Modifying your metabolism...

Often times I am asked if our exercise programs come with a eating plan to follow. It sounds like a logical question. As much as myself and other health professionals say that nutrition and eating are the biggest components to a fitness program, you'd think we would have a customized nutrition plan ready to go for you.

Unfortunately, even if I did give you a strict nutrition plan to eat 5 times per day, with 140g of protein, 42g of fat and 200g of carbohydrates what are the odds you'd actually follow it? I've written programs like this for myself and my compliance with it is less than 90%.

So wouldn't it be easier to give you a few general goals that give you some freedom to make some decisions so that you aren't eating the same 6 foods over and over? Some people don't mind eating the same foods everyday. I'm one of those people. But others needs a lot of variety. My wife is one of those types of people.

I recently put together a little report on how to modify your metabolism through 5 different means that are pretty quick to implement. In it I discuss the 4 components of your metabolism and which part of your metabolism the 5 strategies effect. This way you can see that by implementing all 5 you are really beginning to change your body to be a fat-burning machine!

Because you guys are on our mailing list I'll give you the quick run-down of th 5 Ways to Kick Start Your Metabolism...Today!

1. Eat protein with breakfast. And not just a single egg (which has only 6g of protein). I'm talking add some PROTEIN! Have a protein shake along side that bowl of oatmeal. Or have a smoothie with some protein tossed in for good mix. Smaller individuals will want aroudn 15-20g of protein in their breakfast while larger individuals will want 25-35g of protein in their breakfast.
2. Exercise at work. By increasing your energy expenditure multiple times over the course of the day, you're constantly giving your metabolism a kick in the pants. So go up and down the stairs twice (act like you forgot something if you need an explanation) or walk quickly out to your car and back in. Just get your heart rate up a couple times during the day for 2-3 minutes. But don't do it so much that you sweat. That might raise a few eyebrows. And careful with the yoga stuff...
3. Use your kids as weights. Play with your kids. Pick them up and down, raise them over your head, swing them around a little (within reason). All of these things will increase the intensity of any motion. And you'll give your kids memories (or nightmares) for a lifetime!
4. Walking Intervals. Some people walk for fitness while others walk to get from place to place. If you're walking for fitness or as transportation, throw some intervals in there. Walk fast until you feel you're breathing hard and your heart rate is higher and then slow down a bit. Alternate these higher and lower walking speeds to give your metabolism a quick shot in the arm.
5. Eat more fat. Research has shown that our bodies will shift our metabolism to use the energy we have the most of. In addition newer research is suggesting we might be able to modify our metabolism to prefer a type of energy on a daily basis! This means that you have the potential to shift your metabolism to use fat on a daily basis. So how can we increase our fat intake? Fish oil supplementation has been shown to have an array of benefits including reduced inflammation, increased fat mobilization, improved cardiovascular function, brain development and immune system function.

Head over to the website www.pairmarotta.com/fitness and enter your email address to get the report emailed to you!