Ways To Boost Your Metabolism
Metabolism or how fast your body burns calories, plays a key role in helping you lose weight and keep your body in tip-top shape. Metabolism refers to all the physical and chemical processes in the body that convert or use energy, such as:
- Breathing
- Circulating blood
- Controlling body temperature
- Contracting muscles
- Digesting food and nutrients
- Eliminating waste through urine and feces
- Functioning of the brain and nerves
It is the rate at which your body’s many processes function, and it can be low, high, or somewhere in the middle. When you’re younger, your high metabolism makes it easy to lose weight but as you get older your metabolism slows down and you might put on a few pounds. Exercising speeds up your metabolism.
1. Commit to Working Out:
If you keep a schedule that doesn’t include exercise, you are missing out on a great metabolism-booster.
“A healthy metabolism requires regular movement, so don’t sit for more than two hours without getting up.”
These simple ideas help you to keep your metabolism going:
- Wear a pedometer and strive for 10,000 steps a day.
- Forget the elevator and take the stairs.
- When you start feeling tired, go to the kitchen or drinking fountain to get a sip of water.
- Stretch every hour, even if it’s at your desk.
- Incorporate interval training (alternating between more-intense and less-intense activities during one workout) into your exercise routine for an even bigger metabolism boost.
2. Lift Weights:
Lifting weights raises your metabolism long after you’re finished—experts estimate that your metabolism stays elevated for up to 39 hours!
3. Build Muscle:
Exercise revs up metabolism and builds lean body mass (muscle). While all workouts can lower blood pressure, cholesterol, and stress levels, strength training jump-starts your metabolism.
The more muscle you have, the faster your metabolism
4. Eat Breakfast:
Start your day off right and increase your metoblic rate by eating a balanced breakfast.
Providing your body with healthful fuel after night time “fasting” keeps your body from using calorie-burning muscle for energy during physical activity.
Include protein rich food like eggs or nuts on your breakfast menu. Consuming protein is critical to jumpstarting your metabolism for the day and preventing overeating later on.
Protein is harder for your body to digest and thus takes more energy than fat or carbs
5. Eat 5-6 Small Meals A Day:
Eating several meals, as opposed to three squares, raises your metabolism five to six times a day, as opposed to only three.
When you only eat three times a day, your metabolism slows greatly between each meal. On the other hand, by eating consistently every three to four hours, your metabolism will stay elevated, knowing that another meal is coming soon.
An added benefit of eating every three hours is that you don’t get hungry. By never getting hungry, you reduce the chances of overeating or grabbing something quick and unhealthy just because it’s there.
6. Eat Real Food:
“Real food” means food closest to its natural form: organic veggies, organic fruits, whole grains and organic free range lean meats and eggs.
Processed foods are basically predigested, which wreaks havoc for our systems.
But try to limit those processed foods to ones that will help your training, such as wheyprotein or meal replacement protein bars. And when you dine out, always opt for foods as close to a natural state as possible.
7. Drink Water:
Water is paramount to developing a lean, healthy physique. Not only is it a vehicle for flushing fat from your system, but it’s also crucial for your bodies messaging system to fire correctly. And drinking water can actually raise your metabolism.
Being dehydrated can cause cravings and tricks your mind into thinking you’re hungry, rather than thirsty. Staying hydrated keeps your body balanced and helps you become more in tune with your internal senses of need.
The moral of the story is: drink more water. And if you train hard in the gym, drink even more.
8. Drink Green Tea:
Drinking green tea is one of the easiest ways to rev up your metabolism. Green tea-extract increases the metabolism by 4% over a 24 hour period.
Three to five cups a day can help you burn an extra 70 calories a day .
9. Don’t Stress:
Reducing your stress level can help keep your metabolism running its best.
Yoga, meditation or even deep breathing are great stress relievers. Sufficient sleep is also important for reducing stress, as is regular exercise
