Need to increase your metabolism? If you feel like your metabolism is slow, you’re not alone. Research shows that your metabolism slows down 2-4% with every passing decade. No wonder losing weight is harder as you age! Here are some simple tricks to increase your metabolism and burn more calories:
1) Train with weights.
Weight training is the #1 way to increase your metabolism. Muscle is what burns fat, so the more you tax your muscles, the more calories you’ll burn.
After age 30, the average person loses 8-10% of their lean muscle every decade! Losing muscle is the perfect recipe for lowering your metabolism, so don’t let this happen!
The best way to maintain your calorie-burning muscle is to train with weights. Shoot for 3 workouts each week, and be sure to focus on exercises that target major muscle groups:
- Squats and Lunges
- Pushups and Bench Presses
- Rows and Pullups
- Core work, like Planks and Pallof Presses
- Deadlifts and Bridges
- Overhead presses
2) Eat a high-protein breakfast.
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day (well, tied for first with your post-workout meal or shake). But your breakfast needs to include a good dose of protein in order to keep your metabolism elevated.
High-protein foods can increase your metabolism as much as 30%. Research shows that a high-protein breakfast can cause you to burn an additional 80-100 calories each day. That’s 10 extra pounds in a year!
Good sources of breakfast protein are
- Whey protein powder
- Eggs
- Breakfast meats like ham or organic sausage
- Cottage cheese
- Vegan proteins like soy, help, or pea protein
3) Drink green tea.
If you work out in the morning, enjoy a cup or two of green tea before you exercise. Green tea is loaded with polyphenols like EGCG, and it also contains caffeine, which boosts metabolism and increases fat burning.
As an extra bonus, green tea contains theanine, which helps take the edge off the caffeine. Theanine promotes a sense of calm and focus. Ohmmmmmm…..
4) High-Intensity Training (HIIT)
Any exercise will help increase your metabolism, but the style that really revs up your furnace is the high-intensity style.
High intensity interval training (HIIT) is when you alternate between high- and low-intensity exercises, or when you do a bout of high intensity effort followed by a short period of rest.
Some examples of interval training:
- Sprinting up a flight of stairs followed by a walk back down.
- 5 rounds of kettlebell swings for 20 seconds followed by 10 seconds of rest.
- Walking on the treadmill for 4-5 minutes, running for 1 minute, then walking again for 4-5 minutes.
- Burpees or Squat Jumps x 10 (hard) followed by 20 jumping jacks (easy)
5) Warm and Cool Contrast.
Brown fat is internal fat surrounding your organs. Unlike the “normal” body fat underneath your skin, brown fat is metabolically active — meaning it burns calories and generates heat.
Research shows that cold exposure (such as a cold shower or bath) can significantly increase the activity of brown fat. After your workout, try taking a contrast shower where you alternate 10 seconds warm water with 20 seconds cold water. Repeat 5-10 times.
It’s refreshing, and it will increase your metabolism!
6) Don’t restrict your calories too much.
If you want to lose weight, you’ve got to eat less, right? Many people wrongfully believe that eating as few calories as possible is the best solution. To lose weight, you do need to cut back your overall calories, but not too much!
If you take in to few calories, your body will lower its metabolism in order to conserve energy.
Under-eating can also cause you to lose muscle mass, which will further decrease your metabolism.
Eating too little can also lead to a variety of nutritional deficiencies, and cause your energy to collapse.
If you’re cutting back on calories, don’t trim more than 15% to avoid lowering your metabolism. When you cut out extra calories, focus on removing the low-nutrient kinds, like white bread, sugar, and processed snacks.
Increase your metabolism with smart nutrition and a solid, effective exercise program! Contact Basics and Beyond and let us know about you.
