6 Tips to Naturally Ramp Up Your Metabolism
When I used to compete in Cross Country and Track I could eat whatever I wanted and I would never gain any weight. In fact, when I started lifting more I TRIED to gain weight and couldn’t because my metabolism was in overdrive. Before it used to be a curse, but now I want it back. What steps can I take to rev up my metabolism? Below are six steps I found to do just that.
1. Eat More Smaller Meals During the Entire Day – 5 meals seems to be right.
Our stomach’s have a survival technique in that when you are hungry it will store more of the food we eat as fat instead of using it as energy. If you eat a little something every few hours you will never be hunger, you won’t over eat, and the foods vitamins and nutrients will be used as they were intended.
2. Workout in the Morning
Morning workouts give you a longer lasting After Burner effect (see #1) that helps you burn more calories during the day while on the other hand…
You do get some after burn with evening workouts but your after burn won’t last as long since you’ll probably end up going to bed in the evening and when you sleep – your metabolism slows back down.
3. Interval Training That Is Intense.
Instead of just going for a brisk walk or a steady jog try adding alternating intensity levels. For instance, when I ride my elliptical machine I warm up for about 3 minutes, and then I alternate between a steady pace and an up-tempo pace every minute after. Intense interval training has been proven to increase fat burning after a workout, aka the “after burn”.
4. Workout More Frequently
Doctors are now saying that a person can burn more fat throughout the day by doing 4 ten minute intense exercises instead of a longer 40+ minute exercise routine that is not as intense. The idea of this is to sustain the after burn all day long instead of it dissipating later on the day. It is just easier to workout at a high level for a shorter period of time than it is to hold that intensity for a 40+ minute workout.
5. Drink 6 to 10 Glasses of Cold Water Each Day.
A research center in Berlin did a study showing that after drinking a 7oz glass of cold water that a person’s fat-burning metabolism increased an average of 30%. JUST BY DRINKING WATER! It would not take much for a person to increase their water intake to reap the benefits. Plainly put, if you want your metabolism to work it needs water to do so.
6. Making Fiber and Protein a Focal Point of Your Diet.
Fiber and protein take more calories to burn than other types of foods. In fact, many fresh vegetables, like carrots, will burn more calories than what is taken in. Just by replacing your normal snacks with some fresh veggies will help you lose weight!
With just a few adjustments to our daily life we can help our body help us lose the weight we so desperately want to shed. My suggestion is pick 3 to 4 of the above and focus on them. In a short period of time you should start seeing results.