There are various views on this. Boosting metabolism is on everyone’s watch but the real question is how fast your body burns calories. Some people have a speedy metabolism and while men tend to burn more calories than women, the latter can too depending upon their diet and physical workout. You can’t control your age, gender or genetics but you can certainly improve your metabolism.
- Build Muscle
Your body requires you to burn calories constantly even when you’re doing nothing. This resting metabolic rate is actually much higher in people with more muscle. Every pound of muscle uses nearly calories a day to sustain itself and each pound of fat only burns 2 calories daily. This small difference can add up over time and you can increase your metabolic rate through strength training.
- Workout
Aerobic exercise may not build your muscles but it can surely pump up your metabolism in the hours after a workout session. The key is to constantly push yourself. High intensity workouts deliver a big and long rise in metabolic rate rather than low or moderate workouts. But in order to step up your game, take up a class at the gym.
- Fuel up with water
Your body is in dire need of water to process calories. If you’re dehydrated even moderately than your metabolism slows down. So on an average an adult who drinks eight or more glasses of water would endup burning more calories than the one drinks four. In order to stay hydrated, drink a glass of water rather than a sweetened beverage. Also, try to snack up on fresh fruits and vegetables which contain water rather than junk food.
- Are energy drinks good?
While there are some ingredients that do promote and give your metabolism a boost but they’ve high amounts of caffeine which also leads towards increasing the amount of energy your body uses. They also have taurine and amino acid. Taurine speeds up your metabolism and helps burn fat but using them can lead towards anxiety, sleep issues and blood pressure for some people. Kids and teens shouldn’t drink it.
- Snack smart
Eat moderate quantities but snack on dry fruits and fiber in between proper meals. It will help you have a strong metabolism system and you end up burning more calories a day. There are several studies that show that people who snack regularly eat less at meal time.
- Make your meals a little bit spicy
Spicy foods have natural chemicals that would kick your metabolism more. If you cook your food with chopped red or green chili pepper than it would boost your metabolic rate more. This effect is temporary however, if you eat spicy foods often then the benefits may add up. For a quick boost have chilies or pepper flakes in your meal.
- Take protein rich diet
Your body burns more calories digesting proteins than it does eating fat or carbohydrates. So replace some carbs with protein-rich foods which can boost metabolism at mealtime. Good sources of protein food is beans, eggs, fish, meat etc.
- Take black coffee
If you’re a regular coffee drinker than start taking black coffee for it makes you feel less tired and even increases your endurance while you work out.
- Green tea
Drinking green tea pushes the body to burn 17% more calories during moderately intense exercise for a short time and helps you digest food more quickly.
- Don’t go for crash diets
It makes a person week and deprives you of the minerals and energy your body needs. It’s bad for your metabolism and can backfire leading you to lose muscle which in turn slows down your metabolism. The final result burning few calories and gaining weight faster than before diet.
