Both losing weight and maintaining weight can be very difficult and frustrating. It’s a constant battle that most people deal with every day. One of the best ways to lose and maintain weight is to have a good, healthy metabolism. Of course, you want to burn as many calories as possible every day and in order to do that, your metabolism needs to be working all day long. Here are 8 great ways to not only boost your metabolism, but to make sure it’s burning those pesky calories all day long.
1.Eat Breakfast
I’m sure you’re sick of hearing someone tell you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but I’m going to say it again. You really need to eat breakfast in the morning to kick start your metabolism. With that being said, make sure it’s a healthy breakfast. If you’re not much of a breakfast person, try eating some fruit with greek yogurt instead of a heavy meal. Just make sure to get some good, filling food in your tummy in the morning and you’ll be well on your way to boosting your metabolism all day.
2. Eat Often
I know it seems weird that you should eat food often when you are trying to lose weight, but it really is the best way to keep your metabolism running. The key, however, is to eat smaller, more filling meals every 2 to 3 hours instead of 3 large meals every 5 to 6 hours. Once your body has burned off it’s last meal a few hours ago, you’ll want to fuel it again so it can keep working and burning food off. If you go too long between meals it will actually slow your metabolism because it has nothing to burn, and your body will actually start storing fat.
3. Build Muscle
One of the best ways to boost metabolism is to increase your muscle mass. Now, I’m not saying you have to become a heavy weight lifter, you’ll just want to incorporate exercise into your routine if you’re not already. You’ll always want to make sure that you are building muscle by weight lifting or weight training instead of just doing cardio. Lifting weights will increase your muscle mass, which will allow your body to burn calories more throughout the day. You don’t have to lift weights every day, but be sure to incorporate it into your workouts at least a few times a week.
4. Drink Lots Of Water
Drinking plenty of water is one of the single most important and healthy things we can do for our bodies.You will become metabolically sluggish without getting the water you need and you will definitely feel more tired and run down without having enough water. Studies have revealed over the years that if you’re chronically dehydrated (which surprisingly a lot of us are) it can cause up to an 8-pound weight gain or more per year. Who wants to gain weight because they’re not drinking water? Not me!
5. Spice Up Your Life
Would you be surprised to find out that many spices can actually increase your metabolism? The best part is that they’re some of everyone’s favorite spices. Cinnamon, ginger, cayenne, turmeric, and nutmeg are just a few of these healthy spices. Add some of these on your favorite foods and it’ll easily boost your metabolism. Not to mention that your food will taste yummy as well.
6. Get Enough Sleep
Our muscles and whole body need rest, and that’s what sleep is for. But just getting sleep is not enough to have a good metabolism. You’ll want to get about 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night. This will do a few things: it will decrease your likelihood of staying up late and snacking when you don’t need to be eating, and it will ensure that you have plenty of energy for the next day to stay active so your metabolism can burn and work off all the calories you consume.
7. Eat Foods High In Fiber
Foods that are high in fiber will keep you fuller for longer and will cause your metabolism to work longer as well. Your body will work harder to burn off those high fiber foods. Incorporate whole wheat pasta, legumes, and most dark colored vegetables so your body will get a healthy dose of fiber and keep your metabolism burning all day long.
8. Drink Green Tea
Studies have shown that the catechins in green tea actually speed up your metabolism and help with weight loss. You can incorporate this healthy drink into your every day and can even replace other drinks like coffee with it if you really want. It’s certainly a simple way to increase your metabolism.