| Get With the Program! Basics |
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| The healthiest vegetables are always green. Greens are undoubtedly healthy, but vegetables and fruits in other colors—red, orange, yellow, blue, and purple—all bring different nutrients to the table. You’ll get the most antioxidants, vitamins and minerals if you keep your plate colorful. |
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Let’s talk about your metabolism. You’re going to be hearing that word a lot, because the rate at which you burn calories—that’s the definition of metabolism—is critical to maintaining a healthy weight. And increasing your metabolism is critical to losing weight. Everybody burns calories at his or her own individual rate, and if you’ve always had a sluggish metabolism, you’ll probably never get it to run at the same speed as that skinny girl’s from high school (who turned up at the reunion looking just as skinny 20 years later). But you can get it to work at its  maximum potential so that it burns at its highest rate for the greatest number of hours per day.
One thing we know about the metabolism is that it changes throughout the day. For example, it is slowest when you’re sleeping. (Even though you’re asleep, you still must burn calories to keep your body’s basic functions, including breathing, running). We also know that there are four ways you can give your metabolism a boost.
1. Stay Hydrated. Drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day, and work up to nine. (If eight is too much to start with, begin with six and build from there.)
2. Work Out Aerobically. Perform aerobic exercise for a minimum of 50 to 150 minutes per week, depending on your goals.
3. Eliminate Emotional Eating. Begin to understand the causes of your emotional eating, and work to eliminate them.
4. Practice Strength Training. Incorporate strength training into your exercise routine three times per week.
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