Your metabolism plays a pivotal role in how quickly and easily your body converts food to energy, as well as in how quickly and efficiently weight loss occurs.
Metabolism may slow with age and genetics; to boost it again, try eating healthily and exercising regularly.
Spicy Foods
One effective way to increase metabolism is through eating spicy foods. Chili peppers, paprika and other spices increase resting energy expenditure (REE), or the number of calories burned before factoring physical activity into account.
Eating spicy foods also increases levels of two feel-good chemicals in your brain: endorphins and serotonin. These natural painkillers and mood boosters can help ease discomfort while providing lasting happiness, which may reduce depression.
Spicy food can help you shed unwanted weight and stabilize blood sugar levels, thus decreasing the likelihood of diabetes and increasing heart disease risks. Furthermore, it may reduce triglycerides – fats that increase heart disease risk – by up to 11%.
Capsaicin, found in hot chili peppers, can boost your metabolic rate and suppress your appetite to help with weight loss. By eating less food and burning more calories than before, this compound may assist with weight management.
However, be wary when eating spicy foods as too much spicy foods could cause digestive issues. Studies have demonstrated that capsaicin can increase stomach acidity and cause symptoms associated with ulcers and heartburn – so be wary how much you consume!
Another potential advantage of spicy foods is that they may help rebalance your gut bacteria, helping prevent and heal digestive disorders like constipation and diarrhea. This is especially useful if your system lacks healthy bacteria – lack thereof could result in serious health conditions and lead to further complications.
As reported by Self magazine, chili peppers may help strengthen the walls of your heart muscle and improve cardiovascular health, according to Self. Furthermore, chili peppers have also been shown to lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels and decrease diabetes risks.
Spicy foods can help you feel more satiated after each meal, which could result in eating fewer calories at your next meal.
Ideally, when eating spicy foods as part of a balanced diet and regular exercise routine, they will yield maximum benefits without jeopardizing overall health and wellness.
Who don’t enjoy the taste of chili peppers and other spices can achieve similar effects by adding them to smoothies and juices, or mixing some hot sauce into their favorite vegetable stir-fry dish. Be careful when selecting your sauce as many contain high levels of sodium which could compromise heart health.
High-Intensity Exercise
High intensity interval training (HIIT) is an exercise regimen which alternates short bursts of intense physical activity with brief recovery periods that last anywhere from seconds to several minutes in length.
HIIT can help to increase metabolism by burning fat and improving cardiovascular fitness, while increasing insulin sensitivity. Furthermore, it has the added advantage of helping to decrease blood pressure – perfect for people suffering from hypertension.
Studies have shown HIIT can be effective at increasing metabolism, particularly for overweight individuals at risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. One research paper demonstrated how 12 weeks of HIIT on a stationary bike resulted in improvements to aerobic fitness and insulin resistance equal to three 45-minute sessions of traditional cardio.
Another study demonstrated that high intensity interval training (HIIT) was as effective at lowering high blood pressure as continuous endurance training in people who already had it, even those who were already diagnosed. For obese adults specifically, HIIT reduced their blood pressure by 15 mmHg while regular endurance training did not significantly alter it.
Though HIIT may be beneficial to those with limited time for exercise, its challenges can be daunting for beginners or people returning after an absence. Furthermore, due to its higher intensity levels it’s more likely to cause overtraining and burnout than moderate intensity workouts – therefore ensuring adequate rest between high intensity training sessions is critical for optimal performance.
Recent research found that high intensity interval training (HIIT) may help you shed more fat than other forms of exercise by leading to a dramatic surge in excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), or the number of calories your body continues to burn after stopping exercising.
This phenomenon arises because your muscles require oxygen to repair damage from an intense workout, leading to increased oxygen consumption that continues to burn calories up to 48 hours post-HIIT workout.
Though high intensity interval training (HIIT) can be challenging, its many health benefits make it worth exploring. It may reduce heart disease risk factors and improve insulin sensitivity while aiding muscle building – plus it’s shorter workout sessions provide an easy option for busy people looking to increase fitness.
Eating More Often
As a rule of thumb, eating smaller meals more frequently throughout the day to boost metabolism is ideal for athletes as this allows them to maintain energy levels without hunger pangs and help balance their blood sugar.
But, if you find it hard to stick to a meal plan, eating six smaller meals per day might prove challenging. Making more decisions about what and when you will eat can be daunting, particularly if your schedule does not allow for advanced planning of your meals.
According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, eating fruits and vegetables regularly can help your metabolism by providing essential fiber. Plant foods contain these components which can aid digestion while simultaneously increasing metabolic rate by burning off calories while you eat.
Fruits and veggies contain plenty of water, helping keep you hydrated and supporting metabolism. Aim to drink at least 7-8 glasses daily in order to support overall health and metabolism.
Foods rich in proteins and complex carbohydrates can also help increase metabolism. Such food supplies fuel to both muscles and brain as well as providing essential vitamins for energy production. Examples of good choices in this regard are eggs, hummus, peanut butter, cheese, avocado nuts berries seeds.
Make time for some delicious fish such as salmon, tuna, mackerel and sardines; all are packed with omega-3 fatty acids to aid in metabolism and provide many other nutritional benefits.
Studies have demonstrated that people who consume six or more meals per day tend to have lower body mass indexes and risk of obesity than those who eat less frequently, likely as a result of more lean body mass in frequent eaters than less-frequent eaters. Researchers speculated that this resulted from their greater proportion of lean body mass than less frequent eaters.
Studies have also shown that eating regularly reduces stress, which in turn can aid metabolism. Studies have also indicated that people who experience stress or overwhelm are more likely to gain weight than those who remain calm and relaxed.
Getting Enough Sleep
Sleep is essential to keeping your metabolism working at its optimal performance and should be prioritized when trying to lose weight, since insufficient rest could cause your body to store fat instead of burn it off.
Work schedules, stress levels and an inadequate bedroom environment may all have an adverse impact on our ability to sleep soundly; medical conditions like depression or anxiety could also impact this ability.
As well as helping you feel better overall, adequate sleep helps boost your metabolism by regulating hormones such as ghrelin and leptin which control hunger and satiety.
As soon as you don’t get enough sleep, your ghrelin levels increase while leptin decreases, prompting cravings of high-calorie food when hungry and leading to overeating and weight gain.
Sleep quality can also be affected by how much time is spent in REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, commonly referred to as dreaming. During REM sleep, your eyes move quickly from side-to-side while heart rate increases – an essential step for memory consolidation; experts advise getting at least 25% of all total sleep time spent in this stage.
One effective strategy to ensure that you get enough restful zzzs is setting an early bedtime and rising time each day, creating an automatic bedtime ritual and increasing your likelihood of sleeping quickly.
Limit your screen time as this may interfere with your natural sleep cycle. Turn off all of your computers and devices at least an hour before bedtime and keep them out of your bedroom as much as possible.
Meditation or exercise may also help you relax before sleeping better, and if in doubt consult your physician about options to improve sleep quality.
Sleep deprivation has been linked with numerous health conditions, such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease – not to mention shorter lifespans. To ensure you get enough restorative rest each night and avoid stimulants like caffeine in the late stages of each day. The best way to ensure you receive adequate restful slumber is establishing a regular bedtime/awaken routine and refraining from caffeine consumption late at night.
Losing weight and keeping it off can be a challenge. I’m here to show you good-tasting foods and drinks that help you lose weight, and are enjoyable to eat.