Wait 5 hours between meals, have small dinners and eat vegetables for breakfast: Nutritionist reveals the secrets to a fat burning metabolism
Breakfast doesn’t have to be at 6am and if you’re not hungry, there’s no problem with waiting until you are.
As we age, our metabolism starts to slow down making it harder to lose weight and burn off the foods we eat.
To help us improve, Melbourne based sports nutritionist and triathlete, Steph Lowe, has shared her simple tips for developing fat burning metabolism
And the first tip? Exercising before you eat breakfast each morning.
EXERCISE BEFORE BREAKFAST
According to Ms Steph, training before breakfast is not only a great way to wake up, but also good for your metabolism.
“Exercising before breakfast promotes optimal fat burning as your body has been in a fasted state overnight,” she told Daily Mail Australia.
“This is one of the simplest strategies to introduce and even a 30-minute walk around the block before breakfast will assist your metabolic goals.”
Plus, you get to witness a glorious sunrise so that’s always a positive start to the day.
EAT BREAKFAST WHEN YOU’RE HUNGRY
Breakfast doesn’t have to be at 6am and if you’re not hungry, there’s no problem with waiting until you are. “Breakfast just means “breaking the fast” and should not be a fixed time of the day,” Ms Steph said. “Studies show that a 13 hour fast positively impacts the many genes that regulate our metabolism. “Time restricted eating has been shown to prevent and reverse obesity in mice and while further studies are required to learn more about the positive impacts of fasting in humans, the research is extremely positive.”
EAT VEGETABLES FOR BREAKFAST
“What you choose to consume has a huge impact on your blood sugar control, satiety, fat burning capacity and ongoing food choices,” Ms Steph said.
While a bowl of veggies may not sound like a delicious breakfast, eating quality protein and healthy fats will help your satiety levels during the day.
“Starting your day with a high intake of refined carbohydrate will create the blood sugar rollercoaster, and leave you looking for more carbohydrates and by 3.30pm, the office lolly jar or vending machine,” Ms Steph explained. Make small changes, such as a plate of bacon, poached eggs, avocado and spinach over a bacon and egg roll.
“Including vegetables, as well as quality protein and healthy fats will completely transform your day and help to create an extremely efficient metabolism.”
AIM FOR FIVE HOURS BETWEEN MEALS
While it may sound like an eternity, five hours between meals will allow your body to burn fat from meal to meal.
“Eating a substantial meal to provide blood sugar control and satiety for five hours, opens up a fantastic fat-burning opportunity meal-tomeal and continue to develop a fast burning metabolism,” Ms Steph said.
She added: “Conversely, if you snack on fruit, muesli bars or yoghurt in between meals, your body will choose to burn the sugar that these carbohydrates are broken down into, and fat burning will no longer be required.”
MAKE DINNER YOUR SMALLEST MEAL OF THE DAY
As much as coming home to a big roast dinner with all the trimmings sounds divine, it should actually be our smallest meal of the day. “To put it simply, we need most of our food during the day when we are most active,” Ms Steph said. “By simply decreasing your portion size and commencing your overnight fast early, you allow your body to commence burning fat again and reap the metabolic benefits of time restricted eating.”
It’s important to enjoy a quality meal with protein and healthy fats, but perhaps not the gargantuan feast that many of us crave after a full days work.