Metabolism

[amir777]

Getting up there in age (will be 50 years old next week). What are you middle agers like me doing to increase your metabolism? I know -- keep active, excercise, control your portions, etc. but what things actually work for you? I'm not severly obese but definitely could lose 25 - 30 pounds.

 

[HG Hunter]

Try the South Beach diet. Can pick up the book at any bookstore.
Surprisingly easy to follow and stick to and very effective.
I lost 20 lbs in the first month. Huge increase in my energy level. Sleep better at night. Wake up rested. Don't have hunger pangs all the time.
Just a general overall feeling of wellness that I have not had in years.
Phase one is for initial and fairly aggressive weight loss. Phase two is more conservative. Phase three is more of a maintenance phase.
I stayed on phase one for the whole first month with no ill effects other than a few headaches in the first week due to the immense culture shock my body was going through. After the first week passed, I found phase one very tolerable from a menu selection POV. As I moved into phase two, and reintroduced a few more options, I found that my taste buds and cravings had changed drastically. I no longer crave all the crap I used to eat. I'll stay on phase two for a while now and start to increase my physical activities because I am sorely lacking in the exercise department.

 

[cute-bald]

You asked about increasing metabloism. 1 thing has been found to be the most effective in increasing calories burned ....... EVEN while sleeping. MORE MUSCLE.
Yes, muscle takes more calories to be maintained , thus the more muscle the more calories your body requires & burns. This is scietifically measured. Yes , your calory rate of burn can be measured & your b.m.i.= body mass index. As we get in our 60's our body naturally starts to loose muscle thus it is more important to be active & do weights to keep toned & maintain muscle tone. Cheers. 1 other thing, is the studies find our body also burns more calories if well hydrated. Thus keep hydrated but that does not mean drink too much water.

 

[Twister]

Try the South Beach diet. Can pick up the book at any bookstore.
.

I've seen them often at Goodwill or value village stores used.

 

[Twister]

Getting up there in age (will be 50 years old next week). What are you middle agers like me doing to increase your metabolism? I know -- keep active, excercise, control your portions, etc. but what things actually work for you? I'm not severly obese but definitely could lose 25 - 30 pounds.

I agree with Cutebald "muscle and protein".
Its a nightmare, its much harder to burn calories, the weight comes on faster and very hard to get off. Together your blood pressure and glucose creep up like crazy. The more the fat, the less the boners. I had to start blood pressure meds...I hate it.....hopefully the weight will come off and will stop the pills.
The thirty pounds at our age is very destructive, don't wait, you'll be sorry. Now is the time.

 

[biogenicx]

OP- you want to know what really works? HARD WORK lol.

1- go to the gym.

2- get a real diet made for you. These diet books and all that crap is useless.

3- get a personal trainer- not a little small town gym trainer that doesn't have a clue- I mean get a real trainer who is a bodybuilder who knows how to get people to loose weight/gain muscle etc. Find a trainer who actually has people who he trains compete in bodybuilding shows. These trainers cost a lot but they're worth every penny

There is no fast track easy solution- it takes pain sweat and a strong focus.

 

[JEFF247]

Science is the only thing that works:
calorie intake - calories burned > 0: weight gain
calorie intake - calories burned < 0: weight loss

3500 calories is the magic #. It equals 1 pound of gain or loss based on how many calories you burn (metabolism) each day. I'm 6' and 185. I burn about 3000/day. If my intake is 2500/day I'll loose 1 lb in a week (7x500=3500). Works for me.

"And simply being more muscular boosts your body’s energy needs. Each extra pound of muscle you carry can burn up to 50 additional calories just to maintain itself -- and with no effort on your part. You can also increase your metabolism by eating foods that require extra energy to digest and metabolize; for example, protein. Your body burns twice as many calories digesting high-protein foods as it does foods that are high in carbs or fat, he says." WebMD

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/increase-your-metabolism-start-losing-fat

Metabolism is good but if you don't count calories you might as well be walking around in the dark.