Metabolism refers to all chemical processes that occur within your body to keep you alive and functioning. In simple terms, metabolism is the number of calories or energy your body requires to carry out everyday tasks. Your metabolism is in charge of transforming the nutrients in the food you ingest into energy.
The more calories you burn at rest, the greater your metabolic rate. Your age, nutrition, body size, gender, and state of health are just a few variables that might influence your metabolism. Several research-backed methods can help you speed up your metabolism to assist in healthy weight management.
Changing your lifestyle and diet is one of the best ways of boosting your metabolism. Other ways include getting enough sleep and weight training. A person will burn through food-derived energy more quickly if their metabolic rate is higher, which may lower their risk of gaining weight.
Read on to find out the safest ways of boosting your metabolism without compromising your health. We shall also share some foods that increase metabolism. Let’s dive in.
How to Boost Your Metabolism
Here are safe, 8 proven ways to increase your metabolism.
Increase Your Protein Intake
Eating temporarily increases your metabolism. This is known as the thermic effect of food (TEF). It results from the extra calories your body needs to digest, absorb, and utilize the nutrients in your food. Protein is known to cause the highest increase in TEF. It requires over 20% of its usable energy for metabolism. Also, eating proteins gives you a feeling of fullness, preventing you from overeating.
Exercise More
High-intensity exercises can help you burn excess fat by raising your metabolic rate after the workout. Increase your calorie burn in less time by including interval training in your cardio regimen.
Lift Heavy Weights
Muscle has a higher metabolic activity than fat. You can burn more calories every day, even when you’re at rest, by adding muscle. Also, lifting weights prevents muscle loss and boosts metabolism while trying to lose weight. Make sure the workout you select targets your entire body.
Spend More Time on Your Feet
A lot of sitting might be harmful to your health. This is partially because prolonged sitting burns fewer calories, which means less metabolism.
Studies have shown that standing or stepping at work was linked to decreased fasting triglyceride levels, total/HDL cholesterol, body fat, waist circumference, weight, insulin, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
If you work at a desk, try standing up occasionally to break up the time you spend seated. You can also purchase a standing desk or try taking daytime walks.
Drink Coffee or Green Tea
If losing weight is your objective, drinking coffee can considerably speed up your metabolism and support that goal. Green tea, on the other hand, can help your body turn some of its stored fat into fatty acids, which could increase fat burning. The metabolism-boosting properties of green tea also prevent a weight loss plateau, especially when combined with exercise.
Get Some Good Sleep
Sleep deprivation can alter your metabolism, change how you metabolize sugar, and interfere with the hormones that control your appetite. It also affects the level of ghrelin, the hormone that regulates hunger, and leptin, which regulates fullness (satiety). This explains why many sleep-deprived individuals struggle to lose weight.
Drink Sufficient Water
Maintaining adequate hydration is crucial for your body to operate at its peak. Water is essential for a healthy metabolism and can aid in weight loss. Drinking more water encourages the body to burn fat instead of carbohydrates.
Take Enough Calories
Some people use meal skipping as a weight loss strategy, but this can be counterproductive to your metabolism. When you deprive your body of calories, your metabolism slows down to save energy. So, to keep your metabolism high, consume enough calories.
Foods that Increase Metabolism
Some foods contain nutrients that speed up the body’s metabolism. Here’s a list of some of these foods.
Flaxseeds
Flaxseeds are rich in essential nutrients, including protein and minerals. Consuming flaxseeds can alleviate metabolic syndrome, a cluster of diseases that raises the risk of diabetes, obesity, and heart disease, by enhancing metabolism. Flaxseed fiber alters the gut’s bacterial composition, promoting metabolic health.
Peppers
Spicy foods containing either dried or fresh chili peppers can boost metabolism and make you feel more satisfied. These health benefits and others are brought on by a pepper chemical called capsaicin. Capsaicin aids the body in burning an additional 50 calories per day. In addition to acting as an antioxidant and an anticancer agent, capsaicin can also lessen pain and inflammation.
Legumes
Legumes such as peas, lentils, peanuts, and black beans have high protein content. The high protein content necessitates a higher calorie expenditure from your body to digest them. In addition, legumes have dietary fiber, such as resistant starch prebiotics, which your body uses to nourish the beneficial bacteria in your large intestine.
Ginger
Ginger and closely related spices have metabolism-boosting qualities. A hot ginger beverage can help you feel more satisfied. Another spice from the ginger family called grains of paradise gives similar results.
Seaweed
Seaweed contains Iodine, a mineral that helps in the creation of thyroid hormones and normal functioning of the thyroid gland. One of the many jobs that thyroid hormones perform is to keep your metabolic rate in check. Regularly consuming seaweed can meet your iodine requirements and keep your metabolism in good shape.
Eggs
An egg is a protein-rich food. A boiled egg contains about 6 grams of protein. That makes it an ideal option for those who want to boost their metabolism because the body requires more energy to break down proteins than it does to digest carbs and fats. Increased energy means increased metabolism.
Bottom Line
Although some of the tips mentioned above will boost your metabolism, some might take longer. Furthermore, to obtain long-lasting results, you should view these measures as a more manageable fix rather than as part of a health-promoting strategy. It also involves eating a nutrient-dense diet, engaging in physical activity, and getting enough sleep.
Additionally, you can eat metabolism-boosting foods to make the process more effective and easy. Increased metabolism will help you lose weight and give you more energy to go about your daily activities.
