Boosting your metabolism is a sure-fire way to help shed pounds. While some people are born with a metabolism higher than others, there are a number of things you can start doing today to help increase your metabolism, including the 10 tips below:
- Engage in Strength Training
- Rev Up Your Workout with High-Intensity Exercise
- Eat Breakfast
- Eat Small Meals throughout the Day
- Drink Plenty of Water
- Reduce Your Sugar Intake
- Make It Spicy
- Add More Protein to Your Diet
- Drink Green Tea
- Don’t Starve Yourself
Engage in Strength Training
Working out with weights is one of the best ways to increase your metabolism. The more muscle you have, the higher your resting metabolism will be. That’s because muscle burns more calories than fat; each pound of muscle burns approximately 6 calories a day, while a pound of fat burns only 2 calories daily. Additionally, strength training stimulates your muscles so that they continue to burn calories hours after you finish your workout, which increases your average daily metabolic rate.
Rev Up Your Workout with High-Intensity Exercise
Similarly, aerobic exercise can speed up your metabolism after a workout. The higher the intensity of your workout, the longer the increase in your metabolism after you exercise. So be sure to push yourself (safely) during each workout, or try interval training for a change of pace.
Eat Breakfast
The importance of eating breakfast cannot be overstated. After a night of sleep, your body needs fuel to get going for the day. If you skip breakfast, your metabolism slows down because your body thinks it’s starving and tries to conserve energy. Plus, skipping breakfast may cause you to snack inappropriately or eat an oversized lunch to “catch up.”
Eat Small Meals throughout the Day
In between meals, you should consume healthy snacks. Three to four hours after breakfast, lunch and dinner, eating a healthy snack such as a serving of fruit, yogurt, cheese, vegetables or nuts helps keep your metabolism going, which means you burn more calories throughout the day and you’re more likely to eat less at meal time. If you go for long stretches of time between meals, you train your metabolism to slow down.
Drink Plenty of Water
Drinking water helps your body burn calories. Studies have shown that those who drink eight or more glasses of water a day burn more calories than those who drink four or less glasses of water per day. Your best bet to stay hydrated is to get in the habit of drinking a glass of water with each meal and snack.
Reduce Your Sugar Intake
Sugar, which is promptly broken down by your body and quickly increases your blood sugar levels, slows down your metabolism and shifts it into fat storage mode. Instead, eat low-glycemic foods, such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains, that are broken down gradually to help maintain an even blood sugar level throughout the day.
Make It Spicy
Not only is spicy food tasty, but it’s good for you, too. Spicy foods contain phytochemicals that temporarily increase your metabolism. So don’t be afraid to add some chopped red or green chili peppers or spices such as cayenne pepper and crushed red pepper flakes to your meals for an extra metabolism boost.
Add More Protein to Your Diet
Your body works harder to break down protein, so it burns up to twice as many calories digesting protein as it does for fat or carbohydrates. While it’s important to eat a balanced diet that includes healthy carbs and fats, it’s a good idea to include some form of protein at every meal to jump-start your metabolism. Healthy, protein-rich foods include lean beef and pork, fish, white meat chicken, tofu, nuts, beans, eggs, and low-fat dairy products.
Drink Green Tea
Green tea contains a substance called catechins, which can increase your metabolism for up to two hours after consumption. By drinking two to four cups of green tea per day, you may burn an extra 50 calories each day, which can add up to 5 pounds of weight loss in a year.
Don’t Starve Yourself
Eating fewer than 1,000 calories a day is a recipe for disaster when it comes to metabolism. While crash diets may help you drop pounds quickly, most of it will be from muscle loss, and the lower your muscle mass, the slower your metabolism. Not to mention you’re sacrificing good nutrition.
Maximize Your Metabolism
Your best bet to maximize your metabolism is to exercise regularly, including strength training with weights to build and maintain muscle, plus high-intensity aerobic exercise or interval training. The more lean muscle you have and the more you move, the more calories you’ll burn. Of course, you should always eat a healthy, balanced diet and stay hydrated, as well.
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