When it comes to losing weight, no one wants to fight against a slow metabolism. It slows the process and makes it 10x more difficult to lose even the first pound. But don’t worry, there are plenty of things you can do to speed up your metabolism and get it working for you toward your weight loss goals!
Sleep
Simply sleeping more is one of the biggest factors that can affect your metabolism and how quickly you’re able to lose weight. When you’re asleep, your body restores all of its functions and resets for the next day. Your body will naturally burn fat and reduce inflammation while you’re sleeping, so logically, the more time you give it to do so, the better the end result will be.
When you don’t get the recommended amount of sleep each night, you are left feeling deprived and consequently, consume more caffeine, and more calories as your body’s way of telling you that it needs more energy. Your metabolism can also slow down as much as 20% with a lack of sleep.
Aim to get 6-8 hours on average to speed up your metabolism, and some people need even more. Chances are, you know when you feel your best and how much sleep you need to function well. Try going to bed 15 minutes earlier every week to increase your metabolism and get your body burning fat without even trying.
It’s also important to note in today’s tech-saavy society, that you should shut off electronics 30 minutes before bedtime (which I know, can be very difficult). The reason behind this is that these devices stimulate your brain and tell it to work in overdrive instead of calming it down to sleep. You end up feeling wired instead of sleepy. If you have to have something playing when you go to sleep, try putting Netflix or the TV on and turning the brightness down as low as it will go. I even try to block the screen so I can just listen to my favorite shows as I fall asleep. Better yet, try reading or puzzle books that don’t have a bright light. You would be surprised how easily you can fall asleep to some of these activities.
Exercise
Exercising is one of the most effective ways to increase your metabolism, and there are tons of different activities you can do to accomplish this. The most effective method to increase your metabolism is HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training).
HIIT is essentially designed to increase your metabolism and get your body to burn fat without causing a lot of stress on your joints. In other words, you increase your heart rate quickly and get your body to burn a lot of calories in a short amount of time through spurts of activity. It’s thought to be easier on your joints than say running a marathon because you’re not causing as much stress on your joints for as long.
Other forms of exercise are also helpful in increasing your metabolism though, and these include resistance training and anaerobic exercise.
Resistance training does wonders for your metabolism because you are building muscle and the more muscle you have, the faster your metabolism will be. Anaerobic exercise is better than nothing, but it isn’t as effective as HIIT or Resistance Training in increasing our metabolism. Aerobic exercise would be like long distance cardio, like running, biking, walking, etc.
Mixing up your workout routines can also be very effective at increasing your metabolism because when you keep your muscles guessing, they have to work harder and this increases your metabolism dramatically.
Eating Healthy
When it comes to increasing your metabolism, eating healthy is crucial in doing so. After all, the healthier you are, the faster your metabolism will be. But there are a few small tweaks you can make to your daily diet to make your metabolism skyrocket.
Eat Breakfast
So many people think that skipping breakfast is smart when they want to shed a few pounds, but it actually has the exact opposite effect. Not only does it slow down your metabolism, but it can also dramatically increase the amount of calories you consume later in the day. It’s almost as if your body thinks it needs to play “catch up.”
You have to “break the fast” from your 6-8 hours of sleep and get your metabolism started early. The sooner you do, the more effective it can be at burning fat and calories for energy, and helping you lose weight.
Eat More Protein
This goes along with the idea that the more muscle you have, the faster your metabolism will be. When you consume more protein, it helps your body build and maintain more muscle and consequently, speeds up your metabolism. Have you ever wondered why so many diet plans start out with phases that focus on eating tons of protein? You have to retrain your body on how to handle food properly and building more muscle from protein is a great place to start.
Eat Organic
Just like the rest of your body, your metabolism can be gunked down with toxins and function poorly as a result. Try consuming as much organic and Non-GMO foods as you can to clean out your system and help your metabolism function properly.
Check out the Clean Fifteen and Dirty Dozen to find out what foods you should definitely buy organic and what foods are ok to purchase non-organic if your budget can’t handle both.
Focus on Smaller Portions
Now this may be difficult for some (myself included) because when you try to eat smaller, more frequent meals, all you ever get done doing is thinking about food! In the end you may feel like you eat way more than you would have otherwise. But the trick is to plan ahead and map out your meals. This method is effective because if you’re feeding your metabolism healthy food every 3 hours or so, you’re constantly adding fuel to the fire. In other words, you never let it get a break and that ends up burning more calories in the end.
This can also be a great way to lose weight without feeling deprived. But I would definitely recommend planning it out ahead of time so you don’t feel overwhelmed by constantly trying to find something healthy to eat.
Eat Healthy Fats
Healthy fats also help speed up your metabolism because they help your body and your digestive system function more smoothly. So basically, you’re improving the system that controls your metabolism and helping it to not slow down, thus, helping it speed up. Healthy fats are great for your heart, and most of your other organs, as well as your joints and skin.
Try incorporating foods like salmon, avocado, coconut oil, flax seed, and chia seeds to get the right amount of healthy fats in your diet daily.
Increase Your Water Consumption
It’s vitally important to your metabolism to make sure you are staying hydrated. After all, being dehydrated is one of the first things that slows down your metabolism and causes your body to feel tired and deprived; two triggers for unhealthy habits that lead to weight gain.
Ideally, you should aim to drink at least half your body weight in ounces everyday, and even more if you are working out or sweating a lot. If you’re pregnant, this is the one area where you want to make sure your actually getting enough for two people. Even if you feel like you already have to pee every 2 seconds, drink and drink and drink.
Drinking two glasses of water before every meal is a great way to flush out your body and prepare your digestive system for food. It can also help you feel fuller and help you stick to those smaller portions we talked about earlier.
Try Green Tea
Green tea is another great alternative to keep you hydrated and speed up your metabolism. It also has a ton of other health benefits, and can be a great option for those who just can’t stand the taste of plain water. It shouldn’t completely replace your water consumption, however. Make sure you’re still drinking plenty of pure H2O to stay fully hydrated. If you are one of those people who hates drinking plain water, try my detox water recipes to add a little taste and still get hydrated.
Let’s Review
Speeding up your metabolism is easy and once you begin to take small steps everyday, you’ll see results in no time. You don’t have to change your entire life overnight, but even the smallest changes can have a huge impact on your metabolism and your weight loss. If you don’t like to watch what you eat, then focus on working out and getting more sleep and vice versa. Find what works for you and you’ll be more successful in your healthy lifestyle and happier with your results.