12 Metabolism Boosters To Help You Lose Weight
We all know that if we want to lose weight we have to exercise more and eat less. However, if you suffer from a sluggish metabolism like I do, the results of dieting can be painfully slow. There’s nothing worse than sticking to a healthy diet, cutting out sugary snacks and going to the gym three times per week to jump on the scales and find that you’ve only lost one measly pound! That’s enough to say ‘Stuff It’ and reach for the chocolate biscuits!
My metabolism is much slower now than when I was younger. It’s as if Mother Nature is sending me a message to up my game because I’m not getting any younger! That would be fine except I have a debilitating back problem and going through the menopause. I don’t want to be the size of a house, I have cut out alcohol and snacks and try to do extra walking on my ‘good’ days but the weight is painfully stubborn.
I’ve been researching how I can get my metabolism going a little faster and hopefully burn more fat. I’d like to share some ways which might just give a sluggish metabolism a kick up the backside.
12 Metabolism Boosters
- Eat Almonds. These are high in healthy fat and protein which will make you feel full for longer and cut down on snacking. In addition, balance blood sugars and improve insulin sensitivity which both help towards healthy weight loss.
- Drink hot water and lemon instead of your morning coffee. Lemons are alkalizing and water is detoxifying, which is essential to hydrate all our cells. The lemons mixed with the warm temperature of the water act as a digestive aid and help the body to eliminate toxins.
- Magnesium helps the metabolism by aiding sleep and relaxation. It can be hard to increase magnesium with diet alone, a supplement could be helpful. Sleep deprivation causes the metabolism to slow down and increases blood sugar levels.
- Eat more protein in your diet. This helps to improve muscle strength, something which may deteriorate because your body will start to break down muscle tissue to use as energy if your diet lacks calories.
- Salmon or any oily fish which contain fatty acids. They slow down the rate at which the stomach empties. It makes you feel fuller for longer and you feel less hungry.
- Apple cider vinegar will also curb appetite and boost metabolism. Put two tablespoons in a cup of warm water and drink on an empty stomach half an hour before a meal.
- Drink cold water. Your body uses energy to heat it up and if you replace sugary drinks with water you will drastically cut calories too.
- Standing up to do jobs which you would normally do sitting down. Maybe invest in a standing desk.
- Coconut oil is a medium chain fat. When it is used to replace high chain fats used for cooking it can raise the metabolism.
- Green tea contains catechin which may improve fat oxidation and help the way that your body produces energy from digestion.
- Eat breakfast. A healthy meal first thing in the morning gets the engine going and keeps it going. It literally wakes up your metabolism.
- Organic fruit and vegetables are also metabolism boosters. They don’t contain toxins from pesticides which put a strain on the thyroid.
Now of course comes the exercise bit.
The best exercise to improve metabolism is short bursts (30 seconds) of high-intensity exercise followed by longer intervals of normal intensity.
This can be running, however, swimming and walking are just as good if you find exercise difficult due to a medical problem.
If you just hate exercise, this is a great way to get it over and done with quickly.
I’m off now for a cup of green tea and a few almonds (yum!)
