Naturally Boost Your Metabolism
Try these 5 easy ways to naturally boost your metabolism for a leaner, stronger, healthier body.
You cannot change the way your body uses energy during rest periods (sitting, sleeping) since that is predetermined genetically. What you can do, though, is transform habits that tend to trick your body into burning calories more efficiently.
Here are 5 natural ways to kick start your metabolism:
1. Super Snacking: The right kind of snacks in the right amount can help jump start your energy. When you snack (at snack-size portions) be sure to remember the Super Snack Rule of 2 = healthy carbs + protein. The protein and carbohydrate combination helps to regulate your blood sugar so you’re not crazy hungry by meal time causing you to overeat. For a perfect Super Snack, try this Raspberry Peach Lemonade Protein Smoothie. The fruit packs healthy carbs and AllWhites 100% egg whites has loads of lean protein.
2. Don’t Cut Calories: If you cut out feeding your body the fuel it needs, your metabolism will slow way down to take care of a hungry system. It literally tries to conserve stores of carbohydrates and fat. The last thing you want is to hang on to fat! Since food stimulates metabolism, the best way to keep it going throughout the day is to eat regular meals as well as snacks to maintain a constant supply of super healthy fuel.
3. Eat Breakfast. Eat Breakfast. Eat Breakfast: Did we mention to eat breakfast? We can’t stress enough how important eating breakfast is if you’re interested in boosting your metabolism naturally. Some studies show that eating breakfast can increase your resting metabolism while also reducing the risk of obesity and diabetes. Choose a whole-grain item with fruit, or yogurt and granola. Here’s a delicious recipe for a Black Bean Breakfast Burrito perfect for a morning metabolism booster:
Black Bean Breakfast Burrito recipe
4. Pump Iron: As we age, the tendency is to lose muscle while gaining fat. This combination slows down metabolism considerably. The way to combat it is to include strength training in your exercise routine. Resistance and strength training reduces fat mass and increases muscle mass stimulating muscles to be healthier and stronger. You can introduce strength training through weight machines or free weights, but it can be as easy as using your own body weight by doing push-ups, pull-ups, crunches or squats.
5. Mix-it-Up: If you don’t yet have an exercise routine. Start! If you’re already committed to regular exercise, start to mix up your workouts with interval training. Going for your morning run? Run a few blocks harder than you normally do. Biking with a buddy? Work intervals into your ride. Taking your evening walk? Reroute to include some hills. Interval training literally trains your heart and muscles to use oxygen efficiently. Training in this way burns more calories, increases metabolic rate and improves your fitness much faster than your regular, repeated workout.
Naturally boosting your own metabolism is a great way to get a jump on a healthier lifestyle as we head into summer.