Metabolism is a process by which the body burns calories for energy. You will feel more energetic if you burn more calories and give it a metabolic boost. It is also a better and easier way to lose weight. You can boost your metabolism by following simple and easy ways at home.
The metabolic rate is the rate at which the body burns calories, and it varies from one individual to the other. It is dependent on various factors, such as age, gender, weight, muscle mass, activity level, body fat, etc.
Ways To Boost Your Metabolism
1. Follow A Protein-rich Diet
Without proteins, the body will lose its energy. Consuming proteins is one of the easiest ways to boost your metabolism. Protein boosts the metabolic rate by 15-30% as compared to carbohydrates and fat. The consumption of protein makes you feel fuller for a longer time and prevents overeating. To have a better start, eat a protein-rich breakfast to provide fuel to the body.
2. Drink More Water
Drinking water is necessary for the functioning of the body; water helps process the calories. The daily water intake should be 1.5 liters to lose weight and to boost your metabolism. It is also found that the calorie-burning process increases with the consumption of cold water as the body uses energy to heat it to body temperature.
If you take sugary beverages regularly, immediately replace them with water to reduce your calorie intake. Drinking water before half an hour of a meal makes you eat less.
3. Drink Green Tea
Green tea is a thermogenic drink that helps rev up your body in the morning. Also, it contains polyphenol antioxidants which protect against chronic diseases, such as cancer and diabetes.
Drinking green tea is good to boost your metabolism. It is low in calories; thus, it helps in weight management. They convert stored fat into free fatty acids to improve the fat-burning process. It has been shown that these teas increase metabolism by 4-5%.
4. Get Enough Sleep
Lack of sleep is the reason behind the risk of obesity. It is found that adult needs 7-8 hrs of sound sleep per night. Little sleep stimulates the activity of the hunger hormone “ghrelin” and decreases the activity of the fullness hormone “leptin.” Therefore, sleep-deprived people struggle to lose weight and feel hungry.
The negative impacts of sleep deprivation are slow metabolism, increases glucose level, and insulin resistance. Thus, people with a lack of sleep are more at risk of type 2 diabetes.
5. Drink Coffee
Just like green tea, the caffeine content in coffee stimulates the metabolism and fat-burning process. Therefore, it contributes to the weight loss and weight management process. Drinking coffee in the morning gives your body the required boost to make the day more productive. However, limit coffee consumption to not more than 3-4 cups. Excess coffee consumption has adverse effects too.
6. Replace Cooking Oil With Coconut Oil
Coconut oil has many medium-chain fats compared to other oils that contain more amounts of long-chain fats. These fats are more beneficial to our body than the other fats. The unique fatty acid profile of coconut oil has modest benefits that boost your metabolism and weight loss.
7. Increase Vitamin B Intake
Vitamins are the essential nutrients necessary for the body and its proper functioning. Vitamin B has a major impact on the metabolic rate, especially vitamin B1, B2, B6, and B12. Thus, it is required to add vitamin B containing food in a meal to boost your metabolism, including bananas, baked potatoes, spinach, orange juice, peanut butter, wholegrain foods, etc.
8. Eat Spicy Foods
Add some spicy things, such as wasabi or cayenne pepper, in your meals to flavor up the dishes. Spicy food also has some benefits. Cayenne pepper has the potential component capsaicin to boost metabolism and maintain weight. So, try to sprinkle little spices in your lunch meal or evening soup to lose some weight. However, it is hard to tolerate the required amount of chilies for significant effects; you don’t have to push your spice capacities specifically.
9. Eat At Regular Intervals
Eating at a consistent time can boost your metabolism and make you healthy. Having food at regular time intervals increases the metabolism for a few hours; it is called the thermic effect of food. Eating food frequently is necessary as calories from food needed to digest, absorb, and process the essential nutrients from the meal. Taking small meals every 3-4 hours intervals speeds up the metabolism. Otherwise, if you eat a lot at a time and then spend long periods without eating, your metabolic rate slows down and store more fat cells.
10. Be Stress-free
Stress has a significant impact on the body’s metabolism. When you are stressed, your body releases more cortisol hormones than usual. Cortisol is responsible for maintaining appetite when its level goes up, results in an unhealthy eating pattern, and disrupts your metabolism.
11. Avoid Refined Foods
White flour and sugar usually are found in refined foods, such as pastries, white bread, pasta, and cookies, which overstimulate the insulin, leading your metabolism to lag. You cannot stop eating these foods altogether, but you can definitely limit the intake to boost your metabolism.
12. Lift Heavy Things
Muscle is more metabolically active than fat as building muscle can boost your metabolism. Lifting weight is important for retaining muscles. A higher amount of muscle helps boost your metabolism. Women can go for strength training.
