How to increase metabolism & enhance Fat-burning

Bodybuilding - How To Increase Metabolism, & Enhance Fat-Burning

1. Maintain A Healthy Weight In The Off-Season
The metabolism is adversely effected when one consumes a large amount of food, for a certain period of time. In fact, the term yo-yo dieting stems from many peoples attempts to lose weight, whilst reverting to bad eating habits, when they should be sticking to a sensible approach.

The body will simply adapt to maintaining a low metabolic rate if it has to continually adjust to a sharp decline in calories, for a period, followed by engorgement. This has obvious implications when it comes to losing weight when it counts (pre-competition for example). Attempting to lose fat at a rapid rate will also, inevitably, result in losses in protein, and, as discussed in detail later, a net loss of muscle protein means a decrease in metabolism.

2. Eat More Frequently, With Smaller Servings
Eating smaller servings, on a frequent basis, serves to keep the metabolic rate constantly heightened, and helps to stabilize blood sugar levels. A constantly stimulated metabolism means fat-burning over a longer period.
Stabilized blood sugar prevents the hypoglycemia that occurs when one eats a huge meal and feels tired and lethargic soon afterward, due to low glucose levels to the brain. The body is more likely to store fat when in a hypoglycemic state, due to a spike in insulin levels.

3. Train With Weights
This is an easy one given bodybuilders, and other fitness enthusiasts (for the most part), train with weights. Weight training builds muscle and muscle stimulates the metabolism to a significant degree. Bigger, more muscular, bodybuilders, ironically enough, tend to have more efficient metabolisms by virtue of muscles fat-burning effect.

4. Eat Sufficient Protein
Protein will stimulate the metabolism far more efficiently than either carbohydrates or fat, due to the energy demands of amino acid utilization.

In fact, eating a meal high in protein will stimulate the metabolism by as much as 30%, as opposed to fat or carbohydrates which increase it by around 4%. Furthermore, protein will heighten the metabolic rate for around 12-hours after eating.

5. Begin Dieting Early
One should allow plenty of time (at least 12 weeks, depending on the type of shape they are in) to lose all visible body-fat. Doing this will ensure only a small amount of fat will need to be lost per week (about half a pound) as opposed to a significant amount in a small space of time.

Dieting too close to competition time (which logically requires dropping calories to low) will send out a signal that the body is approaching a state of starvation, which results in the body shutting down the metabolism to conserve calories for this time of famine.