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!
