7 Tips To Boost Your Metabolism Naturally

Here are a few tips that can help you maintain a healthy metabolic rate without any extra effort.

Tips to boost your metabolism naturally.

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Metabolism is very often referred to whenever we discuss healthy weight, digestion, weight loss, or maintaining the lost weight. Weight loss and metabolism are often related, but what exactly is metabolism?

Metabolism is the sum total of all the chemical activities inside our body, responsible for keeping us alive and performing basic functions like blinking and breathing. The rate at which our body utilises calories converted into energy for various processes is known as the metabolic rate.

A good metabolism can help you feel energetic, light, and not only fasten the journey of weight loss but prevent you from regaining it as well. But people often struggle because of their slow metabolism. Therefore, we bring you a few tips that can help you boost your metabolism.

High Protein Intake

According to PubMed Central, our body burns more calories after we consume food. That is because it utilises the energy to digest the food and the process is known as the Thermic Effect of Food (TEF). Foods rich in protein have a high thermic effect, and thus, our body burns more calories while digesting these foods.

Protein increases the metabolic rate by 15-30% in comparison to carbs and fats that increase it by 5% to 10% and 3% respectively. Protein has been shown to boost metabolism and help the body burn 80 to 100 calories a day.

High-Intensity Workout

If you want your body to burn more calories and boost the metabolism in the long run, it is important that you start including a high-intensity workout in your routine. They can help the body burn 30% more calories than usual (US NIH).

According to PubMed Central, high-intensity workouts can help burn fat and increase the metabolic rate hours after exercise and they actually help burn fat more than strength training and jogging. They have proved to reduce belly fat by 17% and convert fats into energy rather than carbs.

Avoid Crash Dieting

Crash dieting is an umbrella term used for the practice of losing weight by restricting calorie intake. It is important to understand that calories are required for the basic functioning of the lungs, kidneys, physical movement, digestion, and metabolisation of foods.

Restricting the calorie intake can lead to the slowing down of the metabolism; the rate at which the body burns the calories is reduced by 23% and that is one of the main reasons for weight regain after people get off their diets. Try adding protein-rich foods combined with high-intensity workouts to prevent muscle loss and slow metabolism.

Drink Cold Water

Firstly, water in general – even at room temperature – has proved to contribute to the journey of weight loss when replaced with sugary drinks and beverages. Cold water can help the body burn more calories because the body has to maintain its core temperature and more heat is required to do so.

According to PubMed Central, drinking water increases the resting metabolic rate by 15-30%, and drinking cold water increases it even more. Drinking water before your meals reduces the calorie intake and has shown 44% more weight loss in people than those who did not drink water before meals.

Drink Green Tea

Green tea is considered one of the healthiest beverages and it is because of its high antioxidant content and presence of plant compounds with several health benefits. Our body burns calories even while sitting or resting and green tea has proved to increase the resting metabolic rate (RMR) by 8%.

Studies prove that the effect of green tea on metabolism can be experienced in the long run and it differs from person to person.

Drink Your Coffee Guilt-Free

Coffee is filled with stimulants like caffeine, theobromine, theophylline, and chlorogenic acid, which keep you more energised, signal the fat cells to burn more fat, and increase the resting metabolic rate.

According to the US NIH, caffeine in coffee increases the RMR by 3-11%, and the higher the dose, the greater its effect. But studies have shown that coffee has near to no effect on the metabolism of obese people.

Enjoy Spicy Food

According to The New York Times, studies claim that eating spicy food can heat up your body and help you burn more calories, thus increasing the metabolic rate. Capsaicin in red chili pepper, ginger, and black pepper has been shown to increase the heat generation in the body immediately after a meal.

However, spicy foods alone may not have a significant effect on your metabolism but you can definitely enjoy the advantages when combined with other above-mentioned strategies.