Natural Ways To Boost Metabolism – Simple Tips That Work

When we think of dieting, we tend to think of metabolism. The two words go hand in hand because if your metabolism is firing on all cylinders, weight loss is much easier. But, what do you do when trying to lose your belly fat becomes more difficult? Keep reading to learn simple, natural ways to boost metabolism that you can use right away!

What Is Metabolism?

Science uses the general term metabolism to describe all the chemical reactions that happen in the body. The basic function of metabolism is to convert the food you eat into usable energy.

However, the term even covers other critical bodily processes such as breathing, digestion, circulation, cellular repair and temperature. All of these functions burn calories. So, it is actually more than just the process of burning fat in the body.

Ultimately, the number of calories that your body burns to perform all these jobs each day is known as your resting metabolic rate, or RMR.

How To Calculate Resting Metabolic Rate

Obviously, RMR is going to be different between men and women. And, the number of calories will change depending upon your age and weight.

To find out your resting metabolic rate, you’ll need to do a calculation using a formula:

For Men:

66 + (6.22 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) (6.8 x age) = Resting Metabolic Rate

For Women:

655 + (4.36 x weight in pounds) + (4.32 x height in inches) (4.7 x age) = Resting Metabolic Rate

How To Use This Calculation

Now that you have figured out what your RMR is, simply add that number to the amount of calories you are burning each day through exercise.

If you want to lose a pound, you would need to eat 500 calories less than this final number. And if you wanted to gain a pound, you would need to add 500 calories to the total.

Always remember to eat at least 1200 calories per day, regardless, unless you have been told otherwise by your doctor. In addition, this calculation is only an approximation and is not perfectly accurate for what might be right for you.

Metabolic Considerations

You may still be wondering if your metabolism is working optimally, now that you are armed with this basic information. It is important to know that many things affect how your metabolism works and some of it is beyond your control.

Metabolic factors that you cannot control include:

• age
• gender
• physical body type

However, the good news is that metabolism is dependent upon many factors, some of which you CAN control. By developing healthy habits that include diet and lifestyle adjustments, you can make a significant improvement to how your metabolism functions.

Easy, Natural Ways To Boost Metabolism – Quick List

1. Drink Cold Water

It is well-documented that drinking more water can help you lose weight and keep it off. People that drink water over sugary sodas also are more successful in their weight loss efforts long-term.

Water contains zero calories so it makes the perfect replacement for sugary drinks.

By eliminating sugary beverages from your diet, you automatically lower your daily caloric intake. As a result, this simple change helps with weight loss.

Drinking water may naturally help to speed up the metabolism. But drinking cold water may have a thermogenic effect on the body because it takes burning calories to warm it up.

So add more water to your daily routine. It’s a simple way to fill you up without adding calories, it aids in digestion and helps keep the body hydrated.

2. Eat Protein At Every Meal

Eating protein takes longer to break down then carbohydrates and fats. Therefore, it can help you to feel fuller for a longer time.

Protein can actually boost thermogenesis because your body requires more calories for digesting it over carbs and fats. One study even found that participants ate 441 fewer calories per day when their diet consisted of 30% protein.

Sometimes dieting can cause a sluggish metabolism. So eating more protein can counteract this effect by preventing muscle loss – another hazard of dieting.

There are so many great ways to easily add more protein to your day. Try incorporating whey protein into your smoothies, add more lean meats at mealtime and snack on nuts or seeds for a protein boost anytime!

3. Workout Smarter

Doing high-intensity interval workouts is a great way to burn more calories for a longer period. High-intensity interval workouts, or HIIT as its sometimes referred to, is when you do a variety of exercises in short, intermittent bursts.

This style of exercise has been shown to torch calories during the workout as well as long afterwards. It’s a very effective way to burn fat, slim the belly and improve metabolism.

There are many ways to exercise that can help shed belly fat. However you choose to exercise, working out smarter will help you to slim down and feel healthier.

4. Add Some Spice

Eating spicy foods may actually help you to burn fat and calories. For example, peppers and chilies contain capsaicin.

Studies have shown that spicy foods can boost metabolism.

However, the amount that may be required to make a noticeable difference to weight could be too much for many people.

But over time, the benefits of adding spices to your food can add up, especially when combined with other ways to boost metabolism.

5. Improve Your Sleep

Studies have shown that people who don’t get enough sleep tend to have a higher rate of obesity than those who sleep more. Getting deep, restorative sleep is very important to overall health and well-being.

Sleep is when the body repairs itself. Not getting enough beneficial sleep can lead to increased risks of type-2 diabetes, insulin resistance and higher levels of blood sugar and cortisol.

Lack of sleep can lead to a buildup of the stress hormone, cortisol which can lead to dangerous, visceral belly fat. In addition, the hormones that control hunger and appetite (ghrelin and leptin) are affected negatively.

Therefore, if you want to help boost your metabolism, regulate the way your body processes sugars, and control your appetite, get your 7-8 hours per night.

6. Drink Your Coffee

There’s evidence to suggest that the caffeine in black coffee may help speed up your metabolism by up to 11%. That’s an easy way to jump start your weight loss efforts.

Provided that the coffee is not loaded with syrups, sugars and cream, coffee may be a great way to get more energy, antioxidants, and burn more fat!

The fat burning effects of coffee may differ between lean and obese people. One study showed that lean women had a 29% increase in fat burning over obese women, who only say a 10% increase.

Either way, drinking coffee can help improve metabolism while increasing your energy due to the caffeine. Ultimately, this combination can help give you the added energy required for working out and powering through your day.

7. Add Green or Oolong Tea

Drinking both of these teas can help boost your metabolism by up to 5% according to a recent study. Essentially these teas may help to change some of the stored fat in your body into fatty acids which can help burn more fat.

Green tea is high in EGCG, which can help burn fat particularly in the belly area. Oolong tea is full of polyphenols, which can boost metabolism and burn fat.

In addition, both teas are low in calories and can really make a difference with weight loss and maintenance. Adding more liquid to you day can also help fill you up and stay hydrated.

The benefits of tea are as wide and many as the number of varieties. Learn about other kinds of tea that may help your metabolism and weight loss efforts.

8. Try Intermittent Fasting

There’s a lot of talk in the weight loss community about the benefits of intermittent fasting. New research is showing that fasting during the day outside of a timed 8 hour eating window, may show promise for improved metabolism and weight loss.

Fasting is not a new concept as it is done by many cultures around the world for different reasons. There are 3 different style of intermittent fasting. However, the basic concept revolves around fasting and eating during a specific window of time.

It is important to learn about the concept of intermittent fasting as it may not be for everyone. Additionally, it may help with losing weight and fat, as well as reduce the risks of some diseases.

9. Get Your Omegas

Protein is important when you are trying to shed excess weight. But the benefits of omega fatty oils from fish and seafood, is equally important.

Regular consumption of seafood can help you to get the needed omega fatty acids that your body requires for better metabolism.

There is evidence to support that supplementing with fish oil can help RMR, cortisol levels, and muscle/fat composition.

It is not quite understood how fish oil can help lower fat while building muscle, but science suggests it may change the way fat is stored.

Supplementing your diet with fish oil is good for your heart and your waistline.

Natural Ways To Boost Your Metabolism

Making certain changes to your diet and lifestyle can help improve your metabolism naturally. Adding spices, seafood, lean protein and teas to your diet are just a few simple, easy ways to help your body slim down and burn fat.

Regular exercise is also another key way to improve your metabolism and weight loss results. Having a higher metabolism makes weight loss easier in the end and also helps give you more energy.

Do you have any tips on how to boost your metabolism? Feel free to share them in the comments below.