We all have that one friend who manages to stay quite lean and strong even after eating everything. And here we are, going through all kinds of diets that exist in the world and still unable to drop the pounds that we gained during the festivals. The most annoying thing is that whenever you ask that friend how she manages to maintain that healthy weight, all that you get in the answer is, “Oh! my metabolism is quite high!” So, what is this metabolism and how to increase metabolism?
Every human being born on this earth has metabolism, and it is essential, like oxygen, for our survival. Metabolism is our body’s biological process of changing the food that we eat into energy for us to go about our daily lives. The rate of our metabolism is highest in our growing years and slows down as we grow old. A slow metabolism can also be a result of your genes, lifestyle, food habits, and many more such factors. And we all want to know how to improve metabolism.
5 Things That Negatively Affect Metabolic Rate
I. Lack Of Sleep
Aren’t our phones the last thing we see at night and the first thing we see in the morning? It’s time to kick that habit as it hampers our sleep.
Lack of sleep affects our metabolism more than we can think of. Tossing and turning night after night in the bed makes it harder for the body to use the energy properly that can lead to health conditions like obesity and diabetes.
So, if you are looking for ways on how to increase metabolism, then get 7 to 8 hours to sleep at night.
II. Limiting Calorie Intake
If you think that stopping the number of calories you eat every day is going to help you increase your metabolism, then you are very much wrong. Reducing calorie intake, in reality, can prove to be counterproductive. If your body senses a significant drop in the calorie level, then it will automatically decrease the metabolism to restore the calorie balance. It is vital to include foods that increase metabolism in your diet.
III. A Sedentary Lifestyle
Leading an inactive lifestyle and thinking on how to increase metabolism?
A sedentary lifestyle will reduce the number of calories that your body burns every day due to the lack of activity. People, who have desk jobs, face the negative aspect of this lifestyle as they are bound to one place without any significant physical activity taking place for long hours.
IV. Not Drinking Enough Water
Drinking loads and loads of water has many benefits, one of which is enhancing your metabolism. Limiting your water intake can stall your metabolism significantly and can lead to weight gain. Moreover, water also fills you up and helps you eat less.
V. Severe Diets
Yes, you read it right. Following a strict diet will affect your metabolism in many ways. While losing weight is important, how you do that affects the whole process as well. If you think that not eating enough will help you lose weight – you are wrong. Limiting food intake will signal your body to slow down metabolism to store enough energy for you to function properly. So instead of cutting down on the quantity, eat the foods that increase metabolism. It is a much healthier and less drastic way to lose extra pounds.
How To Improve Rate of Metabolism
Our metabolism is the highest during our developmental years but goes down as we age. It is particularly difficult to have high metabolism after 40 if you lead an unhealthy lifestyle. Here are 10 ways on how to improve metabolism in women.
1. Maintain A Routine For Your Meals
Eating meals every day at the same time allows your body to fall into a routine and prevents it from storing up calories and adding fat. Include metabolism boosting foods in your meals for added advantage.
2. Exercise Regularly
With the pollution levels rising every day and us leading unhealthy lifestyles, now is not the time to skip on your exercises. If you want to know how to increase metabolism after 40, this tip is for you! Exercise regularly and start strength training to build and maintain your muscle mass.
3. Protein Pile On
Did you know that protein can increase your metabolism by 15 to 30 percent as opposed to carbs that burn improves the metabolic rate by only 5 to 10 percent?. So, try to include more protein-based foods that increase metabolism in your meals every day to increase your metabolic rate.
4. Get Some Sleep
Stop searching “How to boost metabolism?” on Google at night and get some sleep as that will help you improve your metabolic rate better than staring at the phone till late at night. Researchers have linked the lack of proper sleep to increased risk of obesity as sleep deprivation can negatively affect your metabolic rate.
5. Drink Oolong Or Green Tea
Green tea and Oolong tea has been long known to increase metabolism by at least 4 to 5 percent. These specialty teas help in converting the stored fat into fatty acids that enhance the metabolic rate by 10 to 17 percent.
6. Eat Spicy Food
Red hot peppers are one of the many metabolism-boosting foods thanks to the presence of capsaicin, which can improve your metabolism. A study has found that capsaicin, when consumed within acceptable doses, can breakdown at least ten additional calories from every meal you eat. So start including such metabolism boosting foods.
7. Drink Hot Lemon Water In The Morning
Water + Lemon = Improved metabolism-boosting
Water and lemon are both metabolism-enhancing agents. So this super easy concoction of drinking lemon juice with hot water in the morning will help you burn more calories than you can imagine. This mixture is most potent when drunk in an empty stomach.
8. Cook With Coconut Oil
Stop cooking with saturated fats and start using coconut oil as it is rich in medium-chain fats. Food items like butter are full of long-chain chain fats that are more difficult to break down than medium-chain fats. So, instead of Googling about “How to increase metabolism?” buy some coconut cooking oil online today.
9. Always Eat Breakfast
In terms of metabolism, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It is a fact that those who eat breakfast have a higher rate of metabolism than those who skip the meal. This is because the metabolism slows down when you sleep and revs up again when you have breakfast. Try to eat high-fibre carb-filled breakfast for improved metabolic rate.
10. Dial Down On Alcohol
Thinking about having a few drinks before dinner? You might want to think again. Drinking before dinner is not a very good idea as it can lead you to eat 200 calories more. Moreover, some studies have concluded that our body burns off the alcohol first, allowing the calories gained from the dinner to be stored as fat. If you do want to have a drink just stick to wine as it is only 80 calories a glass. Also, did you know that red wine for skin works great in improving overall skin texture and fighting acne?
FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions
Metabolism is a biological process and it is normal to have doubts about it. Here are some FAQs on Metabolism that will help you understand this concept better.
Q. Do Women Have a Lower Metabolic Rate?
A. The answer to this question is yes. Compared to men women have a lower metabolic rate as they have lower muscle mass and more body fat than men. Muscle is known to have a higher metabolic activity than fat which is why women have a slower metabolism.
Q. How to Increase Metabolism through dieting?
A. Dieting does not increase metabolism. Instead, it can slow it down significantly. It’s better to eat metabolism-boosting food than dieting.
Q. How to Improve Metabolism If I have Low NEAT?
A. Before answering the question let’s clarify what is NEAT. Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) is the energy that our body spends when we do a very minor activity like foot-tapping and hair twirling. NEAT is influenced by genetics. So, if you have lower NEAT, then follow the above-mentioned 10 ways to improve your metabolic rate.
Q. How to Boost Metabolism Through Food?
A. Since our body has to use more energy to break down proteins, a high-protein diet can be followed to increase the metabolic rate. However, be careful while choosing your source of protein as there are many types of meat and other food items that contain saturated fat.
Key Pointers on Your Journey to Gain High Metabolism
Raising your metabolic rate is not a myth and can be achieved easily. This article has explored ten of these factors that can help you get high metabolism. The key points of this article highlight the factors that slow down metabolism and ten easy ways to rev it back up. However, the most important thing to remember is to eat healthy, stay healthy, and exercise.