FitSugar

Ways to Boost Your Metabolism

FitSugar — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 05:30:00 -0700

Who, regardless of age or body type wouldn't want to burn calories more efficiently? Boosting your metabolism is fairly easy and can be as simple as eating regularly, not sipping some super caffeinated energy drink.

Here are some ideas on how to boost your metabolism:

Eat breakfast. Eating in the morning will help to jump-start your metabolism for the rest of the day. Plus studies show that eating breakfast will help to increase your resting metabolic rate by 10 percent. I'm not talking about coffee and a danish here. Make sure it's full of fiber, protein, and whole grains.

Don't skip meals or deny yourself food when you're hungry. Food fuels our bodies, and not giving your body the fuel it needs will slow down your metabolism, so you burn less calories.
Make sure you're getting your fill of B vitamins (B6, B12, folate, thiamin and niacin). These are important when it comes to metabolizing carbs, fats, and proteins. Not getting enough will slow down your metabolism, not to mention make you feel tired, depressed, and increase your risk for chronic disease.
Get your fill of magnesium since it's also important for energy metabolism. Eat dark green veggies, halibut, almonds, cashews, peanuts and peanut butter, soybeans (tempeh or edamame), whole grain breads and cereals, oatmeal, and beans.

What else can speed up your metabolism? To find out read more

When you're hungry for a mid morning or afternoon snack, choose foods that will fill you up and give you energy. Go for foods that contain healthy carbs (not refined flours), protein, and fiber. Hummus and veggies, yogurt with granola, peanut butter on a banana, and apples and cheese are great options. That way you won't feel overly hungry and end up overeating later because of it.
Since muscle burns more calories than fat, strength train to build up your muscles. Every pound of muscle you have burns 35 calories a day. One pound of fat burns only two. So the more muscles you have, the more calories your body will need to burn to keep you going.
Learn to love interval training. Alternate between short bursts of fast, intense physical activity and slower, lower intensity activity. That means if you like to run on a track, you can sprint the straight parts and jog or walk the curves. Or you can work hard riding your bike up a big hill, and then cruise down the slope. Interval training is not only good for your heart and lungs, but it will help you burn more calories than a regular even paced workout, and increase your metabolic rate.

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Should I Do High Intensity Cardio or Low Intensity Cardio?

FitSugar — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 04:00:00 -0700

The cardio world can be a confusing one. One of the biggest questions I hear from people is: How hard should I work when I am doing cardio?

There is no magic formula and the truth is that doing any form of cardio will be beneficial to your life, but here is a simple guideline:

Low Intensity Cardio means you should be getting your heart rate up to about 40-60% of your max heart rate (220 - age = max heart rate) -- It is more about duration (length) than intensity (how hard you work). Training at low intensities often means picking a comfortable pace and sticking to it throughout the duration of the session. Examples can include brisk walking, jogging and swimming. Those that are less fit, have led a previously sedentary lifestyle, are overweight, have a history (or a risk factor) of heart disease, as well as the elderly, and anyone with arthritis and those of us with special instructions from our doctor should opt for low intensity workouts initially.

High Intensity Cardio means that you should be getting your heart rate up from 70-85% of you max heart rate -- Oftentimes it can include interval training. Examples of high intensity workouts include jump roping, sprinting and spinning. Since higher intensity cardio workouts burn more calories in a shorter period of time, it can be rough on your bones and joints. Those who could be doing high intensity cardio workouts are those that are already physically fit and those who are training for an event and those that are fit. Start by adding a high intensity cardio session in place of a low intensity session once a week and then you can build up from there.

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Get Physical: Explore a Museum

FitSugar — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 07:35:00 -0800

Looking for something active to do this weekend with your significant other? The problem is that it's cold outside and depending on where you live possibly rainy or snowy.

Check out a new museum! Walking around a museum is not highly vigorous, but it gets you off the couch, out of the house and walking around. Not sure if your husband will be excited to see the Titanic Exhibit? Mine neither, so try going to different museums that might strike his fancy like The International Spy Museum in Washington DC. Maybe it will even encourage him to get in shape, since it's hard to be an international man of mystery if you're huffing and puffing while running after enemy #1. Or how about The Museum of Sex in NYC. Unless you want to rush through the museum, be sure to let him know that sex burns calories too after you see the exhibits. To find museums near you, check out the American Association of Museums.

Fit's Tip: Be sure to bring a pedometer so you can see how many steps you are really taking. Be careful when eating at the food courts at museums, it could be very easy to eat more calories than you actually burn seeing the sights.

What's the Diff: Total Calorie Burn and Net Calorie Burn

FitSugar — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 11:00:00 -0700

Although fitness is about moving your body, there is an awful lot of jargon to follow. One seriously good side effect of exercising regularly is burning calories. But do you understand the difference between total calorie burn (TCB) and net calorie burn (NCB)?

Let's start with TCB; it refers to the number of calories you burn during exercise plus the calories your body would burn naturally just from living, even if you're just sitting on the couch all day. The readouts on cardio machines usually refer to this number.

On the other hand, NCB refers only to the number of calories burned during exercise. To calculate the NCB of a 3-mile run, you take the TCB and subtract the amount of metabolic calories your body would burn while sedentary. To do this you need to know what your daily metabolic calorie burn is. While there is little gadget that calculates the amount of calories you burn at rest – you breathe into it for about 15 minutes after fasting for 12 hours (I did this when I visited a nutritionist) – most of us don't have access to this nifty machine. You can use this basic formula: Multiply 12 calories times the number of pounds you weigh. That means a 130 pound woman burns about 1,560 calories a day just with normal activity (65 calories per hour).

So what does this have to do with losing weight? To find out read more.

NCB is rarely mentioned, let alone displayed on the readout of your cardio machine stats post workout because it's a smaller number and we like to think we are burning large amounts of calories. It is kind of like the inverse of "vanity sizing." The TCB figure is misleading though; a post-workout summary might say you burned 450 calories by running for three miles (at 6.3 mph/9:30 minute miles), but in reality, your body actually only burned about 418 net calories (or extra calories). It's not a huge difference, but working with just the TCB illustrates one reason people have trouble losing weight, since they think they're burning more calories than they really are. So keep this in mind if you're trying to shape up for Summer. You may need to work out longer and more often than you think.

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Increase Your Pace Slightly and Burn More Calories

FitSugar — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:00:02 -0700

If you're trying to lose weight, cardio is your best friend. Workouts that get your heart rate up, such as running, biking, and using a cardio machine, are the best way to burn calories and reduce your percentage of body fat. Another fact to point out is that the faster you move, the more calories you'll burn. I'm not suggesting that you have to sprint through your entire workout - increasing your pace even a small amount will make a difference. Here are two ways to increase your speed when doing cardio.

Add intervals. After warming up, move at your usual pace for one minute, then increase your speed for one minute, then return to your usual pace for a minute. Repeat this sequence for 30 minutes, and then cool down. Need a plan to follow? Here are some interval workouts for all types of cardio. Remember, interval training is proven to reduce belly fat.
Increase your overall pace just sightly. Running at a pace of 5 mph (12-minute miles) burns 263 calories in 30 minutes. If you run a bit faster at 6 mph (10 minutes per mile), you'll burn 292 calories. It may not seem like a big difference, but if you run five times a week, you'll burn an extra 145 calories.

Increasing your speed when doing cardio won't take a lot more energy, but it'll sure make a difference to your body. You'll burn more calories, which translates to a slimmer, more defined frame. It will also help with your endurance, and make you stronger.

Burn Office Calories

FitSugar — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 05:30:00 -0700

So what if you sit at a desk all day? There are hundreds of opportunities to burn calories from nine to five, and avoid job-related weight gain. According to Fitness magazine, there are some easy ways to stay fit and still keep your job. To see the list, read more.

Activity	Calories Burned
Typing (120 minutes)	230
Heel raises while sitting at your desk (5 minutes)	19
Walk the stairs on your lunch break (15 minutes)	128
Touch up your makeup (5 minutes)	10
Clean your desk and drawers (15 minutes)	40
Stand while on the phone (30 minutes)	58
Desk stretches (15 minutes)	59
Go for a jog on your lunch break (20 minutes)	158
Bike to and from work (20 minutes)	118
Do some strength training with dumbbells (5 minutes)	15

Want a few more ideas on how to stay active during your workday? Check out these tips for working it.
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Burn a Few More Calories: Take a Self Defense Class

FitSugar — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 09:30:00 -0700

Some of my favorite kinds of workouts are the ones that kill two birds with one stone. For example, I love getting in 30 minutes of cardio while watching the last episode of TopChef (yes, I watch that show too). I also love doing pull-ups and dips on the monkey bars while I am at the park with my kids.

Another way to get fit and accomplish something (aside from plain ol' getting healthy) while you're exercising is to take a self-defense class. Here's why: Your first defense in self-defense is to run (run Forest, run...), and we all know how good running is at burning calories. Your next defense in self-defense is to try to fight off a possible attacker, which means you'll be learning how to protect yourself with specialized moves. Perfecting moves such as the Hammer Fist and Elbow Shots is an excellent method for burning calories as well as empowering yourself too. Check around for self-defense classes near you. A lot of local YMCAs offer them as well as community centers, and even gyms, nationwide.

Unique Ways to Burn 100 Calories

FitSugar — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 03:00:00 -0700

We are always looking for new ways to burn an extra hundred calories throughout our days, right? Women's Health has come up with 100 unique, and I mean unique, ways to burn 100 more calories this summer. Some of them are downright silly, but heck, maybe shearing sheep is in your future so check out my ten favorites from their list:

1. Slather on lip balm 765 times.
2. Relive the '80s. Lip sync George Michael's Faith 16 times.
19. Swing a lasso over your head 375 times.
21. Shear three sheep (6 minutes per sheep).
35. Put a 42-pound 4-year-old in the child seat and it'll only take half an hour.
40. Wash, halve, and seed two acorn squash, then watch them bake for 30 minutes.
42. Play "Chopsticks" on the piano incessantly for 41 minutes.
49. Sing the Grease original soundtrack from start to finish.
52. Have fun when you get back to work: Twirl 123 times in your office chair (try not to puke).
71. No game necessary: Do 780 jumping jacks. Yes, 780.

To see the full list in all its glory, check out WomensHealth.com.

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Can You Burn Off Those S'mores?

FitSugar — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:30:00 -0700

One thing I love about camping and backpacking is that you stay very active, from pitching tents to building fires to hiking. So I don't have to feel guilty about enjoying a few s'mores.

Of course, lounging around the campfire isn't going to burn off those calories, but a few good old-fashioned camping activities will. Take my quiz to find out how much you have to work to feel better about those choco-marshmallow treats. (All calorie calculations are based on a 130-pound woman.)

Take the quiz

Spring Into Action and Guess the Calories Burned!

FitSugar — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 04:30:00 -0700

Ah, Spring, I'm so glad you're here. After all those short Winter days, I'm anxious to hop on my bike and enjoy the evening sun. But cycling is just one of many ways to get moving and burn off those lingering cold-weather calories. So take my quiz and see if you know how many calories a 130-pound woman burns doing these springtime activities.

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Take the quiz