You’ve probably heard people tell you, “maybe your metabolism is slow that’s why you can’t lose weight”, and you are wondering, what the heck is metabolism and how does it affect weight loss…and weight gain?
Metabolism is the body’s chemical process of breaking down food to turn it into energy. It is essential to keep the cells and tissues healthy and well-functioning.
As we age, our metabolism slows down, hence, it is harder for our body to effectively burn calories. Unused calories will be stored as fat. This is why most people get bigger tummy and arms as they grow older.
Is there a way to pump up a slowing metabolism? Actually, yes, there is! Here’s how:
Make sure that you eat enough
We eat less if we want to weigh less. Common sense, right? Apparently, that’s wrong.
If we don’t eat enough, our body loses muscle mass, and when that happens, our metabolism slows down.
Another thing is that eating less triggers our body to conserve energy and slow down the rate of burning calories – a.k.a. metabolism.
Tea over coffee
Are you the type of person who can’t wake up early in the morning and function properly throughout the day without a sip of coffee? Well, you may want to change that.
Did you know that green tea is great for boosting metabolism? There was a study a couple years ago regarding the effects of drinking green tea daily instead of coffee. In a 3-month trial, those who drink green tea shed off more weight than those who stayed drinking coffee.
Green tea has catechins. It is a flavonoid and antioxidant that aids the liver in burning fats.
Take it up a notch
You will be stuck on a plateau if you do the same exact exercise again and again for weeks. If you are not familiar with it, plateau is a term used in bodybuilding to describe a state or period of time wherein your body no longer responds to your physical activity or even a diet plan. Think of it as watching the same movie at the same hour every day for a month. You’ll know all the lines and plot twists therefore, you’ll no longer be excited to watch it. When you’re on a plateau, your metabolism is also stagnant.
The solution to this is easy. Try to take your exercise or workout program up a notch. You can increase the time, number of laps, number of circuits, or amount of weight to give your body more challenge.
Use monounsaturated oil
Monounsaturated oils like olive oil have properties that help burn more calories, hence, maximize metabolism. Also, good fats are great sources of energy, nutrients, and antioxidants.
Yolk, Yolk, Yolks!
Some people avoid egg yolks because it is high in cholesterol. Well, that’s true, but it is a good one. As a matter of fact, egg yolk is beneficial to hastening metabolic processes.
Egg yolks are rich in fatty acids, vitamins, and choline. For those who aren’t familiar with choline, it is a compound that triggers the body to burn fats.
I know that cholesterol can be scary, but doctors say that an egg or two a day is good.
Eat more protein
Protein is a macronutrient that’s essential in building muscles. What does that have to do with metabolism?
The more muscles we have, the faster we burn our calories and we all know by now that burning calories involve metabolic processes.
Our daily protein needs are different from each other depending on our age, weight, etc., but doctors and dieticians suggest that we eat 1 gram of protein per our weight in kilogram.
Also, do not forget to pair your protein with some carbs so your body won’t have a hard time breaking it down.
Stand more and sit less
Do you have a desk job? Did you know that not only is sitting for a long period of time bad for your health and back, but it also slows your metabolism down?
Our body is built to move and be physically active. Although, I understand that sometimes we can’t help but sit for hours and hours especially if it pays the bills and puts food in our mouths.
Here’s the thing, there’s a solution to it. Nutritionists suggest that if you take, say 10 minute-breaks every hour, use it to walk, stand, or go up and down the stairs. These will burn more calories than just plain sitting.
Eat some garlic
Garlic makes dishes taste and smell good, that’s for sure. But, did you know that garlic can help manage your metabolism?
It has properties that can control lipid levels and block damages caused by high-carb diet. More so, it prevents heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and other serious health problems.
Dark chocolate over milk chocolate
I know lots of you are probably in love with milk chocolate and I can‘t blame you because it is really good. Although, it still contains lots of sugar and sugar are carbs.
So, go for dark chocolate instead! A study shows that dark chocolate can manage our metabolism, control stress hormone levels, and is jam-packed with antioxidants.
Just make sure that it’s really a dark chocolate – 75-80% dark chocolate is good enough. A lot of chocolate companies deceive consumers by putting ‘dark chocolate’ labels, on their products but the truth is they add so much sugar in it so it will not taste that bitter.
Try Oolong tea
Oolong tea is a very popular type of tea in Asia, especially in China because it is one of their traditional teas. If you have problems with metabolism, digestion, and high-cholesterol level, oolong tea is a great natural remedy.
Oolong is rich in antioxidants and has properties that aid burning calories fast.
There you go. Those are my top 10 ways to boost your sluggish metabolism. I make sure that all of it are easy to do and follow.
Oh, I have one last tip. Did you know that laughing can burn up to 100 calories? What are you waiting for? Go laugh and have fun!