5 EASY HACKS TO BOOST YOUR METABOLISM (BACKED BY SCIENCE)

You may have thought that your inherited slow metabolism from your mom set you on a path in search of diets and weight-loss wonders, but the good news is that you are not stuck with it. 

In fact, you can actually trick your body into burning more calories (and more efficiently) by eating right and hitting the gym. But there are a number of other ways you can naturally boost your metabolism…

What is my metabolism? 

Before we get into the easy hacks to boosting your metabolism, let’s first explain what your metabolism is (drum roll please). 

Your metabolism is the rate at which your body burns calories for energy. 

The speed of your body’s metabolism will depend on a number of factors, namely: gender, age, muscle mass, genetics, body fat and activity level. 

While your control over your genetic and gender influences on your metabolism is restricted, there are other ways to naturally boost your metabolism…

1. Hit the gym

Strength training 2 to 3 times a week and working out on a regular basis will do wonders in speeding up the rate at which your body burns calories. As well as weight training, high-intensity interval training is something you need to include in your workout schedule. 

The trick is to ramp up your intensity for 30-second intervals and then return to your normal speed afterwards. This applies to running, swimming, spinning or any cardio workout on a machine such as a stepper. 

This strategy will enable your body to take in more oxygen, this allows the powerhouse of your cells, known as the mitochondria, to work even harder and burn even more energy. 

This way you can exercise for shorter periods of time and get amazing results. 

Have a look at this fitastic HIIT workout video. 

Compound exercises are also an effective way to burn calories in a shorter period of time by making your body work harder than it would in doing isolation exercises. Read: 4 SURPRISING BENEFITS OF COMPOUND EXERCISES (#2 IS AWESOME). 

2. Eat Omega-3’s

Eating foods such as fish (tuna, salmon and herring) and adding Omega-3 supplements to your diet will amp up your metabolism. These vital nutrients help balance your blood sugar levels, regulate your metabolism and reduce inflammation. 

Omegas have also been found to reduce your body’s resistance to leptin. 

“Studies have shown that an absence of leptin in the body or leptin resistance can lead to uncontrolled feeding and weight gain.”

Experts recommend you take 1,000 to 2,000 mg of Omega 3 a day. 

3. Make yourself a hot cup of green tea

Green tea is known for its incredible antioxidant affects. But there is new evidence that suggests the active ingredient found in the tea known as catechin, may help boost your metabolism. 

The exact metabolic benefits from green tea are not yet certain, but drinking 1 to 2 cups a day, in addition to a well-balanced diet, is key. 

4. Stop stressing

Easier said than done, we get it. But the thing is, stress affects your hormone levels and can cause your body to create more cortisol than needed. Cortisol helps in regulating your appetite and researchers have linked abnormal amounts of this hormone to eating issues. 

Disordered eating, which is both food avoidance and overeating (depending on how you deal with stress) can disrupt your metabolism. 

Stress is also linked to sleep issues, and not enough sleep adversely impacts your metabolism. 

Try yoga, deep breathing, meditation or even a long, hot bath to decompress and destress from time to time. Trust me, your body needs it. 

5. Eat a well-balanced diet

I’m sure this isn’t the first time you have heard someone tell you this. And one of the most frustrating issues with dieting is that when you cut too many calories out, your metabolism thinks that times are tough and hits the brakes on fat-burning and starts to conserve energy. 

This means that the moment you go back to eating normally again, your body puts back on the weight (if not more). 

You need to eat the right amount of calories to match your metabolic rate. Here is an awesome calorie counter to work out how much you should be consuming. 

If you need help with creating a healthy diet and eating plan, then we can help! 

Extra tips: 

• Make sure you are getting enough sleep (between 6 and 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep a night)
• Drink enough water – between 6 and 8 glasses a day. 
• Eat your B’s – Make sure you are getting a healthy dose of B vitamins. This vital vitamin is found in eggs, baked potatoes, peanut butter, spinach, peas, bananas and whole-grain foods

The takeaway

Exercise, eat right, limit your stress, get enough sleep and drink enough water and you should be able to speed up your metabolism in no time.