How to Raise Your Metabolism

How to Raise Your Metabolism

There are a bunch of different things that go into making your metabolism what it is, like your body type, gender, and age, and you have zero sway over those. Still, you can rev up your metabolism each day with some healthy habits. Here’s what you can do to give your metabolism a kick in the pants.

1. Eat More Protein

The first tip to boost metabolism is to eat more protein-rich foods. As noted earlier, protein has a higher TEF value, so the more eaten, the faster the metabolism will be. Protein-rich foods have a TEF value of around 25-30%, while fats have a value of around 3% and carbohydrates around 5%. This is a big difference and can add up quickly.

Studies illustrate that meals higher in protein content tend to produce a higher TEF value, however total energy intake of the meal itself is one of the greatest influences over TEF values.

2. Eat Spicy Foods

It’s also recommended to consider eating spicy foods whenever possible. Adding some cayenne pepper or chili peppers to the diet can prove to boost the metabolic rate in the hours ahead.  This is due to a compound known as capsaicin, which is found in these spicy foods that causes the body to expend more energy as heat. While it does not last forever, it can help give an extra boost to the tune of about 50 calories per day, as shown by research published in the Appetite journal.

Lastly, most people tend to eat less food overall when consuming spicy dishes.

3. Drink Green Tea

When discussing beverages, consider adding green tea to the diet plan. Swap out their cup of coffee for this beverage, and it may just help see fat loss results.

While any beverage containing caffeine can stimulate the metabolism, studies do show that green tea contains additional compounds that can help boost the metabolic rate and allow the client to experience faster fat loss. Just be sure to serve this without added sugar or cream to keep the calorie count of the beverage in check.

4. Add Fiber To Your Diet

While adding more fiber to the diet won’t necessarily increase one’s metabolism per say, it can help net fewer calories overall. Fiber acts like Mother Nature’s broom and can sweep out excess calories and waste in the digestive system.

Those with very high fiber intakes may not net as many calories overall, as some of the calories from the foods eaten move out with the fiber consumed. This does not mean one will not absorb calories from food if fiber is eaten, it may just help give an extra edge.

5. Add More Carbs (At Least Occasionally)

Here is a good tip – add more carbs to the diet plan. Seriously!  Most people fear carbohydrates as they think carbs will make them fat. Often it’s the opposite effect.

The fact is, the number of carbohydrates consumed is closely connected to a hormone in the body called leptin. Leptin is produced by the body fat cells, and when carbohydrate intake starts to decline (signaling less energy is coming in), the fat cells stop producing as much Leptin.

When Leptin drops, this signals to the brain that starvation may be occurring and that leads to reduced metabolic output. The body knows that in order to stay alive, it needs to conserve fuel, so it stops burning so many calories. By adding more carbs back into the diet, at least temporarily, studies show it can raise Leptin levels higher again, offsetting this natural metabolic slow-down.

This is a very critical concept to understand if using a fat loss diet plan.

6. Stay Hydrated

Hydration is also a key factor that can influence resting metabolic rate. Even as little as 1-2% dehydration in terms of total body weight can influence energy and performance levels, as well as resting metabolic rate.

Remember to instruct clients to drink at least 8-10 glasses of water each day and then more water on those days that they are exercising.

7. Perform Anaerobic Exercise

Anaerobic exercise – sprint training or intense weight lifting (or metabolic training) are both great ways to increase metabolic rate. Studies show that these types of training will cause the body to burn more calories for up to 48 hours after the session is over, increasing the resting calorie burn.

Getting Started

Check out what it takes to start a career in personal fitness training. This is your most affordable and fastest way to become a highly qualified personal trainer.

Our Metabolic Conditioning Coach Course is the #1 training system that will help your clients burn fat, lose weight, build muscle, improve cardio and quickly get into the best shape of their lives.

Is your recertification coming up? Learn more about earning your CEU credits. You can find the full list of CEU courses here.

If you are ready to start your online personal training or coaching business, don’t forget to learn more about our online coaching course. You will also really enjoy this very comprehensive training course called Online Expert Empire.

There is always something exciting about earning a new training or coaching certification and applying that new knowledge of how you train your clients. This also helps you hit the reset button.

NESTA and Spencer Institute coaching programs are open to anyone with a desire to learn and help others. There are no prerequisites.

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