Increasing Your Metabolism

We all would like more energy. How do we do this? By ramping up our metabolism. We can do this with foods or...

1. In your workout. Walk for the same amount of time at the same intensity every day and your body will get bored. Add a little variety with interval training, this involves changing the intensity during your exercise program. Every 5 minutes of your walk, jog for one minute. If you bike ride, shift to a higher gear and pedal harder for a minute, if you swim, speed up every other length. You'll burn more calories in the same amount of time.

2. Fidgeting. People who drum their fingers or bounce their knees burn at least 500 calories a day. this adds up to one pound per week!

3. Stress balls. By squeezing one of those squeegy balls, during the day, its a great exercise for the muscles in your hands and arms, and it burns a lot of calories.

4. Don't cut back too much. Cutting too many calories can be more harmful than you think. Substitute other healthy food; carrots, celery with peanut butter, apple slices, etc.

5. Drink water! Drinking at least 5 glasses, 16 ounces each, is good for your skin and your organs, detoxing the body. Researchers have also found that by drinking water, yo will burn more calories, and increase your metabolic rate. Your metabolic rate can jump a third within 10 minutes of drinking cold water. 

Read more here: www.floridaspagirls.net

Walk a little, Run a Little

For those who are looking for more cardiovascular conditioning, running is better than walking. However, walking is better for weight loss when it comes to exercise.
Moderately intense exercise, like a brisk walk, burns higher percentage of fat calories than high-intensity exercise. Walking is low-impact and is great for all ages and fitness levels.
This is great for families, or moms or dads with kids, take a brisk walk around the block or your subdivision. Make a fun game of it; find different birds and other critters. Before you know it your kids will keep you on your toes with scavenger hunts along with their energizing walks.
You may even find your family participating in 5K runs/walks in and around your community for a charity.
Tip: Start slow. It's better to walk 5 or 10 minutes per day and work your way up than to overdue it and then be less frequent and not enjoying your walks. Build up to a jog or run if you desire, or are training for a 5K or marathon.

Don't put off exercise until you're training for a marathon. Gather the kids, grab a bottle of water and enjoy family fitness. Or hook up with a neighbor and make a religious habit of walking together, take the dog if you need to.