5 Easy Ways To Boost Your Metabolism

Your eating habits are fresher and healthier than ever before and you’re knocking your workouts out of the park. So what’s next? It’s time to kick into high gear and boost your metabolism.

There’s no food, or magic pill even, that will manage your weight. Simply put, weight-loss is a calories in/calories out equation. Your metabolism helps convert calories into energy, so fire it up  to compliment all your exercise efforts. A strong metabolism will have your body performing and shedding calories during rest and play. It’s the best of both worlds!

Think about your metabolism like a machine. A well-functioning machine will be warmed up, well fuelled, and running clean. Here are some ways to boost your metabolism machine:

1. Have a healthy breakfast.

First up is to kick the gears into motion every day with a good breakfast.

It can be tempting to skip meals to save time or reduce your calorie intake. Uh-oh, bad idea. Skipping meals, breakfast in particular, not only affects your general health, it can result in a seriously sluggish metabolism.

Without a proper meal, especially coming out of the overnight recovery period, your body can shift into fasting mode. Basically, your body will be trying to conserve your energy stores for lean times ahead. This is the opposite of what you want. A healthy breakfast is essential to a fast metabolism for both weight-loss and maintaining energy throughout the day.

2. Increase your intake of warming foods.

Warm foods increase your heart rate and have been shown to significantly increase your energy expenditure hours after your meal. Increasing your intake of foods high in capsaicin and caffeine will leave you flushed with a calorie burning glow.

Apart from the obvious of hot chilies and cups of coffee, make sure to include a variety of spices including cinnamon, peppers, and mustards, as well as drinking green tea. Don’t be afraid to swap out that coffee for a tea: You can still get a caffeine boost! Apple cider vinegar is also a an option, and a healthy dose of ginger isn’t just for flu season.

When increasing your intake of warming foods, make sure you also keep up your water intake to avoid dehydration. Avoid those excess sweets with your coffee… ginger snaps probably aren’t the BEST choice as a warming snack. But go ahead and have a few in moderation, it won’t hurt!

3. Keep those sugar cravings under control.

The challenge is to be mindful of the rise-and-crash cycle of sugar consumption. Avoid artificial sugars, like chocolate bars, by swapping them out for a more natural option, like fruit.

AKA nature’s candy! Snacking on citrus fruit not only avoids refined sugars but also provides a burst of Vitamin C and hydration. Apples and pears provide similar goodness. But we get it, chocolate is an important food group, so how about switching out that chocolate bar for some dark chocolate. Better yet? Chocolate. Clementines. Recipe here.

4. Don’t ditch all the carbs.

They really don’t deserve the bad rap people like to give them.

A diet with adequate complex carbohydrates will also keep insulin levels steady and provide slow release energy over the day, and this is exactly what you’re after when trying to boost your metabolism. Including bread or grains in your breakfast or brown rice or quinoa in other meals, will have you high-stepping throughout the day.

If you’re in need a recipe, try these Veggie Quinoa-Stuffed Peppers!

5. Water! Water! And?… More water!

You get the idea…

We’ve repeated the importance of drinking water over and over again, and we’re not stopping anytime soon. Water is key to keeping your digestive system clean and transferring toxin build-ups out of your body.

Need a change of pace from regular water? Infuse it!

A glass of water with a dose of citrus or apple cider vinegar can also take your mission to hydrate to another level. Both have positive benefits on your digestive system and help you extract more nutrition from the food you eat, meaning that you crave less and waste less.

The best thing about these tips? They’re little things that will seamlessly blend into whatever healthy regime you’re already on! Be thoughtful about what you’re eating and drinking with the help of these tips and boost your metabolism!