Jul 16, 09:47 PM
Boost Your Energy in 15 Seconds and Lose Weight
Do you get sugar crashes after eating carbs? Do you feel like taking a nap after eating dinner? Do you get lethargic on warm afternoons? Does reading a book make you tired?
Try some deep breathing. That’s right, oxygen is necessary for turning food calories into energy. You need oxygen to burn calories, which is pretty much the same process that happens when wood burns; its chemically stored calories turn into heat and light.
If your breathing is shallow, you don’t have enough oxygen to go with the calories in your digestive system. Guess what happens to those calories? They get turned into fat for storage. Thus if you are a shallow breather, you probably have some issues with belly fat.
Think of it this way. If you eat something high in calories, something that releases lots of sugar into your blood, but the oxygen is lacking, then insulin will get to those sugar molecules before the oxygen does, turning them into fat instead of energy. Thus if you eat and then feel sluggish, like taking a nap, that’s a sign that what you just ate is being turned into fat. Eating + fatigue = getting fatter. It’s your metabolism slowing down.
So to speed up your metabolism, breathe more. Whenever you notice yourself taking shallow breaths (usually while concentrating, especially when on the computer) take several deep breaths. That is, exhale completely, inhale gently with your belly until your chest starts to rise, then let it out. Like taking nice big breaths of fresh mountain air. If you suddenly get dizzy, that means you breathed too much too fast. Back off a little.
Within fifteen seconds you should notice a rush of energy, maybe even a brief flash of sweat, as those calories are oxidized and turn into energy and heat in your body. That’s calories now that won’t end up on your belly, butt, and thighs.
You can gauge the speed of your metabolism by how much energy you have. If you’re prone to getting tired and sleep a lot, aside from health problems your metabolism could be slow. Breathing more often throughout the day will give you energy and thus speed up your metabolism, which burns more fat.
Another thing you can do is split your three meals in half, and eat each half every two or three hours. So instead of three large meals, try six smaller ones. Or perhaps three medium or small meals with three snacks in between. This takes the burden off your body of having to cope with a lot of food at once. And that means less stress on the body and more energy for you.
Thus breathing more and eating smaller meals more often will speed up your metabolism and help you lose weight.
If you are intent on losing weight, you’ll want to cut back 500 calories of carbs from your daily meals. Basically cut your carbs in half. If you normally eat two slices of toast, eat only one. If you eat a cup of mashed potatoes, eat only half. But keep your protein and fat intake at healthy levels, it’s the carbs that need to be reduced since they are what spike blood sugar and lead to quick calorie surpluses that easily turn into fat and create sugar crashes. If you cut your calories too much, your body will think it’s starving and slow down the metabolism while trying to conserve fat as much as possible to weather the next drought.
[One more tip: beware what estrogen will do to your body. Too much will cause rapid weight gain, belly fat, and muscle loss. Highest sources of estrogen in foods include: soy milk, soybean oil, soy protein, butter, cheese, and milk other than skim. Try olive and coconut oil instead of soy and dairy fats. It’s ridiculous how much estrogen milk, soybean oil and butter contain. Guys who get too much soy and/or dairy will grow man-boobs].
So aside from breathing and smaller but more frequent meals, losing weight benefits from slightly reduced carb intake and then daily exercise.
But if you just want an energy boost, remember to breathe deeply for fifteen seconds minimum. Repeat as necessary to prolong your energy boost. If done moderately and without hyperventilating, this is especially effective for getting a boost while driving, studying, reading, writing, anything that might leave you tired from being physically inactive. If exercise can’t burn those calories, then breathing more will.