Top 5 Ways to Get Lean

Don’t settle for just losing weight – get lean. Lean is strong, svelte and sexy, and it starts with a hard-working metabolism.

Follow these 5 simple tips to increase your sluggish metabolism and slim down.

1) Hydrate in the Morning

After a long night of sleep, your body is dehydrated. The best way to offset this is to drink cold water. According to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, drinking 17 ounces of water in the morning speeds up metabolism by 30%.

2) Don’t Skip Breakfast

The sooner you can eat breakfast upon waking up, the better. This will help “break the fast” and jump-start your metabolism. Eat a combination of complex carbohydrates and protein. It takes 30% more energy (in the form of calories) to break down protein than it takes to break down fats and carbs. To get your engine revving, try to start the day with protein.

3) ELMO: Eat Little Meals Often

Not only does eating smaller meals more often keep your blood sugar level from bottoming out, but eating every 3-4 hours also will keep your metabolism fired up all day long.

4) Strength Training to Increase Lean-Muscle Level

Building muscle does wonders for your body, because one of the most important by-products of adding muscle is an increased metabolic rate. Muscle is more metabolically active than fat. It burn three times more calories pound-or-pound than fat does; it also takes up a third less space on your body, so you look leaner.  Research shows strength training 2-3 times each week is the best way to increase your lean-muscle level. You can track your lean-muscle levels regularly via a precision body-composition measurement tool, such as Koko’s FitCheck.

5) No Eating After 8 PM

Many people take in too many calories in the evening, just when their metabolism has begun to slow down.. You can get yourself lean more quickly by eliminating additional calories after 8 PM, or about three hours before going to sleep.  Eliminate those TV-time snacks and you’ll soon notice an improvement in your body composition.  If you have trouble doing this, here’s a simple trick: Since eating after brushing your teeth for bed is widely accepted to be bad hygiene, try brushing and flossing earlier than usual.

- Michael Wood, CSCS, Chief Fitness Officer, Koko FitClub, LLC