You often hear the words slow or fast metabolism, so, what is metabolism? Your body uses the food and water you consume as energy. This energy is then utilized to keep you alive and functioning properly. The amount of energy burned that you need for your body is called Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR. If you have a slow metabolism or low BMR, that means your body burns less energy and stores the rest. When that happens, you gain weight quicker. Are there ways to make your metabolism burn more fuel? The answer is yes. Here are some of the methods.
1. Drink More Water
Studies found that water has a thermogenic effect on the body. That means it stimulates heat production. So, when you fill your body with water, energy is used to warm the fluid to the body temperature. Your body’s water needs depend on your weight and gender. But generally, males need to drink 15.5 cups per day, while females need about 11.5 cups daily. There are mobile apps that help remind you to drink water at specific intervals.
2. Eat More Protein
If your body needs protein, the process of burning fats slows down. That’s because when you lose protein, you lose muscle tissue. These tissues are metabolically active tissues (MAT), meaning they burn calories. The health advocates at Not One Rival state that MATs make a huge difference if you want to lose weight and burn fats. You can read more info online on how to burn calories faster. Protein also reduces your appetite and promotes changes in your weight-regulating hormones.
3. Exercise
Generally, exercising helps you burn calories. One of the most important exercises is High-Intensity Interval Trainings (HIIT). HIIT is about doing exercises that are highly intensive for a short period of time. The best thing about HIIT is that your body continues to burn fats even after you’ve stopped exercising, according to many sources. It has a better effect on prolonging an increase in metabolism than jogging and weight training. HIIT also burns fats and reduces the percentage of belly fats.
4. Strength Training
In point number 2, we mentioned the loss of muscle tissues and how it affects weight loss. The gym is where you build those muscles. Lifting weights can help stop your metabolism from getting slower during your weight loss. It will also prevent loss of muscle mass and will boost the loss of fat mass, instead. We encourage you to consult a trainer before starting weight lifting to avoid injury. Weight training can also increase your endurance, allowing you to train for longer without fatigue.
5. Drink Coffee and Green Tea
Green tea and black coffee are low in calories, but not just that, they also boost your metabolism and fat burning. For one, green tea increases metabolism by up to 5% and fat burning by 10-17%. It can help in weight loss plateau as well. As for coffee, it has similar properties as it can increase metabolism by 3-11%. It works more on lean individuals than obese ones but it still affects both. Coffee can also make you perform better at the gym.
6. Sleep Well
There’s a relationship between sleep and weight loss, as both affect one another. If you eat well and exercise, you will sleep well. And if you sleep the recommended 7-9 hours, you will burn calories more adequately. Moreover, lack of sleep can lead to insulin resistance and high blood sugar levels, which can lead to type 2 diabetes. People who don’t sleep enough are more likely to feel hungry and eat more throughout the day.
7. Cook Using Coconut Oil
Consider replacing your canola oil and butter with coconut oil. It increases your metabolic rate by 12%. That’s because it has medium-chain fats. It was also shown to improve athletes’ performance in the field. You will find that many sports bars contain coconut oil for that purpose. And if weight gain happens because of hormonal imbalance, coconut oil contains vitamin E, antioxidants, and polyphenols which balances those hormones.
While the methods mentioned above can have a significant impact, especially if combined, they won’t work alone. We advise you to follow a healthy balanced diet to help you lose weight and gain good health. There are many sources online where you can learn more about different schools of nutrition. Or you can visit a nutritionist or dietitian that can put you on the right track. If you do the things on the list while following a good diet, you will start to see good results. Don’t forget that the main aim is to lead a healthier life.
