5 ways to boost your metabolism that aren’t workouts 😮

These are all-natural things you can do starting right away to help your body burn more calories and fat every single day.

And I’m going to let you in on a little secret … these are all super healthy things that will give you so many bonus benefits!

Because the better you take care of your overall health, the better your metabolism will function.

OK, are you ready to jump in? 

First … eating protein-rich foods!

Every food you eat has what’s called a THERMIC EFFECT. Digesting your foods requires effort, and effort means your body is burning fuel! 

But one food group takes more effort than the others, and you guessed it – it’s protein!

Eating protein raises your metabolic rate by 15-30% while your body is digesting it! Meanwhile, carbs increase it only by 5-10%, and fat by 0-3%.

For even more benefit, spread out your protein over the course of the day instead of eating it just at one meal.

Eating enough protein helps your body build and maintain muscle, and that’s a big part of living an active life, especially as you get older!

Second … This is a big one if you’re trying to lose weight. It’s NOT eating too little! (this is very common)

Let’s say you decide to go on a diet and you slash your calories because you just want to get the weight loss over with. 

Well, your body is smart and built for survival! If you suddenly cut your calories, your body will think there’s a famine going on, and actually SLOW down your metabolism to help protect you.

Yes, in order to lose weight you do need to adjust your calorie intake ... but to keep your metabolism stoked you need to make sure you don’t cut it TOO much.  

Exactly how much of a calorie deficit you need depends on your age, size, and activity level. 

THIRD … This is a sneaky one! It’s how active you are OUTSIDE of your workouts.

Cranking out a workout is definitely great and it does boost your metabolism, especially if you lift weights or do an intense cardio session.

But for an all-day metabolic burn, it’s all about BEING ACTIVE during the day. 

I’m talking about standing instead of sitting, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, and finding excuses and reasons to MOVE.

This can account for hundreds of extra calories a day! 

Your body just plain burns more calories while you’re moving than when you aren’t. If you’ve ever gone from being active all day to having a desk job, you know exactly what I’m talking about. 

Also, this is so good for your health since being sedentary is linked with a long list of health issues, from obesity and diabetes to heart disease and cancer.

FOURTH … It’s getting enough high-quality sleep!

Making time for enough sleep at night is huge. I’m talking about 7 to 8 hours a night. And doing whatever you can to make it quality sleep is also important! (I went into this deeper on my last live … make sure you check that out if you haven’t seen it yet.)

First, on the health side of things, getting enough sleep every night can lower your risk of heart disease, depression, and diabetes.

But for your metabolism, studies show that not getting enough sleep actually drops your metabolism by 2-8 %!

That’s not all, though. It’s also linked with a disruption of your hunger hormones, which can help lead to overeating. So, make time to get your enough sleep at night! 

Fifth … This one is another sneaky way to boost your metabolism.

You know how people always recommend making sure you’re drinking enough water? Well, there’s a reason for it.

It WORKS!

Studies show that drinking half a liter of water boosts your resting metabolism by 10-30% for about an hour. That’s just over two cups of water. 

You get more of a boost if you drink cold water, because your body has to work to bring it up to body temperature. Pretty cool, huh? No pun intended. :-)

Not only that, water helps fill you up before you eat. 

One study had people who were overweight drink half a liter of water before they ate their meals, and they lost 44% more weight than people who didn’t drink the water.

You’ll also feel more energized, it’s good for your skin and digestion, and just generally helps you FEEL better!

As a general rule of thumb, a good starting point is half your body weight in ounces of water each day. So if you weigh 150 pounds, that would be about 75 ounces. 

 So …  Those are your 5 tips. Here’s a quick summary of 5 top all-natural ways to boost your metabolism, that are not workouts!

1. Eat enough protein.

2. Make sure you get enough calories.

3. Stay active during the day.

4. Get at least 7-8 hours of quality sleep.

5. Drink at least half your bodyweight in ounces of water every day!

I hope these tips help energize and rev up your metabolism!

Sharing something personal

I’m going to get a little personal today ... but it’s a story I am 99.9% sure you can relate to, at least a little!A while back, I was working on a MAJOR goal I set for myself. To be 100% transparent, it felt almost TOO BIG to be realistic (yes, even coaches have to deal with negative self-talk sometimes!). But it was too important for me to give in to negative self-talk, so I started to put my plan together. I mapped out a clear, step-by-step plan for myself to make it happen. And then I put that plan into action! It wasn’t long before I started making some pretty big progress. I was really proud of what I did in such a short time ….But then all of my progress came to a screeching halt. For some reason, I stopped following through with my commitment to myself – and I actually started dreading the entire process. The same things I used to look forward to weren’t fun anymore, and I lost that fire to keep pushing through when things got tough. One day I had a hard talk with myself and I finally realized what the problem was.The problem wasn’t the plan or the work that needed to get done … the problem was that I stopped working on my MINDSET and then following though with ACTION!

Since things were moving along so smoothly, I got comfortable. I stopped doing the same things I was doing before that kept me inspired and focused. Before, I was listening to podcasts, reading books, and watching videos every day. It made ALL THE DIFFERENCE for me, more than I realized – they kept me feeling positive, focused, and excited about my progress. When I got comfortable and stopped paying as much attention to them, things started to fall apart. It all starts with your mindset! What are YOU doing to keep yourself inspired everyday? How are you staying focused?  Are you making it a priority? Have you gotten comfortable? Challenge: I recommend setting a DAILY habit goal to to read, watch, or listen to something that inspires you! Even for just 5-10 minutes.This is one of those things that has huge compound returns on your investment :-) If you want to dive in a little deeper, some of my favorite books about habits are:➡️ Atomic Habits by James ClearTiny Habits by BJ FoggThe 5-Second Rule by Mel Robbins NOTHING is out of reach in your life. As Walt Disney says, “If you can dream it, you can do it.”And we can help you to get there. We’ll help you put your plan together, and then be there to keep you inspired and focused along the way. 

Your perfect lockdown day

We’ve learned firsthand how interconnected we are … not just on social media, but in real, face-to-face, life. … and we’ve also learned about something great thinkers have been talking about for thousands of years. 🄸🅃🅂 🅂🄾🄼🄴🅃🄷🄸🄽🄶 🄲🄰🄻🄻🄴🄳 🅂🄴🄻🄵-🅁🄴🄻🄸🄰🄽🄲🄴

Basically, this means as much as possible, we should be as self-sufficient as possible, and follow our own path to build our best, most meaningful life. Obviously, this self-sufficiency includes not putting anyone else at risk! Being self-sufficient includes making your health a priority – and setting clear boundaries to make that happen. I’ve spent a lot of time lately thinking about my non-negotiable daily habits and how they help with my self-reliance. AND I’ve realized how all of my tried-and-true habits have never let me down. All of the items on my list have ONE thing in common. They make me feel better – and actually help me to be a more productive person both for myself, and for others. When I do the things on my list, I feel stronger mentally and physically … and I have more energy to give! So, with that in mind … Here is a list of my non-negotiables. I’d love to know yours!

#1– Working out at least 5 days a week. I have a pretty firm schedule with this, as it's always scheduled and done first thing in the morning. #2- Water and juice plus on the daily 🔑. I definitely notice a change in how I look and feel when I don’t get my water in – which makes this one worth it! #3-2-3 hours of Personal growth . I connect with mentors, read, #4- Getting in 5-10 minutes of breathing and meditation work. Again, this one sneaks up on me – it’s one of those things I notice the effects of when I do NOT do it. I do this before getting out of bed when alarm goes off. #5 Going to bed by 10 o’clock, read until about 1030. I don’t need the 7-8hrs of sleep, my sweet spot is 5 1/2-6 hrs. I notice a change in my mood, energy, and even my hunger levels. #6- Wake up 4:10am- hit my morning devotional, and over look the days plan. Giving me a head start before the world awakes. This allows me to get more done by 9am than most do in a week 🤷🏾‍♂️ #7- Shut down - I try to disconnect from business at 7pm-9pm to be present with family – no phones or TV in the background. We get some games in, and catch up on the day. It might seem old-fashioned but this keeps us connected and is one of my biggest non-negotiables! So … that’s my list! Each one of those things adds so much value to my life, and keeps me feeling positive and moving forward. What are some things that add value to YOUR life, that are non-negotiables right now? Are there any things in your life that you would like to make a non-negotiable?

Here’s my workout for the day

Did you get your workout in yet today? Here’s mine! I’ve really been utilizing my Trx and their rip cord. Getting a total body workout in developed mostly around my core. This tool allows me to get more muscles activated without much equipment and overloading my joints. I really like to end my week with trx workouts as I feel I can involve so stretching in the circuit to lengthen my muscle and keep flexibility.

On top of keeping your muscles strong and your heart healthy, did you know that exercise helps lay the foundation for a healthy digestive system?

It does! And that plays a surprisingly big role in your overall health and well-being. And even your mood!

It might even change the way you look at exercise.

Before I get too deep into this topic, let me introduce myself if you don’t already know me. 

It’s already been well established that regular exercise can keep you feeling strong and healthy, right?

First of all, there’s what I call the “mechanical way” that exercise helps. 

For example, let’s say you eat a meal and then go for a walk ...well the movement helps speed up the rate the food moves through your stomach by up to 30%!

Plus, it can help keep your blood sugar more stable. And regular movement can help battle constipation if that is an issue for you.

But then there’s another way that exercise can help your digestive system, or your gut microbiome. Scientists are just beginning to learn about this.

Your gut microbiome is made up of trillions of bacteria that live inside your digestive tract. They do things like help your body make hormones, digest your food, as well as play an important role in your immune system, and so much more! 

They even are tied in with your weight.

And when you have a healthy balance of different kinds of bacteria, it does a lot to help support your health and help you feel great.

But when that bacteria gets out of balance, with fewer healthy bacteria, it also can have a pretty big impact on your overall health … but in a not-so-great way.

One thing scientists have found is that regular cardio exercise helps boost the level of your healthy bacteria!

A study that recently came out got a lot of press because it formed a DIRECT link between exercise and your microbiome.

Scientists took people who didn’t normally exercise, and they tested them to see what their gut microbiome profile was, with how many different kinds of bacteria they had, plus the balance of how much of each. 

Then, they put them on a program of 6 weeks of cardio exercise, doing 30 to 60 minutes of exercise 3 days a week.

At the end of the 6 weeks, they tested them again and the subjects had MORE healthy bacteria, especially more of the kinds that prevent inflammation. 

As you might know, inflammation is linked with a lot of different diseases from diabetes to heart disease to Alzheimer’s.

Here’s the interesting part ... they had them STOP exercising, and 6 weeks after that, they tested their microbiomes again – and guess what? Their gut microbiomes went back to their old pattern.

This is without any change in their diets!

Pretty crazy, right?

So remember how I said this could change the way you look at exercise?

You can think about your workouts like taking a special supplement for your health – kind of like a vitamin or greens drink.

While you’re taking it, it helps … but you need to be regular with it to keep seeing the effects! 

Consistency is what really matters.

If you need help with that consistency, or to put a personalized plan together, I’m here to help you! 

Make this for dinner this week!!

The last couple of weeks I’ve been talking about how the health of your gut impacts your whole body.

Well today, I’ve got a protein-packed recipe for you that’s loaded with gut-friendly healthy omega-3 fatty acids PLUS both prebiotics and probiotics. 

And BONUS ... it’s super delicious and surprisingly easy to make. :-) 

You probably already know that omega-3 fats are great for your heart and brain ... 

but did you know that they also can increase the good bacteria in your gut?

And in an environment that seems to work AGAINST all those healthy gut bacteria – 

between poor diets, stress, sedentary lifestyles, etc. – it’s a great idea to do everything you can to help shore them up!

Note: Make sure you get fermented – aka “brined” – pickles for this recipe! 

Pickles made with vinegar don’t contain the active probiotics cultures that brined pickles do. You can usually find them in the cooler section at your grocery store. 

Lemon Salmon with Asparagus and Pickles

● 1 lb (450 g) salmon, skin on, cut into 4 portions

● Olive oil cooking spray (or coconut oil)

● 2 medium lemons (1 sliced, and 1 juiced) 

● 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided (or coconut oil)

● ½ tsp kosher salt ( I like Himalayan)

● Several “grinds” of  black pepper — plus additional to taste

● Optional: finely chopped fresh herbs of choice (thyme or basil work well)

● 1 lb (450 g) baby asparagus, trimmed 

● ½ cup (75 g) brined pickles, chopped

Let salmon sit at room temp for about 10 minutes while you prepare your other ingredients.

Preheat your oven to 375ºF (175ºC) and tear off 4 pieces of aluminum foil that, folded, will be large enough to hold a piece of salmon.

Lightly coat the foil with cooking spray, then place a salmon portion on each. Take 1 tbsp of olive oil and drizzle each portion with a small amount. Arrange lemon slices over the top, along with a sprinkle of salt, pepper, and optional herbs. 

Fold the sides of the aluminum foil over the top of the salmon so each is completely enclosed. Leave some room inside for air to circulate.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the salmon is fully cooked (thicker salmon cuts might take a bit longer). It should flake when done.

While that cooks, slice your asparagus into thin diagonal strips. Place in a bowl and toss with 2 tbsp olive oil, lemon juice, and salt & pepper. 

Meanwhile, chop the pickles.

To serve, divide the asparagus salad and salmon among 4 plates, and top each with 2 tbsp of pickles (or to taste).

I hope you enjoy this! It’s DELICIOUS!!!!!!