1. De-Stress Yourself
By this point, we know
that our emotional, mental, and physical selves are intertwined and
interlinked. We have ample evidence to prove that our psychological
health affects our physical health, and vice versa. To this end, you
need to realize that stress—especially long-term stress— has a negative
effect on your body and your metabolism. A body that is under stress
produces cortisol, a hormone left over from the days when our fight or
flight response was necessary for survival. Back in the day, cortisol
left the body after the appropriate response was taken, but long-term
stress causes the hormone to take up residence in your body. This
disruption to your system causes weight gain, depression, and a
decreased metabolism. To de-stress your body—and boost your
metabolism—take the following steps. You’ll be glad you did!
2. Think Holistically
It’s vital to your
overall health to think holistically—to view yourself as a whole being,
not a collection of parts. In the 1970s, when Buddhist ideas seeped into
Western culture, one essential message was: “I am not my liver, my
spleen, my blood, nor my brain. I am all of me.” It sounded new and
often revolutionary at the time, but science soon joined the chorus. You
are not the sum of all your parts; you are the sum of all your parts
operating in tandem. Mind, body, and spirit are inseparable, and illness
in one often produces illness in the others. Think holistically, and
your overall health, as well as your rate of metabolism, will improve.
Check out these alternative practices: tai chi, qigong, or Reiki.
3. Try Yoga
Yoga is a great way to build
additional strength and flexibility without pounding your muscles as
aerobic exercises tend to do. Stretching brings everything back into
balance, keeping your muscles soft and supple so they can do their job.
Since muscles help maintain posture and balance, helping them maintain
pliability and strength will boost your overall health and your muscles’
ability to burn fat.
4. Embrace Pilates
Pilates is a series of exercises
that focus on strengthening core postural muscles to support the spine
for correct alignment, an approach used by many hospital rehabilitation
programs. Recently, Pilates has become very popular with the general
public, particularly those who are looking for a gentle method of
increasing core strength, flexibility, and movement.
Pilates is typically taught in
health clubs, where private or semiprivate instruction is available on
special equipment or group mat classes are conducted without equipment.
Pilates uses the resistance of the body to condition and correct itself,
with the goal of lengthening and aligning the spine. Like yoga, Pilates
offers a low-impact form of strengthening and toning muscles while
helping you get more in tune with your body.
The practice focuses on
the deep and lateral transverse abdominal muscle, combining stretching
and strengthening exercises that target the abdominals, gluteals, and
lower-back muscles. It can benefit athletes, those recovering from
injuries, and everyone in between.
5. Get a Massage
High stress levels can
contribute to your body storing extra fat, so it’s important to
incorporate relaxation moments into your weeks. One great way to do this
is through regular massages. Not only do they feel great, they also
improve muscle flexibility and have been shown to improve circulation,
which helps to boost metabolism.
6. Try Acupuncture
Many people have found
acupuncture effective in maintaining a healthy weight and increasing
their metabolism. Acupuncture treatments are typically achieved by the
placement of slender needles in areas of the person’s body that have to
do with appetite control, sugar imbalances, water retention, impulsive
eating, thyroid stimulation, and weight gain associated with menopause
or premenstrual syndrome.
7. Laugh
Not only does laughing
ratchet down your stress level instantaneously, a study by Vanderbilt
University reported a 20 percent boost in metabolism after laughing.
Even if you’re not feeling particularly joyful, try forcing a laugh
anyway. There’s a good chance that just trying to laugh will lift your
mood and metabolism.
8. Meditate
Take up meditation and
other stress-reducing techniques. Fifteen minutes of uninterrupted
meditation is a wonderful way to melt away the day’s worries and stress.
Meditation has also been said to increase energy levels and stimulate
metabolism.
