Hi °C | Lo °C Weight Training
"Without a shadow of a doubt the best way to boost your metabolism is with weight training," Sean says. "For every pound of muscle you have, you'll burn three times more calories than a pound of fat, that's why I'd always encourage weight training.
"Apart from increasing the metabolism, weight training creates an after-burn effect. If you go in and run on the treadmill, your metabolic rate will go high, but it will probably drop back down before you've even left the gym.
"Seven to eight hours after weight training, your body is still pumping through high amounts of calories because it's trying to recover and repair."
Don't Skip Breakfast
"If you consider your metabolism a fire, at night time it's gonna go out. That's why they say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, because you want to stoke that fire. That fire goes out at night time and if you get up in the morning and you don't feed it, it doesn't really kick into fifth gear, it just stays plodding along, so it's really important to eat a breakfast.
"People who eat a high-fibre, low-fat breakfast burn more calories in a day because they've started the fire and the fibre is slowly releasing energy."
Drink Plenty Of Water
We've heard this one before, but here comes the science bit: "If your body becomes dehydrated one of the defence mechanisms is to stop and lower your metabolism, so when that lowers down, you burn fewer calories.
"They did a study recently with two blokes, one drank eight glasses of water a day, one drank four glasses, and the guy that drank eight glasses burned more calories than the guy that drank four.
"Also, when you become dehydrated, your body craves sugary, salty foods."
Don't Cut Too Many Calories
"This is a problem that I encounter a lot, people that don't eat enough," Sean points out. "It sounds strange but let's say, you can eat 1,700 calories a day; if you only feed yourself 1,200, you're actually starving your body so what your body does to fight that is it actually stores fat.
"Fat's like a log in this fire that's going to keep your fire going longer, and eat your muscle, which in turn will lower your metabolic rate down. Your body will just shut down, and when you do eat you're more likely to chose high-fat high-calorie food, because you crave it."
Get A Proper Night's Sleep
"Just like anything else, the metabolism engine needs to rest," Sean explains, adding that seven to eight hours is just enough time to regenerate.
Eat More Protein
That means beef, pork, fish, white meat, chicken, beans, nuts, eggs, and low-fat dairy products.
"The body needs protein, it helps the body build and recover." Sean says. "You burn twice as many calories just digesting protein as you do fats and carbs and also, it keeps you fuller for longer.
"All main meals, I'd encourage protein, breakfast, lunch and dinner. I'd even throw in protein powder in with my porridge, just so I'm getting a hit of it."
Spice Up Your Food
Bad news for folk with a sensitive palate: "spicy foods have a chemical in them that raises your metabolism, it's like a thermogenic that will raise your body temperature, so I'd always encourage people to throw it in if they can tolerate it."
Interval Training
Simply described as bursts of intense effort followed by periods of rest, interval training keeps your body burning calories after your workout is done.
"Apart from being really good for weight loss, it's the best way to train heart and lungs. It's about creating an unaccustomed stimulus, shocking your body into improving.
"Like weight training, it creates an after-burn affect, so if you do both of them, your metabolism is going to be sky-high for hours after."
Irish Independent
