Your metabolism involves converting fuel from foods consumed into energy needed to sustain the body. The body needs energy for all processes, including movement, thought, growth, and recovery. When this conversion process hums along at a fast clip, the body requires more food to keep it running efficiently due to the higher rate of consumption. A person’s diet can impact the rate of metabolism, making it easier or more difficult to control weight.
Eat
When you’re trying to cut calories and lose weight, it’s tempting to follow a restrictive diet and eat very little. When you do this, you send your body into a conservation mode. The end result is that you tend to hold onto fat instead of shedding it. To get your body humming along at a fast rate, eat regularly and enough. Always start the day with a breakfast that includes proteins and high-energy complex carbohydrates. Try not to go more than a few hours without eating, including light snacks between meals at mid-morning and mid-afternoon. The trick is to eat just enough so you’re not hungry anymore without overeating. If you pay attention, you will know when you’re satisfied and no longer hungry.
Drinking Specific Beverages
Add at least six cups of ice-cold water to your daily schedule. Recent research suggests that ingesting very cold water can be an excellent metabolism booster. Scientists guess that the cold temperature of the water causes the body to have to work overtime to warm it to a standard temperature. This process could be enough to enable some people to lose as much as five pounds over the course of a year. Drink coffee or tea to rev up your central nervous system. A cup of coffee could provide a boost of between five and eight percent, which equals as much as 174 calories. A cup of caffeinated tea might result in a hike of as much as 12 percent.
Include the Right Nutrients
Eat foods that contain iron to ensure high energy. Foods rich in iron include spinach, lean meats, shellfish, and beans. Include protein-rich foods at every meal. Protein helps maintain and build lean muscle. Protein at a meal might boost calorie utilization by up to 35 percent. Make sure you get enough calcium in your diet because a calcium deficiency could be related to a dip in metabolism. Vitamin D is also instrumental in building muscle, which helps maintain a steady metabolic pace. Fiber has also been shown to be effective for helping burn fat, which improves weight loss efforts.
Exercise
Daily exercise is also important for keeping up healthy processes. When you increase heart rate and breathing, body processes will tend to move more efficiently even after you finish for the day. Add other short bursts of movement at regular intervals to boost metabolism. Full body stretches, taking a break to stand instead of sitting, or opting for the stairs instead of the elevator can be effective for burning calories.
Losing weight and getting healthy does not need to be difficult or unpleasant. Small changes to your diet and adding exercise may be enough to reveal a new and improved you.