5 Ways to Keep Your Metabolism Up

Amy Paturel, SELF magazine

You're eating healthier than ever, but your muscles feel flabby, your energy is sapped and your jeans feel increasingly snug, particularly in the belly, hips and rear.

Health Tips: 5 Ways to Keep Your Metabolism Up

The sad truth: Metabolic rate (the number of calories we burn in a day) plummets as we age, decreasing about 1 percent each year after we hit 30. But research shows there are things you can do to help combat metabolic slowdown.

"When our metabolisms slow down isn't just age-related," explains Christine Gerbstadt, M.D., registered dietitian and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. "Body composition, which is determined by genetics, diet and activity, also plays a major role."

Read on for five ways to keep your fat-burning furnace humming.

Related: The Ultimate Bikini Body Workout

1. Build muscle: Since fat is burned in your muscle, you want to activate as many muscle fibers as possible. Weight training increases lean muscle mass, which raises the amount of calories your body uses, even when you're at rest. What's more, since there's less fat in your body (and your muscles), blood moves better so you have more energy -- without eating more food. So if you haven't been incorporating strength training into your fitness routine, now is the time to start!

2. Start eating: "Your body is a 'refuel as it goes machine,' which simply means it needs to be consistently fed to provide energy to live," explains Mark MacDonald, author of the bestselling book Body Confidence. "This type of consistent feeding stabilizes your blood sugar levels and creates internal hormonal balance" -- and that keeps you from packing on the pounds. His advice: Eat within an hour of waking to kick-start your metabolism. Then keep eating every three to four hours ending an hour before bedtime.

3. Nosh on protein at every meal and snack. Protein has a greater metabolic boost than fat or carbohydrates. Biting, chewing, swallowing and digesting food takes energy -- it's known as the thermic effect of food and it can burn up to 30 percent of the calories on your plate. The more complex the food (think steak, legumes and fibrous vegetables), the more calories you burn as it travels through the digestive tract. Protein also contains leucine, an amino acid that prevents muscle loss when you're dieting. A simple strategy: For a quick and easy snack, keep peanuts in your pocketbook, trail mix in your desk drawer and hard-boiled eggs in the fridge.

See Also: 12 Ways to Think Yourself Slim

4. Get moving: Interval training with bursts of high intensity cardio will stoke your metabolic rate and keep it humming for hours. So instead of logging in your regular half-hour on the treadmill at a steady 4.5 mph pace, try the interval option or hit the road and take advantage of changes in the terrain. Run in the sand or up hills and use landmarks to signify a change of pace. And squeeze in extra calorie burning whenever you get the chance, advises Gerbstadt.

5. Drink water: Studies show that people who drink 8-ounce glasses of water eight to 12 times a day have higher metabolic rates than those who drink four. Want to lose an extra 6.6 pounds a year? Drink half a liter of water before breakfast. According to researchers at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., people who downed water before their first meal of the day consumed an average of 75 fewer calories at breakfast than those who didn't drink up first.

Computer glitch disrupts United Airlines flights

Computer glitch - disrupts United Airlines flights

A computer problem has caused a disruption with the departure of United Airlines Planes Friday night, the airline said.

The Chicago-based airline said a computer outage at 7:15 p.m. CT interrupted United Airlines' systems of scheduled departures, reservations and processing systems.

"Our technology team is working to resolve the issue as soon as possible. We apologize for the disruption being caused to travelers at affected airports and we are seeking to resume operations as quickly as possible," a company spokesman said.

Karen Pride of the Chicago Department of Aviation told CNN the agency is providing extra security personnel and terminal management staff to assist United with the situation at O'Hare International Airport.

Michael Goldenthal, who was on an airplane at O'Hare when the problem occurred, said it became apparent something was wrong as the flight was taxiing.

"We were on the runway when the pilot came on the P.A. and said they had lost contact with the company computer system which measured the weight of the plane."

Goldenthal said the aircraft taxied around for nearly an hour and then returned to the gate for additional fuel. But passengers were not allowed to get off.

The flight crew told passengers, Goldenthal said, that "the computer system was down not only in Chicago but across the system."

Top 5 Exercises that can be done at your residence

Exercise is good for your health, Everyone have to follow these rules

Exercise Tips: We understand that you have an extremely busy schedule. We also understand that there is not a good gym where you live or maybe you don’t really like going to one. So we tell about the top 5 exercises which can be easily done at home. No excuses now!

Here are 5 great exercises that you can do at home, without the need for any equipment:

Push-ups

This is one of the most useful exercises that can be easily done at home. If done correctly it can rev up your stamina and build your pecs and triceps.

How to do it: Lie face down with your palms on the floor about shoulder width apart from each other. Push your whole body up with your back and legs in a straight line and then lower yourself back down towards the floor. To strengthen your chest more place your arms wider apart. To strengthen your triceps and back more, move your arms closer together.

Push-ups

Muscles involved: Chest muscles and triceps

Sit-ups

This is another great exercise to do in the house and can be done almost everywhere. This can help in the strengthening of the hip flexors and abdominal muscles.

How to do it: Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Cross your arms across your chest and raise your body up to try and meet your knees.

This can cause strain on the back, so if you have a weak back it may be better to do a crunch instead.

Sit-ups

Muscles involved: Abdominal muscles and back muscles

Jumping on the Spot

This might sound a bit silly but it’s a great workout and is used to get the heart pumping and build stamina. This can also build your leg muscles.

How to do it: Literally just jump up and down raising your whole body off the ground by at least 5-6 inch or more.

Muscles involved: Calf muscles and thigh muscles

Squats

It is another easy but very useful exercise for your thighs and buttocks. It helps to shape your buttocks, strengthen thighs and build stamina.

How to do it: Stand up straight , bend your knees with your arms stretched outright parallel to the floor. Bend until your thighs are parallel to the floor.

Squats - Stand up straight , bend your knees with your arms

Muscles involved: Thigh muscles and buttocks muscles

Back Extension

Back extension is a strength training exercise. It is done for strengthening lower back muscles.

How to do it: Lie face down with your arms at your side. Slowly lift your head toward the ceiling and look up as far as you can go. You can extend this by lifting your legs and your head up as far as you can and hold for 5 seconds and release.

Muscles involved: Stomach muscles and Back muscles.

Arizona wildfire sets new record at 469,000 acres

Arizona wildfire sets new record at 469,000 acres

(Reuters) - The wildfire that has roared out of control for more than two weeks through the pine forests of eastern arizona set a record on Tuesday as the largest in state history, having consumed over 469,000 acres.

The Wallow Fire, which authorities suspect started from an unattended campfire, has scorched dozens of homes and displaced as many as 10,000 people since it erupted May 29 in the White Mountains region, an area popular among Arizonans as a weekend getaway from the heat of summer.

The wind-whipped blaze has burned mostly in and around the Apache Sitgreaves National Forest, about 150 miles east of Phoenix, churning through vast stretches of thick ponderosa pine.

Evacuation orders were lifted on Sunday for 7,000 to 8,000 residents forced to flee last week from two towns near the border with New Mexico, Springerville and Eagar.

But authorities have warned returning families that lingering smoke and soot in the air pose health risks for children and people with respiratory problems.

An estimated 1,900 additional people from several nearby towns evacuated in the first week of the blaze were notified on Monday night that it would probably be at least a few more days before they would be permitted to go back home. Read More...

Search for missing IU student draws social media attention

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The search for a 20-year-old Indiana University sophomore last seen here early Friday continued Wednesday, drawing widespread attention and celebrity interest on social media sites including Facebook and Twitter.
A Facebook page titled "Help Find Lauren Spierer — Missing from Indiana University" — one of several such pages — had been "liked" by 23,475 as of Wednesday afternoon. On Twitter, celebrities including American Idol host Ryan Seacrest, 1980s TV star Scott Baio and reality TV star Kim Kardashian sent notes to their followers about the search.
Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay on Twitter Wednesday pledged a $10,000 reward for "serious info that SOLVES Lauren's Missing Persons. Contact Bloomy Police!!!!!"

Bloomington police Lt. Bill Parker said Wednesday that police have few leads and no suspects, but they believe foul play is to blame for the disappearance of Spierer, last seen leaving a friend's apartment early Friday after a night out. Read More...

How far should you sleep from your cellphone?

Cellphone Cause Cancer Alert

Can cellphones cause cancer? As the world debates a worrying new report by the World Health Organization, the man whose agency prepared that report speaks to NDTV about whether users need to think twice before using their phones.

Dr Christopher Wild, Director, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) spoke to NDTV's Noopur Tiwari in France about cellphones being "possibly carcinogenic." He stressed that at least five more years of research need to be devoted to exploring health concerns linked to mobile phones.

NDTV: What about Sleeping with phone next to you?

Wild: The distance is important. The strength of the radio frequency electro magnet field associated with the phone diminishes very rapidly as you move the phone away. There's much lower exposure from phone which is at some distance with the individual. The same thing is relevant for base stations associated with several orders of lower exposure because of distance from people.

NDTV: We've heard mobile phone towers emit more radiations in countries like India as compared to Europe?

Wild: I can't say countrywise but what I do know that technology is evolving very quickly. Even in the case of cellphones, the type of energy emitted by cellphones currently, is very different than 10-15 years ago. The challenge for us is that technology is changing but the pattern of use is also changing and all these variable factors influence the end result.

NDTV: Would the risk, if any, be higher for children and younger adults?

Wild: We don't have any specific evidence for the moment to say there's a higher risk in children than in adults. There's just an intuitive sense in which in relation to any environmental exposure, chemical or physical agents, children are more vulnerable and that's in the case of cancer because the tissues are still growing.

NDTV: We've used cellphones for 30 years now. Perhaps there's been more widespread use for about 20 years. But how much more time do you need before your research can be more conclusive? Did research start quite late?

Wild: You are right the use of cellphones started about 20-30 yrs ago. But if you look at the number of people using them at that stage, there were relatively few and they tended to be older people. Also, the concerns about the technology only arose some years after the start of the use. It's true that first really large studies of cellphone use and cancer were only published in the last few years. However, there are studies that are already ongoing. Results should become available to us in the next five years.

NDTV: Your classification for mobile phone hazards seems to be in a category similar to that of risks involved with coffee & pickled vegetables. Any truth in that?

Wild: One has to be careful in making these comparisons. I've seen a report on pickled vegetables and people have expressed some surprise. And coffee. But when we evaluate, we look very specifically at all the evidence internationally and those exposures were associated with cancers at very specific sites. Coffee with bladder cancer for instance. But we don't make any quantitative evaluations. The report we have published is a qualitative assessment asking is there a risk of cancer 'yes or no?' rather than grade them in terms of strength of risk.

NDTV: How strong is evidence you have right now?

Wild: The key observation is in long-time users of mobile phone use and the evidence there scientifically, we would describe as limited. That means there was an association between duration of use and increased risk.

NDTV: Would there be a possibility of certain body parts being affected more than others?

Wild: Some of the studies were able to look at the part of the brain where the cancer developed. To see whether it was closest to the point of use of the telephone for eg on the side of the head where it was used. Or the part of the brain that is closely exposed around the ear area. Again there was a suggestion that there was a higher frequency of development of tumours in areas close to the position of the use fdfof the phone rather than other areas of the brain. But there's no evidence so far of increased risk on other sites. Also we didn't look into any health effects other than cancer.