Metabolism is a term that refers to the various chemical reactions that occur in the body. These reactions keep the body functioning correctly.
Having a high metabolism can help burn more calories and keep you from gaining weight. It can also help you feel better and lower your stress levels.
1. Eat Lots of Protein
The nutrients in your food cause a rise in metabolism, so your metabolism tends to increase after you eat. It can be attributed to the amount of energy needed to digest and absorb the nutrients, and the most significant boost tends to be from protein.
Studies also suggest that eating protein can help prevent people from overeating. A study revealed that individuals who consumed a high amount of protein had a lower calorie diet than those who didn’t eat protein.
2. Drink Ice Water
Drinking water instead of sugar-filled drinks can help people lose weight. Even so-called healthy or sugar-free drinks contain significantly more calories than a glass of water.
Although drinking water is good for your body, it can also boost your metabolism. Studies suggest that it increases your resting metabolism by around 10% to 30% for about an hour.
Drinking cold water can also help boost the effects of water on your metabolism. Since the body uses energy to heat up, it burns more calories than warm water. Studies suggest that drinking water an hour before your meal can help you eat less, as it tricks your body into feeling full.
3. Up the Intensity
High-intensity interval training is a type of training that can help you burn fat. It works by increasing your metabolic rate after completing a certain level of activity.
High-intensity interval training has been shown to help burn fat. In a study, young men who were overweight could lose almost four pounds of body fat after 12 weeks of training.
4. Lift Weights
Building muscle can also help boost your metabolism. It activates the genes in the body that are responsible for burning fat. Wearing weights can also help you burn more calories each day. It can also combat the effects of weight loss on your metabolism.
In another study, obese women were placed on a diet of 800 calories a day. The participants in the study maintained their muscle mass and metabolism after resistance training.
5. Stand Up Regularly
Sitting too much is known to increase the risk of weight gain. In addition, prolonged sitting can also decrease your metabolic rate and cause you to burn fewer calories. While sitting at work is not ideal, a simple and effective way to improve your posture is to stand up for a few minutes. This can help burn an extra 174 calories.
6. Drink Tea
A cup of green tea or oolong tea can increase your metabolism by about 4 to 5%. It’s believed that these beverages can convert some of the fat in your body into free fatty acids. However, these properties may not affect your metabolism and could actually help you avoid experiencing the weight loss plateau.
7. Don’t Shy Away from Spice
Although peppers contain capsaicin, which can boost your metabolism, many people cannot tolerate these compounds at the doses needed to have a significant effect. A study hypothesized that eating about ten peppers a day could burn up to 10 additional calories. This could account for a 1-pound weight loss over 6.5 years.
Spices can only boost your metabolism a small amount. However, they can still contribute to a slightly better metabolic rate when combined with other strategies.
8. Prioritize Your Sleep
Lack of sleep is also linked to an increase in the risk of obesity. Poor sleep has been linked to increased insulin resistance and blood sugar levels, which are both risk factors for type 2 diabetes. It has also been known that sleeping too much can boost the production of a hunger hormone known as ghrelin. This could explain why sleeping too much causes hunger.
9. Drink a Cup of Joe
Studies also suggest that coffee can boost metabolism by around 3–11%. However, these effects are similar to green tea and may contribute to weight loss and maintenance.