You might have heard about the term metabolism while talking about weight management. Simply put, metabolism is the amount of energy or calories needed by the body to function. Age, body functions, physical activity, thyroid functions, and genetics affect metabolism but there are certain natural ways to speed up metabolism. Find out about the methods below.
1. Drink Water
The body needs water to process calories, so drink water at regular intervals. If you are dehydrated, the metabolism process slows down. So, make sure to stay hydrated with water, unsweetened beverages, or juicy fruits to speed up your metabolism.
2. Don’t Skip Meals
Never skip meals, especially breakfast, no matter how busy you are. Since your body needs energy to digest, having some healthy food at regular intervals is essential. Always prefer to snack on nuts, fruits, cooked vegetables, and other nutrient-dense options instead of unhealthy snacks with added salt and sugar.
3. Have a Protein-Rich Diet
Have protein protein-rich diet daily to speed up the metabolism. Include eggs, meats, fish, and nuts, to increase your calorie burn. Eating protein-rich food can increase your metabolism for a few hours. This is called the thermic effect of food (TEF), which is caused by the extra calories required to absorb, process, and digest the nutrients in your meal. Protein causes the largest rise in TEF.
4. Eat Spicy Food
Good news for all the spicy food lovers, your metabolism might be better than others. It is because chili, peppers, and spicy foods contain a compound capsaicin, which boosts metabolism. However, the metabolism-boosting effect of spicy foods is quite small but when combined with other metabolism-boosting strategies, it can show significant results.
5. Drink Oolong or Green Tea
Make it a ritual to drink green or oolong tea daily. The compounds present in the tea – caffeine and catechins – can help speed up metabolism. These teas help convert fat stored in the body into free fatty acids, which may increase calorie burning when combined with the right exercises. You can even drink tea and black coffee in moderation.
However, the research findings are mixed, with some studies suggesting that drinking tea does not significantly impact metabolism.
6. Stand More Often
It’s a known fact that a sedentary lifestyle can hamper health. It not only raises obesity risk, affects bone development but also slows down the metabolism. So, if you have a sedentary lifestyle, make it a point to move around a lot. Go out for a walk, run, or move in the house, to boost your metabolic health.
7. Avoid Crash Dieting
No matter what the diet claims, strictly avoid crash dieting. Eating too few calories can slow down the metabolism so the body can conserve energy.
A crash diet might help you drop pounds, but it will backfire later. Since you lose muscle, which in turn slows metabolism, your body will burn fewer calories and you will gain weight faster than before post-crash diet.
8. Sleep Well
While sleep deprivation may not directly impact metabolism, it does raise the risk of obesity, weight gain, and diabetes, which indirectly affects metabolism. Thus, make sure you have at least 6-7 hours of stress-free sleep at night.
Apart from these, you can even do high-intensity workouts, light weights, yoga, and other physical activities to speed up your metabolism. Also, avoid smoking or drinking too much alcohol for better metabolism.
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