’re wrong! Walk when you can, bike to work if possible, get involved with sports. Stay as active as you can throughout the day. This will help keep the pounds off.

Stay Hydrated- If you are even mildly dehydrated your metabolism may slow down. Drink at least half of your body weight in ounces and eat fruits and veggies which are full of fluid rather than pretzels and chips for snacks.