How to speed up metabolism

Your body gets energy from food through metabolism. When this process is fast, it means that you burn calories faster, and those who can boast of it are less likely to gain excess weight.

A healthy metabolism can help you lose weight and significantly reduce your risk of such conditions as high blood pressure, heart diseases, and diabetes. In other words, how quickly your body burns calories is very important for healthy people and those who want to improve their health.

How to increase metabolism? What does it mean to burn the calories you consume fast? How can you change your lifestyle, and what can you do right now without much effort? Read on if you are interested in the answers to these questions.

Do intense cardio training

If you do cardio or aerobic exercises, you may not be afraid that several big meals can lead to weight gain. These exercises speed up metabolism and has a range of other benefits:

Lower heart rate and blood pressure at rest.
Higher insulin sensitivity.
Improved plasma lipoprotein profile.
Reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases and other disorders.
Improved memory and thinking abilities.
Burning more calories throughout the day and maintaining a healthy weight.

Cardio training leads to increased heart rate, which helps accelerate blood circulation and deliver oxygen to the muscles. This boosts metabolism and increases the energy consumed at rest and during exercise.

You can further improve the effectiveness of cardio training if you combine them with weight training and metabolism boosters. Combining different types of exercises has a cumulative effect, further improving your indicators.

Build muscles

The primary energy consumers in our body are the brain, liver, and muscles. Accordingly, the more the volume of muscles, the more energy they need. When muscle mass is reduced, the basal metabolic rate drops.

Muscles are responsible for all body movements. Skeletal muscles burn most of the energy during the day. These muscles require a lot of energy to do the necessary mechanical work.

Unlike the liver and brain, muscle mass can be increased through exercise. And people of all ages are advised to exercise moderately several times a week to maintain or increase muscle mass.

You can’t build muscles quickly, which often causes difficulties and irritation. Start building muscle gradually, set the training intensity to realistic levels, and work towards your goal.

Get enough sleep

How to boost metabolism most easily? Just have enough sleep! We all sleep, even those who claim otherwise. This is how our body works. Along with respiration, sleep tops the list of physiological processes we cannot do without. The consumption of water and food follows these.

During sleep, melatonin is produced. It is a neurohormone, also known as the “sleep hormone.” This hormone has a variety of properties and effects:

It regulates mood and behavior.
It determines the level of insulin resistance.
It is involved in synthesizing leptin (a hormone that suppresses hunger and enhances thermogenesis).
It boosts immune protection.
It sets the metabolism rate.

So, healthy sleep is crucial for energy transformation and the body’s natural recovery. Lack of sleep or insomnia can impair your health and body functions. That’s why you should sleep at least 8 hours daily and stick to a certain sleep schedule.

Avoid stress

Stress can affect the metabolism rate. Stress can increase the blood level of cortisol (the main stress hormone), reducing your metabolism.

When produced in the right amount, cortisol is an essential and useful hormone. But high levels of cortisol cause some adverse effects:

Increased blood sugar.
Fast weight gain mainly in the abdomen, face, and chest.
Gastrointestinal disorders (diarrhea, constipation, nausea, or stomach pain).
Insomnia or drowsiness accompanied by fatigue.
Problems with concentration, irritability, or anxiety.
High blood pressure.

Cortisol affects the function of muscles, pancreas, liver, and fat tissue. This means that it is directly involved in converting nutrients into energy.

Taking stress-reducing measures, such as regular yoga, meditation, or other relaxing activities, is recommended.

Drink enough water

Most of the human body is made up of water. Water is essential for metabolism and for life. All biochemical reactions take place in water. It plays a vital role in the body, such as delivering oxygen, glucose, sodium, potassium, and nutrients to cells through the body with the blood.

If you think of blood as a “river,” it’s easy to understand its importance. When the river dries up or overflows its banks, it will cause great trouble.

Try to drink eight or more glasses of water every day. This simple method will have an amazing effect on your body.

Drink more pure water, especially when the surrounding temperature is high, or you are exercising. Hydration improves blood circulation and helps the body eliminate toxins. So, you can expect an improvement in basal metabolism.

Don’t skip meals

Nutrition plays a crucial role in metabolism management. It is necessary to consume the main macronutrients (carbs, proteins, and fats) in the right proportions and at the right time to control metabolic functions.

Healthy nutrition experts have developed many systems for increasing metabolism. They have differences, but all exclude fasting, strict food restrictions, and skipping meals.

When you skip meals or don’t eat for a long time, your body goes into survival mode. This results in nutrient deficiency and reduced energy metabolism.

If you regularly skip meals, your body will store energy (increase fat mass) whenever possible. This can lead to metabolic disorders and weight gain.

Do you want to speed up your metabolism? Make sure to eat breakfast. Breakfast should contain the optimal amount of slow carbs and proteins to start the energy conversion process.

Normalize protein consumption

An excellent method to get a fast metabolism is to regulate protein consumption. Why is it important? This is because protein is the main “building material” for the body.

Once in the body, protein is broken down into amino acids used to produce energy, create enzymes, and repair soft tissues. Anabolism (the processes of creating cells, tissues, and substances necessary for the body to work) is only possible with proteins and protein metabolism.

How much protein do you need per day? The answer to this question is different for everyone. Protein consumption requirements change with age and differ depending on body weight and gender. You can use an online protein calculator or consult a nutritionist to determine your daily protein needs.

Drink green tea

Green tea can be helpful for weight loss, accelerating the body’s metabolism. Green tea contains caffeine, catechins, antioxidant vitamins, and many other useful elements.

A study involved overweight people with type 2 diabetes (BMI between 27 and 30). Every day they drank four cups of green tea for two weeks.

According to the study, drinking four cups of green tea a day leads to these results:

Increasing thermogenesis and daily energy use by about 4%.
Decreasing body weight by lowering fat.
Reducing waist circumference.
Normalizing systolic blood pressure.

Drink black coffee

Drinking black coffee can help fight excess weight, as it stimulates metabolism and weight loss. This effect of black coffee is due to the ability of caffeine to stimulate thermogenesis, the production of thermal energy in the body and an increase in body temperature, helping burn more calories.

But remember: anything can be harmful if consumed in excess. And black coffee is no exception. Too much coffee can disrupt sleep and even heart rate. So, don’t drink coffee a few hours before bedtime.

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Avoid strict diets

While it is challenging to increase metabolism, it is much easier to decrease it. For example, you can do it with the help of radical weight loss programs. A sudden weight loss leads to decreased leptin levels (a hormone controlling energy metabolism and many other physiological processes) and a reduced metabolism rate.

Doctors and nutritionists give the following recommendations:

Don’t give up fats. Plant oils and sea fish are good sources of healthy fats. However, you should avoid unhealthy saturated and trans fats.
Substitute fast carbs for slow carbs. The latter gradually releases energy and requires more energy for breakdown. Complex carbs reduce appetite and improve the function of the digestive system.
Count calories and monitor a healthy ratio of fats, proteins, and carbs. If you have excess weight, it is enough to reduce your diet by 500 calories to improve metabolism.

Conclusion

You don’t need something special to improve your basal metabolic rate. You should only follow such main principles as a balanced diet, moderate exercise, and a healthy lifestyle.

A healthy lifestyle is a factor that increases metabolism. If you find it difficult to lose weight even if you are on a diet, revise your daily exercise and eating habits.

If your indicators improve slowly, don’t overdo it. You should understand that the metabolic rate will not change overnight. It may take several months to see some changes. Be patient and keep making the necessary changes.

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FAQ

How can I increase my metabolism to lose weight?

If you see that your genes aren’t working in your favor, there are other things you can do to boost your metabolism, burn more calories, and lose weight. Start from building and maintaining muscle mass, which tends to decrease with age. You can do this with the help of various exercises (cardio and strength training, etc.).

Diet is what determines weight loss success. Any of the accepted diets can be effective. You can choose the diet type depending on your preferences and level of exercise.

How to reset your metabolism — where to begin

As seen from the above, resetting metabolism is a complex process depending on many factors. People of the same weight, gender, age, and height can have different metabolic rates.

First, try to understand why you have slow metabolism. For this, you will have to analyze your lifestyle. A medical examination can also help you. By eliminating the interfering factor, you can normalize metabolic functions.

How to increase the body metabolism rate naturally?

All body chemical reactions convert calories into energy. This process is known as metabolism. It has two phases: catabolism (release of energy in the process of food processing) and anabolism (production of hormones, enzymes, recovery of cell structures).

People use natural metabolism booster pills for various purposes (maintaining a healthy body weight, losing weight, improving sports results, etc.). But should you expect a miracle from their use? Supplements alone are unlikely to help much. To see real benefits, you must make serious efforts, including regular exercise and a balanced diet.