Day 6 - Speeding Up Metabolism

I've been doing a lot of reading of various sources about the mechanism of metabolism. Here are a few of the "hints" I've learned and hope to apply, to help me speed up my metabolism (which, ultimately, helps me lose weight):

A German study concluded that slowly sipping iced water can increase the metabolic rate by about 30%, for the next ninety minutes! Wow, THAT is all the incentive I need to keep myself hydrated with ice water ... Conversely, metabolism slows down without enough hydration. Dehydration also increases appetite. (Taking sip of water RIGHT NOW.) haha

Morning exercise is best for revving up metabolism. The earlier the metabolism gets going (aka, with exercise), the more calories I burn all day long. Who knew? That settles it, I'm walking the grocery aisles this morning! (Almost time to go shopping.)

Similarly, apparently one of the easiest ways to boost metabolism is to take a 5-minute walk within 30 minutes after a meal or snack. This can temporarily double the metabolism. The explanation behind this is exercise after eating pulls more oxygen into the body, which then helps burn off the newly-consumed food, so fewer calories are available for fat storage. Makes sense ...

All seem doable (and certainly can't hurt): sip ice water, move a little in the morning, and again after each meal. How hard is that? Anyway, I'll take any extra help I can in that department. I don't want to necessarily work harder, just smarter, where possible.

I had an okay meal day yesterday, though I don't feel I had quite enough vegetables. Okay, I KNOW I didn't have enough vegetables. The variety is good, the volume I am still working on increasing. I (at least) didn't include any unhealthy things yesterday, but good health also depends on properly fueling the body - so I need to do better with those veggies!

Why can't we crave vegetables the same way we do chocolate or other things? Nature can be so cruel ...

I'm in the "morbidly obese" category. I need to get all the way down to 247 lbs, just to leave that behind and get into "severly obese." Yes, there are degrees of obesity - how ... quaint. :P

Well, time to go grocery shopping for this week. I need to add some more dark leafy greens. I'm off to see what the produce department has to offer today.

It is going to be a good day!