9 Strategies naturally boosting your metabolism

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to stay slim and never gain weight?  Are they born that way or do they know a secret to keeping weight off you don’t know? 

In order to keep us alive and functioning, your body has millions of chemical processes taking place in your cells which is known as your metabolism.  Metabolism does play a role in whether you tend to easily gain weight or if you never have much of a problem with excess weight gain.  Some people seem to have a more accelerated metabolism than others.  Eventually all of us after about the age of 40 will have a slowed decline of around 5 % per decade in our metabolism unless we do certain things to prevent it.  There are several factors we can’t control affecting metabolism – age, gender and genetics. 

Fortunately, there are other factors affecting metabolism that are within our control so you don’t have to feel doomed by a lackluster burn in calories. 

Here are 9 factors you can work to your advantage revving up your metabolism to achieve a normal body weight meant for you:

1.    Intensify your workout

Aerobic exercise is a very effective method of increasing your metabolism.  But if you are engaging in aerobic exercise that has become routine and practiced at a more leisurely pace, it’s time to step it up.  Push yourself to include more high-intensity exercise to bring about a rise in your resting metabolic rate.  Walk faster, incorporate jogging or sprinting into a regular walk, dance to a fast-paced song, just do whatever it takes to workout harder than usual.

2.    Increase muscle mass

During the day even when we are doing nothing, our body is busy burning calories.  When you have more muscle mass, you’ll burn more calories than someone with less muscle mass.  For each pound of muscle your body burns about 6 calories a day while a pound of fat burns only 2 calories a day.   You may think “that’s not much” but every little bit helps and the more calories burned even at rest means less weight gain.

3.     Drink more water

Many people walk around mildly dehydrated which can slow down metabolism.  In order to burn calories, your body needs water.  Adults who drank 8 -10 glassed of water each day burn more calories than those who drink less than that.  Total water intake can include foods with a high water content such as fruits and vegetables.  Keep track of your water intake during the day.  One way to assess if you are adequately hydrated is your urine should be a transparent yellow to a pale straw color. 

4.     Spice up your meals

Spicy foods may heat up your food but they also have natural chemicals boosting your metabolism.  When used frequently, spicy foods such as red or green chili peppers used in cooking will give a surge to your metabolism.  Red pepper flakes are another easy to use spice to increase metabolism easily added to chili, stews, or pasta dishes. 

5.     Eat often throughout the day

It may sound counterproductive, but it helps to eat often.  If you only eat one or two large meals and go for long stretches during the day without eating, your metabolism slows down.  Every 3 to 4 hours have a small meal or snacks so your metabolism keeps burning calories. 

6.    Increase protein

When you eat a food rich in protein, it requires more calories to digest than it does to digest carbohydrates or fat.  At each meal have a lean protein source such as chicken, eggs, fish, lean beef, nuts, beans, and low-fat dairy. 

7.     Drink black coffee

We all know coffee helps us feel more alert, awake, energized and ready to take on the day.  One other thing it does is to cause a short-term rise in your metabolism.  Up to 3-4 cups of coffee each day can be enjoyed by most people.

8.     Drink green tea

Green tea may not look like a metabolism-charged beverage but drinking it or oolong tea provide caffeine and catechins that rev up metabolism.  Drinking 2 to 4 cups of green or oolong tea can give an energy boost increasing metabolism by burning 17% more calories. 

9.     Stay away from crash dieting

Crash dieting may result in weight loss initially but it also results in loss of muscle mass and ultimately slowing down your metabolism.  Crash diets are defined as any diet providing less than 1200 calories (if a woman) or 1500 calories (if a man).  Once you go off the diet and back to eating normally, the weight comes right back on and your metabolism has bottomed out which means you’ll be burning fewer calories.