The Best Metabolism Boosters
A high metabolism means that the body is burning calories at a greater rate than average. However, an elevated metabolism goes beyond helping you burn calories and lose weight. Benefits also include
- More energy
- Better disease prevention
- Improved brain function
- Ability to recover from exercise or injury faster
- Healthier looking skin… to name a few
“You have a huge amount of control over your metabolic rate. You can burn an extra 500 to 600 calories a day by exercising properly and eating right.” John Berardi, Ph.D., C.S.C.S., author of The Metabolism Advantage
So how does one get an elevated metabolism to reap all of these great benefits? Here are a few things to jumpstart your metabolism and get you on track towards a healthy lifestyle
1. 16 Ounces Of Cold Water Every Morning
- Dehydration is your body’s enemy. It slows bodily functions and metabolism.
- Your metabolism will slow to conserve energy when you haven’t had enough water to drink, as your organs can’t and won’t function as efficiently.
- Scientifically speaking, drinking water has been proven to contribute to your body’s ability to burn calories.
- Your body will burn a few extra calories heating the cold water to your core temperature
2. Eat A High Protein Breakfast
- If you don’t, your body goes into starvation mode and your metabolism slows to a crawl to conserve energy
- A high protein breakfast can boost the metabolic rate up to 30% for as long as 12 hours and provide lower insulin release, while assisting with food cravings.
- Aim for something high in protein, containing some complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats.
- Cramming protein into every meal helps build and maintain lean muscle mass. Muscle burns more calories than fat does, even at rest
- My Example: I have a 2 egg omelette with chicken breast/mushroom/peppers and a serving of my Steel Cut Oatmeal Recipe found here http://www.builtlean.com/2012/03/14/steel-cut-oats-recipe/
3. Drink Coffee
- In a recent study the average metabolic rate of people who drank caffeinated coffee increased 16 percent over that of those who drank decaf.
- Caffeine stimulates your central nervous system by increasing your heart rate and breathing which will raise your metabolism and burn more calories.
4. Lift Weights In Place Of Cardio
- Our bodies constantly burn calories, even when we’re doing nothing. This resting metabolic rate is much higher in people with more muscle. To add more muscle you need to lift weights and perform resistance training.
- Every pound of muscle uses about 6 calories a day just to sustain itself, while each pound of fat burns only 2 calories daily.
- After a bout of resistance training, muscles are activated all over your body, increasing your average daily metabolic rate.
5. Drink Green Tea
- The brew contains a plant compound called ECGC, which promotes fat burning.
- In one study, people who consumed the equivalent of three to five cups a day for 12 weeks decreased their body weight by 4.6 percent.
- According to other studies, consuming two to four cups of green tea per day may torch an extra 50 calories by revving up your metabolism.
6. Eat Spicy Foods
- Spicy foods contain chemical compounds that can kick the metabolism into a higher gear.
- It turns out capsaicin, the compound that gives chili peppers their mouth-searing quality, can also fire up your metabolism. Eating about one tablespoon of chopped red or green chilies boosts your body’s production of heat and the activity of your sympathetic nervous system.
- One study suggests spicy food can provide a temporary rise in metabolism of about 8% greater than a person’s typical metabolic rate.
7. Eat Every 3 hours
- Eating more often really can help you lose weight and boost your metabolism.
- When you eat large meals with many hours in between, your metabolism slows down between meals.
- Having a small meal or snack every 3 to 4 hours keeps your metabolism cranking, so you burn more calories over the course of a day.
- Several studies have also shown that people who snack regularly eat less at meal time.
Conclusion
These 7 suggestions can help promote an elevated metabolism which will allow you to burn more calories and help sustain a healthy lifestyle. While each one may only promote a slight increase in your metabolism, incorporating all of them into a daily routine will surely provide noticeable changes and benefits. Even those of you that are inherently lazy can force some cold water down in the morning or add some spice to your lunch and dinner. Give these a try and find out which ones work the best for you.
Thanks for reading and let me know if you have any comments or questions.
From South Bend,
Kevin Deeth 