Have you ever wondered why you only lose a small amount of weight regardless of how much you exercise? That’s because of your metabolism. Understanding metabolism is vital to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight range. And even though it differs for every person, there are several healthy ways to boost metabolism.
Numerous other factors, such as your age, diet, body composition, sex, body size, level of physical activity, health, and medication use, have an impact on your metabolic rate. In this article, we will discuss what metabolism is and how to keep it healthy.
Your Metabolism Explained
Before proceeding with how to increase your metabolic health, let’s first understand what it is.
Metabolism describes the complex network of chemical processes that maintain life and bodily functions. To put it simply, it’s how your body transforms everything you consume into energy. Metabolism provides the fuel your body needs to perform regular operations such as breathing, moving, digesting food, pumping blood, and repairing damaged cells.
However, the term metabolism is frequently used to refer to your basal metabolic rate (BMR). Your BMR is the minimum energy requirement for your body to carry out its most fundamental functions. It’s also responsible for about 60%–70% of your daily calorie expenditure. Essentially, a higher BMR means that you burn more calories while at rest.
Your height, weight, and age are the three factors that determine your BMR, and calculating it is straightforward. Simply search for a BMR calculator to find yours. Knowing your BMR will help you determine how alterations to your body composition can affect your BMR. And since your age, genes, ethnicity, sex, and height are all out of your control, controlling your weight is the only way to influence your metabolism.
Tips to Improve Your Metabolic Health
Improving your metabolic health means adapting to a much healthier lifestyle. The journey to being healthy doesn’t just start with controlling what you eat or exercising. It’s more than that. It requires a combination of both, as well as other healthy approaches. When you do them, you’ll learn how to maintain your weight loss and improve your metabolism in no time.
With that, here are ten effective ways to increase metabolic health:
1. Add Plenty of Protein to Your Diet
Protein is essential for the formation and maintenance of all cells in our bodies, and it provides the energy that keeps our bodies functioning.
Adding protein to your diet reduces the metabolic drop related to fat loss. This is because protein helps prevent the muscle loss that often comes with dieting. So to keep your metabolism healthy, increase your protein intake by consuming protein-rich foods such as:
- eggs
- almonds
- milk
- cottage cheese
- lean beef
- lentils
- chicken breast
- greek yogurt
2. Make Water Your Best Friend
Water gives us many benefits. Not only can we use it to hydrate ourselves, but it also helps us lose weight. Moreover, an adequate intake of water is required for a healthy metabolic rate. So, make water your best friend. Drink at least eight glasses or two liters of water a day to stay hydrated.
3. Engage in High-Intensity Workouts
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) consists of short, high-effort interval workouts. Adding some high-intensity workouts to your routine can help you burn more fat and increase your metabolic health.
This type of exercise has beneficial effects on your metabolism. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) can aid in fat loss and muscle gain by increasing the resting metabolic rate in working muscles. Compared to other forms of exercise, HIIT is thought to have a more pronounced effect. So, start with something you are already comfortable with, like bicycling or running.
4. Do Weight Training
Aside from HIIT, you can also perform weight-training exercises to improve your metabolic health. Working out with weights is a great way to prevent your metabolism from slowing down while you slim down.
Muscle burns more calories at rest than fat does. That’s why gaining muscle can boost your metabolism and make you more efficient at burning calories at rest and throughout the day. Start by doing weightlifting exercises like bench presses, deadlifts, and squats. If you are just getting started with weightlifting, avoid lifting the heaviest weights. Try those you can easily lift first to build momentum. Once your body adjusts, you can begin challenging yourself with heavier ones.
5. Invest in Weight Loss Solutions
Shedding pounds and maintaining your target weight can be challenging. That’s why another way to efficiently boost your metabolism is to complement your weight loss efforts with effective weight loss solutions. With a weight loss service like Marie France’s Fat Mobilization System (FMS), anyone can shed pounds while also enhancing their metabolism.
FMS is a cooling body wrap system that promotes weight loss. In this process, thermogenesis is activated to generate heat energy within the body to counteract the chill, leading to effective calorie burning. Apart from that, this treatment is clinically proven and results in overall health improvement.
6. Avoid Sitting All Day
Prolonged sitting reduces the burning of calories and may have adverse health effects. To avoid this, consider standing up more often, taking regular walks, or investing in a standing desk. Standing burns more calories than sitting, and walking as a form of exercise enhances your health. Additionally, people who use standing desks report less pain in their necks, shoulders, and backs compared to those who usually sit at their desks all day.
7. Drink Green Tea or Oolong Tea
Green and oolong teas promote the breakdown of stored fat into free fatty acids, which may aid in fat loss when combined with exercise. These teas provide a short-term metabolic boost thanks to the combination of caffeine and catechins. Consider adding them to your diet to increase your metabolic health.
8. Sip Black Coffee
Coffee drinkers likely appreciate the mental clarity and alertness a cup of joe provides. When consumed in moderation, black coffee can increase your metabolic rate temporarily because of the caffeine it contains. Caffeine also has additional benefits, including reducing fatigue and enhancing performance while exercising. Additionally, caffeine acts as a mild appetite suppressant, making it easier to control food intake.
9. Spice Up Your Foods
Spicy food has been shown to increase metabolic rate and aid in weight maintenance. This is due to the presence of capsaicin in peppers, a compound that can increase your metabolism. Although the metabolic-boosting effect of spicy foods is trivial, eating them frequently may enhance their effects. For an instant metabolic kick, add some red pepper flakes to your pasta, chili, or stew.
10. Get Enough Sleep
Sleeping is an important part of our daily lives. On average, an adult needs at least eight hours of sleep to fully function. When you lack sleep, it can cause metabolic and hormonal changes that lead to weight gain. Those who don’t get enough sleep are also more likely to overeat and favor high-calorie foods high in simple sugars and fats.
Therefore, a good night’s sleep is essential for avoiding any of these problems. Make sure you have a comfortable place to sleep and avoid eating so late at night or doing strenuous activities before sleeping. Doing these will surely keep your metabolism healthy.
Boost Your Metabolism and Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle
Maintaining a healthy metabolism is an important part of living a long and happy life. Keep these tips in mind to begin your journey towards a healthier lifestyle. And to ensure your efforts aren’t put to waste, partner your efforts with Marie France’s weight loss programs! Get in touch with us right away to get started on the path to a better, healthier you.
