It’s true! Good metabolism is the key to weight loss. I have personally experienced the difference and realized that good metabolism is not just a day’s function; it has to work regularly on continuous basis and at all times. This might sound a little overwhelming but it’s not that tough. A little conscious effort can boost our metabolism.
Metabolism is nothing but burning off calories to release more energy. Therefore, if we aim to lose weight we need to accelerate our metabolism which means burning more calories. Our body is always burning calories whether we eat, sleep, drink, sit or clean … etc. But along with our daily chores some focused exercises, healthy and balanced eating can boost our metabolism tremendously and help us reach our target weight and also maintain it. Now, doesn’t that sound exciting?
I will share few points on boosting metabolism in our daily lifestyle:
1. Workouts: I know the name itself sounds like too much to do but let’s try to make it our regular routine and here is how. Ideally a minimum of 30 minutes cardio will pump up your heart rate and crank up your metabolic rate. If we can include these 30 minutes into our schedule great, if not here is the solution. Let’s try to stay as active as possible for example if you use the elevator in your work place try using stairs instead. If you are a sedentary worker then try to walk outside your office during lunch. If you work from home or if you are SAHM you may try standing jogging inside your home. Find some time to exercise at least twice or thrice a week. Once you get the hang of it you would want to increase it to 4-5 times a week.
Also, include some strength training in your exercise routine which can be 3-4 rounds for 10-15 minutes per week. It will boost your muscle growth. The more muscles you have the more calories you will burn. Then increase it to 30-40 minutes twice a week. Strength training may include pushups, abdominal crunches, squats, free weights training.
2. Eating habits: Food plays an important role in increasing the metabolism rate and helps you lose weight. Eating every 2-3 hours helps your metabolism to function regularly. Eat a healthy and balanced nutritious breakfast within 1 hour after you wake up. That way you kick start your metabolism early and don’t let your body starve. Balanced nutrition means high protein, good carbohydrates, good fats, high fiber and food with lots of vitamins. Omega 3 also is an essential nutrition that helps boost metabolism.
Here is the list of some foods that help boost metabolism:
Whole grains contain lots of fiber
Green Tea has lots of antioxidant and is said to burn off 70-100 calories per day.
Coffee contains caffeine. It is said that if 1 cup of coffee is consumed it temporarily boost metabolism.
Fruits and vegetables contain high fiber and vitamins that help the metabolic rate to go up.
Chilies are said to increase your body temperature which in turn speeds up your metabolism. So spice up your food.
Water especially cold water up to 8 glasses not only hydrates your body well but also boosts your metabolism.
3. Sleep: We often ignore the importance of sleep and stress our body by not providing enough rest which in turn becomes one of the reasons for slow metabolism and hence weight gain. Sleep deprived body influences appetite hormones by increasing the hunger pangs and makes you crave for junk food at odd hours and you end up consuming unwanted calories. Lack of sleep also affects your energy levels the next day which may in turn affect your exercise routine.
Health tips of the week
“Eat healthy, exercise regularly, sleep well and boost your metabolism for healthy weight”.
References:
annabelt @ geeks diet says
Great tips and motivation, thanks!
Gunjan says
Thank you Annabelt.