First, what is metabolism and why do you need to rev up your metabolism?
Metabolism is the term for all chemical reactions in the body. It is responsible for the breakdown of food and its transformation into energy for a person’s body needs.
So, why should you boost your metabolism?
Boosting your metabolism really means to elevate your metabolic rate, and increase the amount of fuel your body uses. When your metabolic rate increases, it increases your energy level and productivity, and it also becomes easier to burn more calories, which in turn helps lose weight and maintain a healthy body.
Having a high metabolic rate helps you feel energetic and less fatigued, therefore increasing your daily productivity and health life generally.
How can you boost your metabolism then?
1. Start with a good breakfast
Eating a nutrient-packed food shortly after getting out of bed in the morning is a good way to set your metabolism rolling.
According to John Berardi, Ph.D., C.S.C.S., author of The Metabolism Advantage, If you don’t eat a good breakfast every single day, your body goes into starvation mode (it’s paranoid like that), so your metabolism slows to a crawl to conserve energy. And the heartier your first meal is, the better.
ALSO READ: 4 Easy Ways To Detox Your Body Naturally
2. Be active (Exercise)
When you exercise, focus more on muscle building workouts because unlike fat, muscle is more metabolically active and building muscle can help increase your metabolism, which means that, you’ll burn more calories daily, even when you are at rest.
Not only does muscle weigh more than fat, but it uses more energy, too. The average woman in her 30s who strength-trains 30 to 40 minutes twice a week for four months will increase her resting metabolism by 100 calories a day. That means you’re resetting your thermostat to keep running at that rate even on the days when you don’t make it to the gym, says Gary Hunter, Ph.D., a professor of human studies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
3. Take some tea
Green tea, among other types tea, help convert some of the fat stored in your body into free fatty acids, which may increase fat burning by 10–17%.
As they are low in calories, drinking these teas may be good for both weight loss and weight maintenance.
Drink a cup or two daily to rev up your metabolism.
4. Eat protein more often
Cramming protein into every meal helps build and maintain lean muscle mass. Muscle burns more calories than fat does, even at rest, says Donald Layman, Ph.D., professor of nutrition at the University of Illinois.
Eating food, generally, increases your metabolism for a few hours, causing you to burn more calories needed to digest, absorb and process the nutrients in your meal. This is called the thermic effect of food (TEF).
Protein has been recorded to cause the largest rise in TEF. It increases your metabolic rate by 15–30%, compared to 5–10% for carbs and 0–3% for fats.
In a process called thermogenesis, your body uses about 10% of its calorie intake for digestion. So, because it takes longer to burn protein than carbs or fat, your body expends more energy absorbing the nutrients in a high-protein diet.
Boosting your metabolism can be done easily by simply making these simple lifestyle changes. Are you ready to try them out?
