Metabolism, the energy burning unit of the body, is responsible for how many calories we burn. The faster and harder it works, the more calories we burn on average. So wouldn't you want to do everything in your power to keep this furnace burning at full capacity and give it boosts every now and then if possible? Here are a few ways to stoke that fire and keep your metabolism going full speed:
- Build more muscle. Cardio is an important component of your workout routine, and definitely burns a lot of calories, however it should certainly not be the only component! You want to make sure you are strength training at least 2-3 days a week for 20-30 minutes at a time to build lean muscle. Muscle burns more calories than fat so just having more muscle tone will burn more calories. Also, strength training continues to burn calories for hours after your session, when the body works to repair the damaged muscles (commonly termed afterburn). Once you finish your cardio workout, your calorie burn ends there, however with weight training, your body continues to burn calories for hours post workout.
- Eat protein. Protein is harder for your body to digest so it takes longer, making you feel fuller longer, and also burns more energy breaking it down. Just make sure your sources of protein are lean: turkey, chicken, ham, fish, lean ground beef, etc.
- Green tea contains catechin which has a thermogenic effect on the body, increasing the overall metabolic rate and helping the body to burn fat and not store fat. I recommend getting at least 3 cups in a day if possible, the hotter the better because as it cools, it loses some of it's effect. Coffee has a similar effect and raises your resting metabolic rate, or the amount of calories your body burns at rest. So drink up, just limit your creams and sugars and overall cups to 2-3 a day.
- Cold water. The colder the better. The colder the water, the harder your body has to work and the more energy it burns trying to warm the water up inside your body. When your body is thirsty or dehydrated, your body may confuse that feeling with hunger and you may end up eating to satiate yourself when really all you needed was some water! Whenever you are feeling hungry and you don't think you should be (i.e. you ate an hour ago, etc), try having a glass or two of water and see if the feeling passes before reaching for a snack.
- Avoid skipping meals. If you go too long between meals, your body begins to think you are starving it, so it goes into conservation mode in an effort to conserve as much energy as possible, causing your metabolism to hit the brakes and slow down. This is especially important for breakfast since your body has already been in a state of starvation for the 7-9 hours you were sleeping. You want to eat something as soon as you can in the morning, ideally within 30-60 minutes. If you are not a big morning eater, at least have a glass of milk or juice, anything with calories until you are hungry enough for a bigger meal.
- Spicy foods. The spiciness comes from capsaicin which creates heat in the body and raises body temperature, causing the same effect on your metabolism.