Anyone trying to lose weight would be aware of the much-used term ‘metabolism’. Metabolism though sounds fancy but simply means the rate at which the body burns calories for energy. Any person’s metabolism depends on multiple factors like age, gender, weight, body fat, muscle mass, genetics, and activity level.
Few factors affective metabolism like gender and genetics cannot be controlled but few other factors can be controlled to improve the overall metabolism to lose more weight. The higher metabolism, you will burn more calories and the lower the metabolism, the more fat your body will store.
Here are a few easy ways through which you can increase your metabolism to aid faster weight loss.
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- Eating at Regular Intervals:
If a person eats big meals after long gaps, the body tends to burn fewer calories and store away most of the food as fat cells reducing metabolism. Eating small meals at regular intervals (3-4 hours apart) aids in faster calorie burn and improves metabolism.
- Not Starving Yourself:
Many people assume that skipping meals can cut down the calorie intake resulting in weight loss but that is absolutely not true. Eating too little can cause the body to enter into starvation mode where the body makes it a point to convert whatever you feed it to fat as the body is under the assumption that it may not get more food hence it needs to preserve whatever it is fed. This process leads to an increase in fat and lowering of metabolism hence eating less is useless as you are putting yourself through hunger just to gain weight. On the other hand, eating fulfilling meals can increase your metabolism and aid in weight loss.
- Drinking Enough Water
It goes without saying that drinking 7-8 glasses of water a day aids in increasing metabolism as it is essential for a person to stay hydrated for the body to function effectively. Set alarms to remind yourself to drink a glass of water as you will see quite a difference in the way that you feel.
- Doing Strength Training and HIIT:
Increase in the muscle aids in the increase in metabolism as muscle needs more energy in the body than stored fat. Strength training can help build more muscle and as your muscle mass increases your metabolism becomes better.
You can also add high-intensity interval training (HIIT) to your exercise routine as it can also aid in increasing your metabolism.
- Drinking Metabolism Boosting Beverages:
Many beverages have proven to improve metabolism such as green tea, lemon honey water, and Apple Cider vinegar. You can have as many cups of green tea in a day as you feel. Lemon honey or Apple Cider Vinegar can be consumed every morning along with water. Apple cider vinegar pills are also available in the market that carries all the benefits of the liquid itself. Important things like cutting down the consumption of alcohol is also important. The calories from alcohol can be seen as truly empty calories and we rarely make wise decisions in a dietary sense when we have been drinking.
- Getting Enough sleep:
If you are not getting enough sleep, your body hormones get disturbed. Reduced sleep leads to an increase in cortisol which ultimately causes lowering your metabolism. Keeping your body hormones balanced will make sure that they are regulated appropriately which aids in increasing of metabolism hence get as much of sleep as possible (preferably 8 hours) to keep your metabolism high.
- Reducing Stress:
Too much of stress again unbalances body hormones and increase the production of cortisol which is a hormone that aids in regulating appetite. Too much of cortisol can lead to unhealthy eating patterns resulting in a disrupted metabolism. Hence, keeping your stress levels under control by exercising or meditating can balance such hormones and improve your metabolism.
Takeaway
Losing weight is not just about counting calories, you need to also improve your body functions so that most of the calories you consume is converted into energy which can be only done when your metabolism is raised. If you suffer from a low metabolism and struggling to lose weight, these simple lifestyle and diet changes will aid in boosting your metabolism and ultimately make your weight loss journey shorter and simpler with maximum results.
