How to Boost Your Metabolism

“I want to lose weight.” How many times have you set this goal for yourself? 

Eating right, exercising, and boosting your metabolism are all keys to helping you reach your ideal weight. So if you’re like me, you’ve probably wondered how to boost your metabolism so that you burn more calories throughout the day.

Here are a few simple tips and tricks that I use to keep my metabolism kicking.

Enjoy a hot cup of lemon water

Lemons are a great way to boost your metabolism! This is because they are high in Vitamin C and antioxidants, which help your immune system.

Boil some fresh water in a kettle and squeeze half a fresh lemon into a mug (use fresh lemon juice rather than the bottled kind). Then fill the mug with hot water, sip, and enjoy.

If you’re looking for an added metabolic boost, add cayenne and ginger. These foods increase your metabolism and may even help promote a healthy digestive system, making it easier for your metabolism to power through calories.

Drink a glass of cold water

Staying hydrated is important for both your metabolism and your overall health, and cold water is even better. Studies have shown that drinking cold water can increase your metabolism for short bursts. 

By drinking cold water, your body has to work harder and burn more calories to process it. The study mentioned above found that you can burn 25% more calories just by drinking cold water!

To take advantage, start your morning by drinking a glass of cold water before indulging in a cup of coffee or your breakfast. This way, you’ll be hydrated right from the start and your metabolism will already be up and running before you enjoy breakfast.

Best of all, you can use this trick throughout the day to give your metabolism a boost!

Have some coffee or green tea

Caffeine gives you a boost of energy, but when enjoyed in moderation, coffee or green tea can also boost your metabolism. Caffeine is the only supplement that has been proven to actually increase the amount of calories your body burns and therefore increases your metabolism. 

Make a cup of strong coffee or green tea as part of your morning routine. For best results, avoid adding sweeteners or creamer. These add useless calories that will only bog you down.

The caffeine will give your metabolism the boost it needs in the morning and the high antioxidant content of both drinks will improve your health and take care of damaging free radicals in your system.

RELATED POST: HOW TO FIX A DAMAGED METABOLISM

Have a protein-rich breakfast

There are some foods that naturally increase your metabolism and protein is one of them. Your body burns lots more calories digesting protein than it does compared to fat and protein. So that is why it helps boost your metabolism!

Try to have a high protein breakfast to kick start your metabolism for the day. Opt for items like healthy protein smoothies, yogurt or eggs. Just take care to avoid added sugars and artificial sweeteners. For a few simple ideas, check out my breakfast recipes geared to help burn fat and boost your metabolism throughout the day.

Increase muscle mass

I’ve left the best for last. Let’s get a little technical for just a moment (stay with me!).

The amount of calories you burn throughout the day is made up of 3 things – 

1. Your resting (or basal) metabolic rate – how many calories you burn at rest; 
2. Thermogenesis – how many calories you burn through digestion (this sort of falls under the resting metabolic rate category); and
3. Your physical activity – how many calories you burn during exercise).

All of the tips we have mentioned above help to improve point 2 – thermogenesis (how many calories you burn through digestion).

Increasing your physical activity is easy! All you need to do is exercise and burn up those calories.

But your resting or basal metabolic rate (RMR or BMR) makes up the MOST of your daily calorie burn. It will make up anywhere from 60-85% of your daily calories burned. So this part is super important.

The best way to increase your resting metabolic rate is to build muscle mass. Muscle burns LOTS of calories so will help you overall when boosting your metabolism and trying to lose weight.

I’m not saying that you need to go out there and lift super heavyweights and pack on as much muscle as you can. But you cannot exclude resistance workouts. Do some type of exercise 3-4 times per week that engages your muscles, whether that be bodyweight workouts, HIIT, Pilates, Yoga or your favourite gym class!

Hope you enjoy these tips and have learned a little something on how to boost your metabolism!

Are any of these tips included in your daily routine? Let me know in the comments section! xx

Article written by Rachael Attard

Rachael is an Australian born certified personal trainer and nutritionist who holds a Bachelor degree in Science.

After struggling for years to find an exercise and diet program that is tailored to women striving for lean and toned body with no bulk she designed her Lean Legs Program. This program is tailored to each body type and focused on helping women get toned but feminine bodies, without getting bulky.

Her mission is to empower women and help them stay in shape in a healthy and balanced way.