It’s a lot simpler than you might think!
The term “metabolism” is used to describe a lot of chemical functions that take place inside your body.
However, most of us typically think of it as it relates to our daily calorie and fat-burning, definitely one of its most important aspects.
When used this way, the proper term is “metabolic rate”, which is describing the rate at which our bodies metabolize calories.
The higher your metabolic rate, the more calories—of both sugar and fats—your body burns.
If you want to increase your “metabolism”, here are a few science-backed tricks that will get the job done:
Kick Up The Workout Intensity
Lifting heavy weights is one of the best ways to raise your metabolic rate. After all, the more energy you burn through your daily workout, the more your body will need to produce in the hours following the workout to make up for it.
Our bodies are amazing at adapting to both the supply and demand of energy. Eating healthy takes care of the supply, but exercising more ensures that your body needs more energy. The more energy your body has to produce in response to your daily workouts, the more it will have—ergo, the higher your metabolic rate.
Try mixing up standard resistance training workouts with high intensity interval training workouts. HIIT not only raises your metabolic rate during the periods of high intensity exercise, but actually keeps it firing on all cylinders for hours afterward. The quick, intense bursts of activity will do wonders to raise your metabolic rate—and best of all, you’ll finish up your workout in half the time!
Load Up on Protein
Protein triggers the highest increase in your metabolic rate. Basically, every time you eat, you increase your metabolism for a few hours—an effect called the “Thermic Effect of Food”, or TEF. This is because your body has to expend calories to digest, break down, absorb, and utilize the food that you eat.
Carbs trigger a 5 to 10% increase in calorie expenditure, while fats only trigger a 0 to 3% increase. Protein, however, will raise your caloric expenditure to anywhere from 15 to 30%, as it requires more energy for your body to digest and utilize than the other food types.
But that’s not all! Not only will you burn more calories when you eat protein, but the protein will take longer to digest and will keep you full for longer. Studies have found that people eat less—up to 441 calories less, in one case—every day when consuming more protein.
Drink Cold Water
This is a double-whammy and provides benefits in two ways:
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It stops you from drinking sugary, high-calorie beverages. Cutting soda, juice, fruit drinks, and every other unhealthy drink from your life will be one of the best ways to drastically scale back your daily calorie intake.
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It raises your metabolism. Drinking just half a quart (or liter) of water can raise your resting metabolic rate anywhere from 10 to 30 percent for roughly an hour, but cold water will also increase your metabolism thanks to the fact that your body has to expend energy to warm up the water.
Drink a glass or two of cold water before every meal and you’ll end up eating less. Try to drink another glass of cold water every hour you’re at work, and you’re going to be far less prone to snacking between meals.
Eat Metabolism-Boosting Foods
As you’ve seen above, protein-rich foods are definitely going to be an important part of a metabolism-boosting diet. Animal proteins are the best source, but you can get plenty of amino acids from plant-based proteins, too. All protein requires more energy to absorb, thereby increasing your body’s energy demands.
But that’s not all you can eat!
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Foods that are rich in iron, zinc, and selenium will also help to raise your metabolism.
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Coffee and tea both contain caffeine, which is a known metabolism-booster.
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Spicy chili peppers trigger a rise in your metabolic rate, thanks to a special nutrient called capsaicin, which burns additional calories and triggers thermogenesis.
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Some spices—such as cinnamon and turmeric—also help to increase your metabolic rate.
Add these foods to your diet, and you’ll find your body naturally burns more calories every day!
Sleep Better
Sleep is directly linked to both your daily metabolic rate and your eating habits.
When you sleep well, your body is better able to control your hunger hormones, as well as your blood sugar and insulin levels. It can increase your brain’s production of leptin, the satiety hormone, decreasing the production of the hunger hormone ghrelin.
However, when you’re sleep deprived, your body often mistranslates the signals from your brain. Your brain sends signals that it’s tired, but your sleepy body thinks they are actually hunger signals. The result of a poor night’s sleep is often much higher hunger—but it’s not actually hunger, just your body mistaking your exhaustion as being hungry.
Make an effort to sleep better every night, and your body will thank you! Not only will your metabolic rate rise, but you’ll have more control over your appetite and be less likely to make poor diet and lifestyle choices.
Take a Metabolism Supplement
There are a lot of supplements that you can try to boost your metabolism.
For example, there are capsaicin supplements that will trigger thermogenesis and raise your body’s fat-burning ability. Or caffeine, guarana, and green tea extract supplements will increase your metabolic rate naturally.
With our Flat Belly Tea supplement, you get an all-natural and organic product that will raise your metabolic rate and trigger your body’s built-in fat-burning mechanisms. You’ll find you easily burn more calories and have more energy every day thanks to the metabolism-boosting ingredients we’ve included in this amazing supplement.
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