Here are 9 simple and proven habits that you can implement today to increase your metabolism to help you manage and maintain your weight!
What is metabolism and why is it important?
Metabolism is the process where the body breaks down foods and nutrients to use as energy to support your different body functions that are constantly happening without us even realizing. These include inhaling and exhaling, healing your body, pumping your blood, regulating your body temperature and breaking down the food you eat.
Your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) is the amount of calories that your body needs to keep your body functioning at rest. Some people have a faster metabolism in which case their RMR is higher where they burn calories more quickly than someone with a lower RMR and may be less likely to put on weight.
What factors determine our Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR)?
- The amount of muscle your body has
- The amount of fat your body has
- Your Age
- The amount of calories you consume
- The amount of calories you burn
Whenever there are excess calories (i.e. more calories than the body needs to perform those basic functions) it is stored as fat. This is why some people seem to be able to eat whatever they want without putting on a pound while others seem to barely eat and still pack on the pounds. Essentially, you need your body to think that more calories (energy) is needed to perform those basic functions so that those units of energy are used up instead of stored as fat.
How do we do you increase your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR)?
There are several simple habits that you can implement on a regular basis to help boost your metabolism. The key is to be consistent, though, so that your body realizes that it will ALWAYS need this higher quantity of calories (energy) to keep your body running. If it is intermittent or sporadic, your body will not recognize this as a long term change and will not adjust its quota for basic daily function.
1. Incorporate protein into every meal
Not all calories are created equal. Eating food can temporarily increase your metabolism for a few hours but protein is the best source to promote burning calories because it creates the highest thermic effect (TEF) which just means that it requires more calories (energy) for the body to break down and digest protein molecules in comparison to carbs or fat.
Some great sources of protein include:
- Lean meats (lean ground turkey, boneless, skinless chicken breast)
- Seafood (shrimp, salmon, other fish)
- Eggs
- Dairy
- Beans / legumes (lentils, peas, chickpeas, black beans)
- Nuts and seeds (almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds)
- Quinoa
See the posts below for some great ways to add more protein to your meals:
5 Quick & Easy Breakfasts for Busy Moms to stay in shape
3 Quick & Easy Lunches for Busy Moms to stay in shape
5 Quick & Easy Dinners for Busy Moms to stay in shape that the whole family will love
2. HIIT Workouts
If you have not done this yet, it will be a GAME-CHANGER for you! HIIT Workouts (High-Intensity Interval Training) is a type of exercise that involves quick & intense bursts of activity with short breaks in between. If you aren’t someone who exercises regularly, this could be something you work your way up to or maybe just start off by replacing one of your workouts a week with a HIIT workout.
HIIT workouts are intense but they are short which is perfect for anyone with a busy schedule (which is basically everyone nowadays). After you complete a HIIT workout your body is in a state of EPOC (Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption) also known as the “afterburn” effect. This means that your body requires more oxygen and calories as you return to a rested state (basically you continue to burn calories for up to 24 hours after your workout ends!) and therefore it increases your metabolism by having to use more calories or energy (which also means you can eat more calories!)
You need to incorporate a balance of HIIT workouts with some low-impact workouts so as to allow your body to recover and not to put too much strain on your joints. Aim to do HIIT workouts 2-3 times a week and balance that with strength training and lower impact workouts such as pilates and yoga for recovery days
3. Strength & Resistance Training
Many women think that lifting weights will make them bulk up or look manly, but nothing could be further from the truth. It takes very intense exercise and diet to look like a bodybuilder and lifting 5-15 pound weights is not going to do that!
Lean muscle burns more calories than fat, so having more muscle mass increases your RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate) which helps you to burn more calories every day (increasing your metabolism), even at rest (AKA when you are sitting or sleeping!)
Strength training is so important for us as we age as it helps to strengthen our bones, joints and our balance which can help to prevent injury as we age.
4. Eat spicy food
Peppers contain a compound called capsaicin which can help to burn an additional 10 calories per meal. Obviously this wouldn’t make much of a difference on it’s own, but when combined with a high-protein diet and a mixture of HIIT and strength training it can help compound the increased effect on your metabolism. You can either eat spicy peppers or add spices to your food such as cayenne and chili powder.
5. Drink enough water
Humans can only live for 3 days without water and our bodies are made up mostly of water so it should be no surprise that staying hydrated is absolutely essential for the body to function at its best. Without adequate hydration, it is harder for our bodies to metabolize and break down fat and carbs and it can back us up by making it more difficult for the body to eliminate waste (or use the toilet…)
Having enough fluids helps your muscles and joints to move more easily and helps your body to regulate temperature through sweating both of which are necessary to do HIIT workouts or strength training.
Also, drinking water between meals can help to suppress appetite (often times we aren’t hungry, we are actually thirsty but our body confuses it as a hunger cue) and also it helps us to consume fewer calories at meals. On a daily basis you should drink half of your body weight in ounces of water plus an additional 8oz for every 30m of exercise. (a 130-pound woman should drink 65 oz of water at least and if she does a 30m workout she needs at least another 8oz for a total of 73oz that day).
6. Drink Green Tea
Green tea improves your gut microbiome which helps improve how you body breaks down and stores fats. The effect is said to be minimal, but if you are sick of drinking water and want something else to drink to stay hydrated, then green tea is a good choice
7. Sleep
Sleep plays a major part in regulating metabolism, hunger and appetite. Lack of sleep is linked to a major increased chance of obesity as it affects the hormones that regulate appetite: ghrelin (hunger hormone) and leptin (a hormone that cues fullness) which can lead to weight gain.
When you don’t get enough sleep, your body is lowering your metabolic rate to conserve energy. By getting adequate sleep, your body will not feel the need to conserve energy and fat.
8. Eat at regular times
Eating at regular intervals throughout the day helps to prevent any times of extreme fullness or hunger and ensures a more consistent state and therefore more stable blood sugar levels that are less-likely to spike. You should eat every 3-4 hours to help keep your energy and blood sugar steady and consistent. If you skip meals, your body slows your metabolism to conserve energy. Eating every 3–4 hours can help keep your blood sugar consistent and prevent spikes and crashes.
9. Eat enough calories
Diets that restrict calories to an extreme amount is not the answer and can actually do more harm than good. This just causes the body to slow down to conserve energy (similar to when you don’t get enough sleep). If weight loss is your goal, you want to consume fewer calories than you are burning, but you still need enough for your body to perform it’s basic functions. Focus less on the number of calories and more on the source they are coming from so you nutritionally get more bang for your buck.