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Boost Metabolism and Prevent Middle-Age Weight Gain

Source: WebMD archive

By Sari Harrar

You diet more than ever, but don’t weigh less. Exercise regularly, but still feel flabby. And your once perfectly fitting clothes now seem snug.

If you’re nodding your head in agreement, chances are you’re in the over-35 club. Like most members, you probably have a stay-slim formula (something like regular walks plus no ice cream at night) that no longer seems to be working.

“If you never had problems losing or maintaining your weight in your 20s or even in your early 30s, you may not be ready for what happens next,” warns Madelyn H. Fernstrom, Ph.D., director of the Weight Management Center at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. “Your metabolism slows by 5 percent each decade. Compared to age 25, you’ll burn about 100 fewer calories a day at 35 and 200 fewer at 45. Do nothing, and you could gain eight to 12 pounds a year.”

With age, muscle mass diminishes and so does your metabolic rate (the number of calories your body burns throughout the day, whether you’re sleeping, sitting, or sprinting to catch a bus). Making matters worse, many women unwittingly sabotage their calorie-burning potential with crash diets, ineffective exercise strategies, and other metabolism-busting habits.

Don’t fret yet. Although there are no magic bullets, there’s plenty you can do to boost the number of calories your body burns every day and thus maintain or even lose weight. Here, the six biggest mistakes you can make — and the research-proven metabolism fixes.

Mistake: Relying on Just Your Scale

The basic ones, which only calculate pounds, can’t tell you what percentage of your body weight is lean, calorie-burning muscle and how much is puffy, sluggish fat. “Even a woman whose weight is in the normal range can have a high percentage of body fat and a low percentage of muscle,” Fernstrom says. “And the less muscle you have, the fewer calories you’ll burn.”

The metabolic difference between a pound of muscle and a pound of fat is dramatic: Muscle burns at least three times more calories. “A woman who weighs 130 pounds and has a healthy 25 percent body fat will burn about 200 more calories per day than a 130-pound woman with about 40 percent body fat — a typical level for women at midlife,” says David C. Nieman, Dr.P.H., director of the Human Performance Laboratory at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. “If the woman with more body fat doesn’t start modifying her diet or increase her exercise, she could start putting on weight really fast.”

The Fix: Get an Expert to Weigh In

Visit your local gym (or a fitness center affiliated with a hospital) and ask for a body-fat reading. “Find out whether the person who measures you has been trained,” advises Fernstrom. People who have been certified by the American College of Sports Medicine or who are exercise physiologists should have training in body-fat analysis. A good way to check their accuracy: “At your first visit, get two measurements within minutes of each other by the same person to see how much variation there is. A little, like 2 to 3 percent, is OK,” says Fernstrom. To track your progress, get rechecked roughly every three months.

You can eyeball your fat level at home, too. “If you’ve got a poochy tummy or can pinch an inch or more of fat at your waistline or upper arm, you’re probably carrying more body fat than you should,” Fernstrom notes.

“Anything over 30 percent should be a wake-up call to make some real changes,” she adds.

Mistake: Crash Dieting

When you slash too many calories, you send your body into starvation mode. “A flat-out fast will drop the average woman’s metabolic rate by at least 25 percent,” says Nieman. “If you’re on a very-low-cal regimen, in the 400- to 800-calorie range, it falls by 15 to 20 percent.” Eating fewer than 900 calories a day also prompts your body to burn desirable muscle tissue as well as fat, which slows your metabolic rate even more.

The Fix: Shed Pounds S-L-O-W-L-Y

“If you stay within the 1,200- to 1,500-calorie range, you can still slim down — and you’ll lower your metabolic rate only by about 5 percent,” explains Nieman. “What’s more, about 90 percent of the weight you lose will be fat.”

Regardless of which type of diet plan you choose, be sure to include lots of lean protein, such as chicken, fish, or lean beef. “Protein contains leucine, an amino acid that seems to protect you from muscle loss during a diet,” says Stuart M. Phillips, Ph.D., associate professor of kinesiology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. Skim milk can help even more: Phillips and his team tracked 56 men who pumped iron five days a week for three months and found that those who downed two cups of fat-free milk soon after their workout built more muscle — and lost more flab — than those who drank soy milk or a flavored-carbohydrate drink. “We have evidence that the benefit is very similar for women,” Phillips notes. “They don’t put on as much muscle as men, but they lose more fat.”

Mistake: Only Doing Cardio

If you never challenge your muscles with strength-training moves, you’ll lose up to five pounds of muscle each decade, reports Wayne L. Westcott, Ph.D., fitness research director at the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, MA. Cardiovascular exercise (like walking, biking, swimming, or sweating through an aerobics class) is great for your health, but it isn’t strenuous enough to build or even preserve much muscle mass. “Only strength training creates the microscopic tears that prompt muscles to rebuild themselves,” explains Phillips. “Lifting weights promotes a continual remodeling of muscle tissue. The process burns a lot of calories.”

The Fix: Pump Iron

When women at the South Shore YMCA strength trained for 20 minutes twice a week for 10 weeks, they added 2.6 pounds of calorie-hungry lean muscle and lost 4.6 pounds of body fat, which other research shows is likely to boost metabolic rate by 7 percent, notes Westcott.

You should aim for about 40 to 60 minutes of strength training a week. Use the weight room at your local gym, or exercise with dumbbells or resistance bands at home. If you’ve never pumped iron before, sign up for a few sessions with a personal trainer. That way, you’ll learn how to get the most out of each move — without risking injury. And once you’ve been at it for a while, you’ll need to increase the weight or resistance you’re using. “Often, women don’t push themselves hard enough because they’re afraid they’ll bulk up with heavier weights,” notes Fernstrom. “But that kind of muscle gain is unlikely because females don’t have enough testosterone in their bodies to make muscles like men do.”

Mistake: Sticking to the Same Exercises

If you always walk the same route, swim laps at one speed, or even have a single strength-training routine, your muscles adapt and become so efficient that they burn fewer calories while you work out, says Fernstrom. How to tell when it’s time for a change? If any of the following is true: You’re not sweating as much at the end of your routine; you don’t feel that tired after working out; or you’re gaining weight even though you aren’t eating more or exercising less.

The Fix: Switch It Up

Give your metabolic rate a big boost by adding a few short, fast-paced bursts of speed to your regular walking, biking, swimming, or other aerobic routine. Researchers at the University of Guelph in Ontario found that women who did interval workouts on stationary bikes for two weeks burned 36 percent more fat when they completed a continuous ride afterward. The reason: “More muscle fibers got worked during those high-intensity intervals,” says Martin Gibala, Ph.D., an exercise physiologist at McMaster University. “When you push hard in short bursts, it reactivates nerve fibers, builds new capillaries, and forces your body to repair the muscle. All of that burns a tremendous amount of calories — long after you’ve completed your session.

The best news: “You don’t have to be an elite athlete to get the benefits of intervals,” explains Gibala. “If you’re a walker, pick up the pace for 20 or 30 seconds, then slow down to your usual pace for a minute or two. Then do it again. Start small, with one, two, or three intervals in your walk. As you grow stronger, add more intervals, and make them longer and more intense.”

Mistake: Eating Lightly (or Not At All) Before Noon

“Women often have one of two problems with breakfast,” says Elisabetta Politi, R.D., nutrition director of the Duke Diet & Fitness Center in Durham, NC. “If they overindulge at night, they don’t have much appetite in the morning. Or they’re trying to cut calories early in the day, so they don’t eat enough in the A.M.” Breakfast skimpers and skippers, plus women whose diet resolve is strongest in the morning (“Just coffee and dry toast, please”), commit the same metabolic faux pas: eating too little to flip on their metabolism as well as vital “satisfaction switches” in the brain that register fullness in the stomach.

The Fix: Munch on More Food in the Morning

When researchers at the University of Texas at El Paso analyzed the food diaries of 867 women and men, they discovered a metabolic window of opportunity for appetite control: a hearty breakfast. Study volunteers who ate a bigger meal in the morning went on to eat 100 to 200 fewer calories later in the day. Research from Michigan State University that tracked 4,218 people showed that women who skipped breakfast were 30 percent more likely to be overweight. The best A.M. filler-uppers: oatmeal, eggs, peanut butter — or “anything with fiber and protein,” says Politi.

Mistake: Living a High-Stress, Low-Sleep Life

When things get extra-hectic, your levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, shoot up. And that can trigger cravings for high-fat, high-carb foods, report University of California, San Francisco, researchers. The worst part: Your body also sends that extra fat to your waistline. Millions of years ago, this metabolic trick might have helped cavewomen refuel after fending off marauding mastodons. But if you’ve got 21st-century chronic stress (Job! Kids! House! Marriage!), all that extra cortisol could land you in perpetual “pass the Twinkies” mode.

Sleep deprivation wreaks havoc on your waistline, too. When Harvard Medical School scientists followed 68,183 women for 16 years, they found that those averaging five hours of shut-eye per night were 32 percent more likely to gain 33 pounds than those who got seven hours a night. Those logging an average of six hours per night were 12 percent more likely. What gives? Sleep deprivation increases the appetite-stimulating hormone, ghrelin, and decreases the satisfaction hormone, leptin, say researchers from the University of Chicago. In a study they conducted, tired volunteers craved more candy, cookies, chips, and pasta.

The Fix: Sleep More, Stress Less

Aim for at least seven hours of slumber most nights. Women who snoozed for that long, or longer, had a lower risk of weight problems, the Harvard researchers found. And try meditation — it could keep you in your skinny jeans. A Canadian study of 90 meditators found that those who practiced in a group setting for 1 1/2 hours a week for seven weeks and fit in additional time at home had less stress and anxiety than non-meditators. Or tie on your sneakers and go for a walk in the park or the woods: In a British study, 71 percent of people who walked in the countryside felt less tense afterward. Other research on the health benefits of nature backs this up: A Dutch overview confirmed that just looking at greenery can improve well-being.

Originally published on: February 28, 2008

Awesome Abs Without Crunches

By Lucy Danziger and the staff at SELF
Jul 19, 2012

Tight-in-the-abs and easy-on-the-eyes Joshua Lipsey, a fitness pro from Toronto who created the tummy-honing program TransCoremation ($150; C2CoreConcepts.com). The brilliance of his belly buffers: Unlike classic crunches, which target only the rectus abdominis (running from the center of your chest to your pubic bone), these moves work the transversus abdominis (deeper muscles that wrap around your trunk) as well as the obliques along your sides. Translation: a tinier waist, a flatter middle and sexy definition —fast!
Your plan Add five ab-firming minutes a day to your workout, doing any combo of the six moves here. Or if you’re in the mood for a flat-ab-athon, try this entire lineup.

1. Swizzle Reach

WORKS TRANSVERSUS AND RECTUS ABDOMINIS
Lie faceup, hands behind head, elbows out, legs together with knees bent, shins parallel to ground. Engage abs, lifting upper body and reaching elbows to knees. Hold crunch as you straighten legs, lifting right leg high and lowering left leg to a 45-degree angle. Extend arms (as shown) and hold for 1 beat. Return to start. Repeat, reversing legs, for 1 rep. Do 10 reps.

2. Scissor Tap

WORKS TRANSVERSUS AND RECTUS ABDOMINIS, OBLIQUES
Lie on right side, right forearm propping up upper body, left arm raised and legs splayed wide with right leg in front (as shown). Engage abs to lift torso, keeping weight on right hip, and reach right hand to tap between shins. Return to start. Scissor legs so left is in front of right, and tap again for 1 rep. Do 15 reps. Switch sides; repeat.

3. Twist and Tighten

WORKS TRANSVERSUS AND RECTUS ABDOMINIS, OBLIQUES
Sit with feet planted, right hand on ground about a foot behind right hip, left hand on head, elbow out; lift hips. Hold tabletop pose as you bend torso and raise right knee to touch left elbow over midsection (as shown). Do 12 reps. Switch sides; repeat.

4. Super Cinching Sit-Up

WORKS TRANSVERSUS AND RECTUS ABDOMINIS, OBLIQUES
Lie faceup, arms overhead on ground. Engage abs as you sit up, bending knees and twisting torso to right as you extend arms past knees (as shown). Return to start. Repeat on opposite side for 1 rep. Do 20 reps.

5. Side Slim-Down

WORKS OBLIQUES
Kneel on right knee with arms overhead and leaning toward left, left leg extended out to side, foot on ground (as shown). Shift to right, placing right hand on ground to support upper body, as you raise left leg level with hip, foot flexed. Return to start. Do 15 reps. Switch sides; repeat.

6. Beggar’s Plank

WORKS TRANSVERSUS AND RECTUS ABDOMINIS, OBLIQUES
Start in plank position on forearms, palms down, feet together. Flip right palm up as you move right forearm forward a few inches; repeat on left (as shown). Reverse movement: Move left forearm back as you flip palm down; repeat on right to return to start for 1 rep. Do 15 reps.

Female Muscle: Want To Get Lean Naturally and Stay Healthy?

Female Muscle: Want To Get Lean Naturally and Stay Healthy?

The 30-Minute Workout Routine Slideshow

The 30–Minute Fitness Blitz

Think you don't have time to work out? You do. It's the intensity of your workout that's key. A short–burst, high–intensity workout boosts your metabolism and tones muscles. Get moving with this 30–minute "quickie" routine that includes cardio training and resistance training for each major muscle group.
If you're new to exercise, over 40, have a health problem, or take regular medication, check with your doctor before starting a fitness program.

Beginner Squats: for Thighs

If you're new at this, get started with a beginner version of squats using an exercise ball. Stand against a wall with the ball at your low back, feet hip–width apart and out in front. Slowly lower your body by folding at the hips and bending the knees, dropping glutes toward the floor; slowly move back to the starting position. Your knees should remain over your heels. Perform 10 challenging repetitions.

Squats: for Thighs

Once you're ready, try squats without an exercise ball. For good form: Keep your feet shoulder-width apart and your back straight. Bend your knees and lower your rear as if you were sitting down, keeping your knees over your ankles. To target more muscle groups in less time, add an overhead press at the same time. With a dumbbell in each hand, rise from the squat position and push weights overhead, palms out. Really focus on good form. Perform 10 repetitions.

Forward Lunge: for Thighs

Standing with feet hip–width apart, take a big step forward with one leg, then lower your body toward the floor, front knee aligned with ankle, back knee pointing to the floor. Return to the starting position, and repeat by stepping forward with the other leg. For more challenge, hold a free weight in both hands and complete the lunge with a rotation in the torso, twisting the body toward the forward leg. Perform 10 repetitions on each side.

Romanian Deadlift: for Hamstrings

To perform a deadlift holding a body bar or free weights, stand up straight with feet hip–width apart. Fold at your hips, moving the hips backward as you lower your upper body parallel to the floor. Keep the legs straight without locking the knees, and keep the back level and the spine in neutral. Lower the weight to just below your knees, then slowly return to the starting position. Perform 10 repetitions.

The Bridge: for Hamstrings

The bridge works the glutes (butt), hamstrings, and core. Lying on your back with knees bent and feet hip-width apart, peel your spine off the floor, starting at the tailbone, forming a diagonal line from knees down to shoulders. Slowly return to the starting position. For an extra challenge: Target your triceps by holding light weights, lifting your arms ceilingward as you raise your hips, see right. Bend your elbows to lower the weights towards the floor. Perform 10 repetitions.

Push-Ups: for Chest & Core

Let's move to the upper body. Push-ups strengthen the chest, shoulders, triceps, and core muscles. Lying face-down, place hands a bit wider than your shoulders. Place toes on the floor, creating a smooth line from shoulders to feet. Keeping core muscles engaged, lower and lift your body by bending and straightening your elbows. Too hard? Place knees on the floor instead of toes. To boost the workout, add an exercise ball under the hips, knees, or feet. Perform 10 repetitions.

Chest Press: for the Chest

Instead of push-ups you can try the chest press with weights. Lie face-up on a bench, with knees bent or feet on the floor, spine relaxed. Press a body bar or free weights from your chest, see left, toward the ceiling. Extend your arms but don’t lock the elbows, and move slowly in both directions, keeping shoulder blades on the bench. For an extra challenge, do the chest press with your head and upper back on an exercise ball. Perform 10 repetitions.

Bent-Over Row: for Back & Biceps

The bent-over row works all the major muscles of the upper back, as well as the biceps. Begin the exercise in a bent-over position with your back flat, one knee and one hand on the same side of the body braced on a bench. Hold a free weight in the other hand with arm extended, see left. Lift the weight toward the hip until the upper arm is just beyond horizontal, see right. Then slowly lower weight to the starting position. Perform 10 repetitions.

Shoulder Press: for Shoulders

A shoulder press works the shoulder muscles and can be performed standing or seated. For extra back support, use a bench with a back rest. Begin with elbows bent and weights at shoulders, see left. Slowly reach toward the ceiling, keeping the elbows under the hands and the shoulders away from the ears; slowly lower back to the starting position. Perform 10 repetitions.

Cable Pull Down: for Upper Back

For the last upper body exercise, do the cable pull down, which works the upper back. Using a cable machine, sitting straight with a neutral spine, grasp the bar with arms extended, see left. Slowly pull the bar down past the face and toward the chest. Only go as far as you can without leaning back, and control the weight on the way back up. Perform 10 repetitions.

Bicycle Crunch: for Core & Abdominals

Lying on your back on the floor, fold knees toward the chest and curl the upper body off the floor. With hands behind head, slowly rotate upper body to the right while drawing the right knee in and reaching the left leg out. Then rotate left and pull the left knee in and extend right leg out. Focus on bringing the shoulder toward the hip (rather than the elbow to the knee), and keep the opposite shoulder off the floor. Perform 10 repetitions.

Side Plank: for Core or Abdominals

For another abdominal alternative, lie on your side with a bent elbow directly under your shoulder, and use your torso muscles to lift the body up into a side plank, see above. Then lift the hips higher, then back to the plank, then lower. Do as many as you can with proper form, then repeat on the other side.

Have You Completed 20 Minutes?

Before moving on to the cardio portion of the workout, be sure you've completed 20 minutes of resistance training. If you have, now's a good time for a water break to keep your muscles well-hydrated. If you haven't, go back and start the circuit over again until you reach the 20 minute goal.

Cardiovascular Training

Vary the intensity during your cardio workout. Use intense intervals, taking about a minute to get from moderate speed to intense. Whether you're on the stair-stepper, the elliptical trainer, or the treadmill, do:

• 30 seconds of the highest speed you can tolerate, then 30 seconds of normal speed.
• Then 30 seconds of the stiffest resistance you can handle, then 30 seconds of normal.

Keep moving back and forth between speed and resistance until you've completed 10 minutes.

Frequency of Workout

Perform this 30-minute workout routine every other day, or do it two days in a row if that better suits your schedule. These are not hardcore bodybuilding-style routines where the high degree of muscular overload requires full rest to recover. For a healthy body, work out regularly and eat a healthy diet.

26 Foods That Fight Fat

Need an easy weight loss boost?

These food superstars may help you
whittle away those stubborn extra pounds.

Greek Yogurt

What makes Greek yogurt a delicious tool for weight loss is its protein content. It has twice as much as other yogurts. "Protein takes longer to leave the stomach," says sports nutritionist Leslie Bonci, MPH, RD. "That keeps you satisfied longer." As a bonus, Bonci tells WebMD, the body burns more calories digesting protein than carbs. Non-fat, low-fat, and low-sugar types keep a slim profile.

Quinoa

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) is a nutritional all-star that belongs in your weight loss plan. This whole grain has 8 grams of hunger-busting protein and 5 grams of fiber in one cup, plus it's as easy to cook as rice. It's also packed with nutrients such as iron, zinc, selenium, and vitamin E. For a quick and interesting dinner, mix in some vegetables, nuts, or lean protein.

Cinnamon

Studies suggest cinnamon may have a stabilizing effect on blood sugar levels. This could curtail appetite, particularly in people with type 2 diabetes, Bonci says. Nearly everyone can benefit from cinnamon in its traditional role. Stir some into your coffee, tea, or yogurt to add sweetness without adding calories.

Hot Peppers

Hot peppers contain a flavorless compound called capsaicin. It's more plentiful in spicy habaneros, but also occurs in jalapeños. This compound appear
s to curb appetite and speed up the metabolism slightly, but only for a short time. Bonci doubts that this has a significant impact on weight loss. But, she says, people tend to eat less when their food is spicy.

Green Tea

Several studies suggest green tea may promote weight loss by stimulating the body to burn abdominal fat. Green tea contains catechins, a type of phytochemical that may briefly affect the metabolism. To get the most benefit, you may need to drink green tea several times a day. Bonci recommends taking your tea hot, because it takes longer to drink, slowing your calorie intake and providing a soothing, mindful experience.

Whipped to Ripped: Amazing Transformations

In honor of Taylor Lautner's amazing 30-pound weight gain to portray New Moon's werewolf Jacob Black, we've corralled the top big-screen stars who went from whipped to ripped--abs, biceps and bods, that is. Click on to check out the results of our recent survey on who tops the list.

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