Therapist Unlimited Blog

Who doesn’t want their metabolism pumping at high speed, especially as we get older. Besides practically starving yourself, are there any other ways to do it? Starving yourself will actually do the opposite. Your metabolism will actually slow down if you don’t eat enough. So, besides not cutting your calories too much, here are seven simple things you can begin doing right now to increase your metabolism:

1. Stay hydrated! You need adequate fluid to properly digest your food. Coffee, tea and soda don’t count. Clean, pure water is critical. Drink half your body weight in ounces every day. Studies have shown that drinking 16 oz. of water thirty minutes before a meal will raise your metabolism substantially!

2. Eat small meals often. Rather than three square meals a day (unless square is a shape you want to have!), try breaking your daily intake into 5 or 6 smaller meals. Eating every two to three hours keeps your blood sugar steady and your metabolic furnace humming. Your engine is similar to your car’s engine. For your car to run efficiently, it needs a constant supply of fuel. So does your body.

3. Protein packs a punch. Include a clean protein with every meal. Protein is harder to digest than carbs so you burn more calories. Good sources are eggs, skinless chicken and turkey, fish, lamb, lean beef and whey protein powder.

4. Exercise is a no brainer. In fact, dieting without exercise can cause up to 50% of your weight loss to come from muscle tissue rather than fat. Cardio like walking, jogging and aerobics of all types help you burn calories. Strength training such as lifting weights, doing push-ups, squats and lunges, builds muscle, which burns fat.

5. Begin the day right. A healthy high protein breakfast short-circuits stress hormone production, which causes weight gain. It turns on your fat burning furnace. In one study, people who ate an egg breakfast lost almost twice as much weight in 8 weeks as those who had a high carb breakfast containing the same number of calories.

6. Fat is not bad. Going on a fat free diet is a recipe for disaster. Your body must have good fats to stay healthy and lean. Avoid trans fats and saturated fats. Replace them with moderate amounts of healthy fats such as olive oil, flax seed oil, coconut oil and cod liver oil.

7. Get your z-z-z’s. Studies show that getting adequate sleep is critical. Hormones released during sleep affect how your body uses energy. Studies reveal people who sleep very little are more likely to be overweight.