The Top 8 Secrets to Boosting Your Metabolism
Some of us were born with a fast metabolism, and some of us just weren’t.
Rather than wasting your time complaining if you’re of the latter, how about your take a few minutes to check out what we’re put together here.
If you don’t naturally have a fast metabolism, don’t worry — there are ways you can trick your body into speeding yours up for you.
Sounds too good to be true, right? We thought so too, until we did some serious research and found that it is possible to boost your metabolism.
Here’s how.
How to Trick Your Metabolism Into Being Faster
Before we get into the secrets, let’s put some things out in the open.
As wisely said by the Mayo Clinic, “trying to boost your metabolism probably won’t lead to weight loss, at least not to the degree that changing your diet and lifestyle habits will.”
This means that in order to get the results of a fast metabolism that you’re after, there is work to be put in that extends to changing your lifestyle habits.
“Metabolism is the process by which your body converts what you eat and drink into energy,” the Mayo Clinic website states. “Even when your body is at rest, you are still using energy for basic functions such as breathing, circulating blood and repairing cells. The energy your body uses for these basic functions is called yoru basal metabolic rate.”
They go on to say: “How much you weigh largely depends on the choices you make about food and how much physical activity you get.”
With that in mind, let’s dive into the secrets.
1. Eat Omega-3s
Omega-3s are great for battling inflammation and are great for helping you keep that blood sugar balanced. This will have your metabolism feeling nice and happy. Studies have shown that rats taking fish oil and exercising lost weight.
If fish oil isn’t your thing, you can also turn to flaxseed oil or walnuts for the dosage that you need. We recommend between 1,000 and 3,000 mg a day.
2. Make some gains
Not, not on the scale but in your muscle mass. Muscle uses more energy than fat does, so we prefer to have more muscle than fat in order to keep that energy burning.
By increasing your muscle mass, you increase your metabolism — even when you’re not working out.
One of the best ways to increase your muscle mass is with a Pilates Platinum class. You may not think at first, but you will quickly find yourself with muscle where you never thought you would.
3. Eat more fiber
Fiber is key to helping you feel fuller longer and ridding of your cravings for unhealthy snacks. For females, aim for 21-25 grams of fiber a day, and for males, 30-38 grams.
Your best sources of fiber include raspberries, apples, broccoli, pears, beans, and grains.
4. DON’T overdo cutting calories
You may think that you can lose weight by cutting a bunch of calories, but that is going to do a number on your metabolism.
While you can cut some calories if you are overdoing it, you don’t want to go too far or else you run the risk of your body holding onto fat as long as possible in order to conserve energy.
In order to have your body using fat as energy, you need enough calories going in.
So how do you know the number of calories to be putting in?
It’s different for everyone, so use this calculator to find out.
5. Six small meals
There is much controversy over this subject and it really boils down to what works best for your body. However, if you are struggling with metabolism issues, you may want to try to have six small meals throughout the day instead of three huge ones.
By eating food every few hours, you may find yourself feeling less hungry and taking in less calories over the period of the day. This can also help keep your blood sugar levels regular and keep your insulin from spiking.
However, ensure that you are keeping those meals small — we are talking approximately 300 calories each so you don’t run the risk of overeating.
6. Try HIIT workouts
Though not for everyone, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts can, for some, be an answer to all your metabolism questions.
HIIT workouts are known to be great for burning belly fat and getting your metabolism to a more desirable place. This style of workout is great for also burning more calories post-workout than other exercises.
By switching between low-intensity and high-intensity workouts, your metabolism resets at a higher level and that’s how you keep burning even after you’ve left the gym.
7. Pump iron, but not in the gym
Though gaining muscle mass and strength training is important, so is making sure you are getting enough of the other kind of iron — iron for your body.
Iron helps carry the oxygen needed by your muscles to burn fat, so you want to up your levels of this nutrient.
Lean meats, spinach and beans are some of our favorite ways to get iron.
8. Drink that H20
Many times when we think we are hungry, we are actually just thirsty. Thus, by upping your water intake, you won’t have those thirsty times masking themselves as hunger. This means fewer calories and keeping your metabolism happy.
Want some help boosting that metabolism?
Though there is work for you to do in the kitchen and your overall lifestyle, Pilates Platinum is here to help you get the strength training part of your metabolism boost going. Sign up today for a class to get a jump-start on your new metabolism.