If you’ve struggled with your weight for while or are simply curious as to new ways of losing that frustrating last bit of fat from your body, you’re surely to have heard the term “metabolism” thrown around regularly.

Your metabolism is the rate at which your body converts food into energy, essentially burning calories. It is a term applied to all the chemical processes that maintain your body through the conversion of food molecules into useable forms. These chemical processes are occurring constantly. When you’re active, when you’re sedentary, even when you’re asleep! They include things such as blood circulation, cell repair, breathing and hormone regulation.

When you read about people “boosting” their metabolism, it refers to using healthy techniques to increase the rate that your body is effectively using the calories you ingest. The following are simple healthy steps you can take to getting your metabolism chugging along nicely.

Eat 6 meals a day – ESPECIALLY BREAKFAST! Eating when you get up in the morning literally kick starts your body’s engine and puts it on the right track for the day. If you don’t eat often enough, your body thinks it needs to store energy and therefore stops burning energy. Keep feeding your body with small healthy meals throughout the day to keep up the pace!

Stay Hydrated – Your body is made up of 60% water. When you don’t hydrate your body, the functions of your body are all compromised, including your metabolism. Drink eight glasses of water to maintain your body like well oiled machine.

Move around regularly – Yes, you may be working out once daily, but how much of your day are you spending sedentary? How long do you spend sitting at your desk? The less you get up and move around regularly during your day, the less calories your body will use. Your body changes from converting carbohydrates into energy, to converting them into fat. Your blood circulation slows, as does the production and circulation of feel good hormones, leading to feelings of depression. Plan for a walk in the middle of your day. Or set a timer on your phone to stand up and stretch or do some push-ups every hour.

Interval training – Ramping up your exercise with interval training (alternating moderate pace with intense pace) makes your cells power through a lot more oxygen and consume energy, rather than if you are just keeping one pace. (Our famous 18 MAS exercise system does just this! You’ll read all about it in our new WHC 2015 guide!)
See? It’s not as simple as calories in vs calories out! Take these four tips into account to get your body churning calories at an optimal pace.