Ways To Increase Your Metabolism
We all have that one friend who could eat all the sweet and savory food in the world, yet there isn’t any visible change in their body size. As the popular saying goes – blame the player not the game! Well here the game is metabolism. The word metabolism refers to how much energy your body uses. In other words it means how many calories you burn in a day. A starting point to measure your metabolism is calculating BMR (basal metabolic rate), which measures how many calories you burn at rest. Basically BMR is a measure of how many calories you can lose doing nothing (sigh,those lucky gifted people!). Then comes the calories you lose by actually doing some form of physical activity. You add both these digits up and there you go, that’s your metabolism.Now just because you metabolism is slow doesn’t mean you are the victim! Someone with fast metabolism will not lose weight by eating junk food and not exercising while someone with slow metabolism will not gain weight after a vigorous workout. Now that these little myths have been debunked, let’s talk about the importance of good metabolism. Small changes towards improving your metabolism will bring about great health benefits. Also it will help burn fat and ward off weight easily!
Here are some pointers to improve your BMR as well as metabolism.
Get enough sleep
It’s essential to get 7 hours of consecutive sleep to get proper rest which is needed by the body. Lack of sleep can really slow down the rate of metabolism. And we know what that means – an overweight lethargic tired person (Joking, joking, I’m just being dramatic)
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Drink green tea
It’s one of the easiest and fastest way to rev up your metabolism. 3-5 cups a day can help you burn 70 calories! So its basically a calorie free way to really increase your metabolism. Now isn’t that a win win situation!
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High intensity training
Regular cardio raises you’re metabolism while you’re doing it but once you’re down it drops back down to normal. A high intensity workout jumpstarts the metabolism and keeps it going even after you’re done working out. That way you burn fat and calories during as well as after your workout.
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Don’t skip breakfast
Actually scratch that. Make sure you have 4-5 small meals a day including breakfast! Digesting food takes energy which is basically your metabolism. So instead of your metabolism rising just thrice a day, it raises 4-5 times a day thus increasing your BMR. the rundown on its effects, now it’s your turn to choose your side. Pro coffee or anti coffee?
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Drink lots of H2O
Drinking water speeds up digestion and burns calories. Being dehydrated causes cravings which makes our body think you are hungry. By drinking water regularly you keep your bodily fluids balanced and also prevent any wrong messages being sent by your body.
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Lift weights
Experts say that after you left weights your metabolic rate stays raised for up to 39 hours after your workout! Also that means all your fat is getting converted into muscle and muscle is way more metabolically active than fat.
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Drink coffee
Caffeine alters our fuel usage so we use fat for energy rather than glucose. Also caffeine can increase your basal metabolic rate by around five to ten per cent for two hours. It also helps break down fat. But be careful not to go overboard cause too much can cause nervousness or insomnia.
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So even though our BMR depends on genetics, gender, size, sex, weight and many more factors, there are some ways to keep it in control! Its always beneficial to have a well balanced metabolic rate, specially for its health benefits. But remember just like metabolism is more than energy burning, there’s more to our nutritional needs than just calorie counting!
