Your metabolism is the number of calories your body burns in order to maintain itself. Food assimilation burns about 10%, physical activity burns about 20 to 30%, and maintaining basic bodily functions burns 70%. Your metabolism depends on many factors such as age, height, gender, diet, and exercise. We obviously have no control over some of those factors but here are some tips on manipulating the ones we can control.
1. Eat an adequate amount of calories
Losing weight is no easy task but starving yourself is definitely not the answer. Itīs o.k. to cut back on calories but cutting back too much sends a message to your body that there is a shortage of food and your body responds by slowing down itīs metabolism and becoming highly efficient at fat storage. This is exactly the opposite of what you want.
2. Eat 5 to 6 small meals rather than 3 larger meals
Even if you are cutting back to a reasonable calorie intake your body will eventually figure out what youīre doing and try to slow down itīs metabolism. Eating 5-6 small meals per day tricks your body into thinking there is an abundance of food available for consumption and prevents a metabolism meltdown.
3. Do some type of aerobic activity 4-5 times a week
Doing some type of aerobic activity not only burns calories it increases your metabolism and keeps it elevated for 30 min. after youīve finished your workout. This means that youīre burning more calories at rest than you would if you were not exercising.
4. Incorporate strength training into your exercise plan
Muscle burns 50 calories per pound while fat burns only 2 calories per pound. Strength training increases muscle mass which in turn increases your metabolism.
5. Increase your workout intensity
If youīve been doing the same program for a while itīs time for a change. Your body adapts to a workout program within 4-6 weeks. The more fit you become the less your body burns doing the same activity so itīs important to makes changes that challenge your body. Try different types of cardio, add a couple of longer cardio sessions to your week, change the order of your exercises, or increase the weight and/or repetitions.
6. Drink green tea
Recent research studies have concluded that green tea can significantly increase daily energy expenditure and contains compounds that may work with other chemicals to increase levels of fat oxidation and thermogenesis, where the body burns fuel such as fat to create heat.
7. Try a metabolic enhancing supplement
The eca stack is one of the most popular supplements containing ephedrine, caffeine, and aspirin, substances that raise your heart rate and increase calories burned. Just make sure to read the warnings on the label to see whether itīs safe for you.
8. Spice up your food
Hot red chili peppers have become one of the most popular spices for flavoring foods. Capsaicin is the pepperīs active ingredient, and studies have shown that it can increase fat and energy metabolism by increasing blood levels of the so-called "fight or flight" hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine, collectively known as adrenaline.
9. Get enough sleep
A study of 11 healthy men, ages 18 to 27, showed that just one week of sleep deprivation altered their hormone levels and their capacity to metabolize carbohydrates. In the game of weightloss any little bit helps so try at least one or two of these suggestions and see what happens.
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