Teacher Belinda Norton reveals the five secrets to boosting her metabolism to stay slim

A PE teacher has revealed the five secrets to boosting her metabolism, after her digestive system ‘dramatically staggered’ when she turned 44.

Belinda Norton, from the Gold Coast, said she noticed her waist was widening and she wasn’t able to eat as much as she did previously without putting on weight.

She put this down to the daily stress of looking after two teenagers, less free time on her hands and being newly single and having to date – which meant Belinda was drinking more and not necessarily eating healthily.  

But then the 44-year-old discovered a slowing metabolism was to blame, and has since found five things to get her digestive system firing and prevent weight gain. 

1. Try resistance work 

The first thing Belinda said has helped her metabolism hugely is active resistance weights sessions.

‘When we lift weights, microscopic damage occurs to the myofibrils within the muscle fibre,’ Belinda wrote on her website. 

‘These micro tears stimulate the body’s repair response. The body delivers boosted nutrients within blood flow to stimulate the muscle cells to repair.

‘The increased number of myofibrils cause a rapid kindle to the muscles, increasing the metabolic rate.’

What this means is that strength training raises your daily metabolic rate, and the resting metabolic rate of someone who weight trains is much higher than someone who doesn’t.

Belinda said the best way to keep your metabolism improving is to vary your weights routine as much as possible. 

She likes to incorporate push ups with planks, walking lunges, squat presses, abdominal toe taps and core twists into her regime. 

The 44-year-old also shared an ideal workout for someone who is over the age of 40. 

2. Add high intensity exercise

The second way Belinda said she has improved her metabolism is by incorporating high intensity bursts of exercise into her daily regime.

‘Aerobic exercise can also accelerate our metabolism,’ Belinda said. 

‘The key is to increase the intensity with speed variance. A high-intensity exercise delivers a rise in the resting metabolic rate as opposed to low or moderate workouts.’

Belinda alternates an intense power walk with running intervals, as well as doing cycle classes at the gym. 

She typically uses her mornings to do a walk or HIIT session, and then completes 40 minutes of resistance training in the afternoon for the ultimate metabolism booster. 

3. Drink plenty of water

Water is key in assisting your metabolism.

Not only does it ‘flush toxins from the body’, but it also prevents our metabolism from slowing down on account of dehydration.

Belinda said she typically has a glass of water before and after every meal and snack. This helps to ensure she is always well-hydrated.

4. Include the right dietary elements

Tweaking your diet in your 40s when your metabolism slows down is key to staying slim and fit and healthy.

Belinda has completely cut highly processed foods, added spice into her diet and loaded up every meal with a form of lean protein.

‘Adding black coffee into my diet has given me a short-term rise in my metabolic rate, while drinking green tea or oolong tea is also beneficial as it offers the combined benefits of caffeine and has been proven to rev up the metabolism,’ Belinda said. 

5. Add a progesterone booster

Finally, Belinda said she used a bio nutrients progresterone booster from the Byron Compounding Chemist for a few months in order to produce the right levels of testosterone in her body.

She said this has been hugely beneficial for her, but recommends that you see the team at Byron Compounding if you want more information.

For more information about Belinda Norton, you can visit her website here.