Tips to Boost Your Metabolism

 
What is metabolism? It derives from the Greek words Meta (to change) and ballein (to transform or grow).  Metabolism refers to the rate in which your body burns and utilizes calories.  It is the chemical reactions and energy changes within our cells that give us energy to live.  It is responsible for quite a few things such as maintaining muscle, healing our bodies from injury, and ridding the body of toxins.
What affects metabolism?  Hormone or thyroid issues, a poor nutrient diet, non-organic toxin filled diets, and not getting enough sleep are things that affect the rate of metabolism.  Age is a big (unfortunate) reason for a slower metabolism.  Research shows that a women’s metabolism declines by an average of 2% per decade stating at 20 years old.  Yikes!

Here are some ways to boost your metabolism:
Eat spicy foods: Hot mustards, hot sauce, chili peppers, salsa, and wasabi have all been shown to increase metabolism for hours after you’ve finished a meal.  Some studies have shown hot pepper and very spicy foods can increase metabolism by about 20% for about 30 minutes.
Drink cold water: Lots of it.  This can spike your metabolism by 30% for as long as an hour.  Carry a water bottle with you everywhere you go.
Eat protein for breakfast: Your body works 7 times more energy to digest proteins compared to carbs or fat.  Start the day with heavy on the protein rather than carbs.
Eat regularly: Don’t starve yourself or eat below 1200 calories in a day.  Dieting, fasting, or malnutrition all result in a slower metabolism.
Drink coffee: Caffeine promotes an increase the neurotransmitter norepinephrine, which will activate your sympathetic nervous system to keep the metabolic rate going.  This can increase the amount of energy you burn by 16% for up to 2 hours.
Don’t skip meals: The act of chewing, digesting, and absorbing food will increase metabolism.  Conversely, missing a meal, or going too long between meals, brings your metabolism to a crawl.
Get enough sleep:  Create a bedtime routine to get 7-8 hours of sleep.  When you get two hours less shut-eye than you normally do, your system becomes stressed and produces about 50% more cortisol.  Sleep deprivation also tends to promote insulin resistance.
Drink tea:  In one study, people who drank five 10-ounce servings of oolong tea for three days increased their metabolism by 3 percent more than people who drank water.  That meant 67 calories extra  per day.  So do the math, over one year, that could add up to a 6-12-pound weight loss.
Interval training: Intervals will keep your metabolic rate higher for up to an hour after you stop exercises compared to a steady-pace routine such as jogging.   And lets not forget that doing too much cardio might actually burn muscle tissue (refer to above…the more muscle we have the more weight we lose).
Lift weights: Shocker, I know!  But exercise is the number one way to keep your metabolism cranked up.  The more lean muscle you have, the more calories you burn all day.  Muscle uses energy even when you are resting.
The bottom line: If you want permanent success with weight loss, you need to make small, healthy changes in both your eating and activity patterns that you can perform for the rest of your life.  If you honestly living a healthy lifestyle and still having difficulties losing weight, check with a health professional to see if your hormone levels are balanced  Conditions affecting the secretion of the thyroid hormone can affect the body’s metabolic rate.