Diet tip: Easy ways to increase our metabolism

We’ve heard it all before: to lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you take in.

Hi this is Eunice from Diet Center.

We can boost our metabolism to increase the number of calories we burn. Here are three simple ways to give our body a boost!

1. Eat breakfast. Skipping breakfast (and other meals) deprives our bodies of energy it needs to run efficiently.

2. Eat smaller, frequent meals. Eating stimulates our metabolism. It will also help control our appetite, so that we don’t overeat at other meals.

3. Increase our physical activity level. This is one area in which we can significantly boost the number of calories our body burns. It’s not a bad idea to incorporate resistance training to maintain the muscle we have. More muscle burns more calories!

You might be thinking “I don’t have the time or the energy for that.”

Starting an exercise routine can be as easy as taking a step! Walking is a simple, effective way to increase your activity level to help with your weight- loss efforts. Just thinking about walking around the block, a mile or two, or walking for at least 30 minutes may sound too challenging. Instead of counting miles or minutes, try counting steps! Using a step counter can help track how much walking you do to help assess how active you are.

Step counters have been around for more than 40 years. They have been used in many studies on physical activity since 1993. They’re simple and affordable to use. Wear the step counter and take note of the number of steps you take in a day. You can try to take 200, or 500 more steps a day. Or aim for a total of 2,000 steps a day that’s the equivalent to one mile of walking, or maybe aim for 10,000 steps (equivalent to five miles of walking) a day. Consider tracking how many steps you take after walking 30 minutes and make that your daily goal. Try to set a goal that you’re comfortable with. If you make it a goal to increase the number of steps you take, you’ll be improving your activity level.

If you’re ready to start tracking your steps, you may want to select a step counter around $20 or more. More inexpensive counters have been found to be less accurate or not as durable. You can check out various pedometers or wireless activity trackers available online. You can also download apps onto your phone that will track your steps but then you must keep your phone with you. Try tracking your steps and increasing them daily. It’s an effective strategy to help improve your health and weight loss.

Thank you for reading Diet Center’s tip of the week. If you are already practicing these tips and are still struggling with weight loss, please call 928-753-5066 or stop by Diet Center at 1848 Hope Ave. in Kingman.