The SparkDiet resource centerii has consulted fitness experts to find the 4 most prevalent myths concerning metabolism and metabolism-boosting. Since this book has been about reality and not myths, we didn’t cover any of them in the actual book. Yet, considering how common these myths are, it can indeed be useful for you to know them; and to know that they’re myths. That way, if you come across them in a magazine, at a fitness club, or just from the well-intentioned but misguided advice of...

We’ve come a long way! We now actually know more about the metabolism, and how to increase metabolic speed, than most people; and we’re therefore in a position to put that information to good use. We’ve learned that the metabolism is a process and not an actual body part. It harmonizes two essential bodily functions: converting food into cells/tissues, and breaking cells down to provide energy. We learned that the former process is known as anabolism, and the latter is catabolism. Ind...

We’ve all heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And in terms of boosting your metabolism, this is indeed the case! There are a couple of reasons why eating a hearty and healthy breakfast can boost metabolism and lead to weight loss goals. The first reason is that people who eat breakfast are much less inclined to snack throughout the morning. For example, if you had a good breakfast of fruit and low-sugar cereal in the morning, your chances of visiting the vending mach...

Fresh on the heels of the discussion on calories, it’s also helpful to note that eating frequently throughout the day can be very good for boosting metabolism. There are a couple of reasons for this. The first reason is that people who tend to eat throughout the day do considerably less snacking. As a result, they tend to avoid the potato chips or candy bars that they might otherwise consume if they suddenly felt hungry. People who eat throughout the day don’t tend to experience severe...

Now here’s a strange one that is for the ladies, only. Studies have demonstrated that the 2-week period prior to the onset of PMS is one in which fat burning capacity is at a premium. This is ironic indeed; because that’s usually the period in which women don’t want to workout; because their body and its emotional computer are preparing for PMS. However, studies in Australia have shown that women were able to burn off as much as 30% more fat in the 2 weeks preceding PMS. The reason ...

We briefly noted yoga in the list of Things to Do above, and that brings us to another key influence of your metabolism: stress. Believe it or not, but experts are now telling us that stress can send unwanted signals to our body; signals that lead to slower metabolism. Essentially, what happens is that when the body is under constant stress, it releases stress hormones that flood the system. These stress-related hormones actually tell the body to create larger fat cells in the abdomen. ...