| Your metabolism is the rate at which your body burns | | | | nervous system to run more quickly. Although not |
| calories. The faster you burn calories the more weight | | | | many sizable and conclusive studies have been done |
| you can lose even if you eat the same amount, so it | | | | on this to date, drinking green tea rather than milky |
| makes sense to do everything you can to boost your | | | | coffee or other calorie-laden beverages will definitely |
| metabolic rate if you're trying to lose a few pounds. | | | | help you lose weight! |
| You use about 60% of the calories you need each | | | | 9. Get active |
| day just by being alive. That's your basal (or resting) | | | | Aerobic exercise for more than thirty minutes not only |
| metabolism. About 30% of the calories are accounted | | | | burns calories but also keeps your metabolism high for |
| for by how much you move (your activity metabolism). | | | | several hours afterwards. The best time for exercise |
| The remaining 10% are used up by the process of | | | | is in the morning as it will help kick start your |
| digesting food (your thermic metabolism). | | | | metabolism for the day. If you can do 30 to 60 |
| By making some simple changes you can fire up all | | | | minutes of aerobic exercise almost every day your |
| three types of metabolism and become leaner faster. | | | | metabolism will soar. Interval training would help even |
| 1. Eat little and often | | | | more. |
| Small and regular meals throughout the day will keep | | | | 10. Walk it off |
| your metabolism high. If you eat the same amount of | | | | If you prefer to take light exercise, try going for a walk |
| food in just one or two large meals as you do in five | | | | after lunch or dinner. This boosts the rise in metabolism |
| or six mini-meals and snacks you will burn fewer | | | | you get after eating. No strenuous exercising on a full |
| calories. This is because your metabolism slows down | | | | stomach though. |
| between meals. Never skip meals to save calories. | | | | 11. Build those muscles |
| Having a low-calorie snack will work much better and | | | | Muscles burn calories even when you're resting. For |
| will also stop you falling ravenously on the nearest | | | | every pound of muscle you add, you burn about 50 |
| chocolate bar later in the day. | | | | extra calories a day without taking any more exercise. |
| 2. Eat breakfast | | | | So it's a great idea to include some resistance or |
| Your metabolism slows down overnight. When you | | | | weight training in your exercise regime. Twenty |
| have been through a period of more than eight hours | | | | minutes three times a week is enough to make a big |
| without eating you need food to get your metabolism | | | | difference in your metabolic rate as well as the shape |
| going again. So have breakfast as soon as you can | | | | of your body. |
| after you wake up. If you're not a breakfast person | | | | 12. Go hot or cold |
| take something healthy with you when you leave the | | | | Any extremes of temperature you experience will help |
| house and have it is soon as you can face it. It's not | | | | raise your metabolism by up to 20 percent as the |
| great for your weight loss plans to have to boost your | | | | body attempts to cool you down or raise your |
| metabolism with a mid morning cookie or cake. | | | | temperature. Make sure it's safe for you to go in the |
| 3. Eat enough | | | | sauna or on the arctic expedition though before you |
| If you eat too few calories, your metabolic rate will | | | | try this one. You could have a go at keeping your |
| automatically drop. This is a self preservation | | | | home a few degrees cooler than is comfortable for |
| mechanism, which kicks in when your body thinks you | | | | sitting around in winter and restrict the air conditioning |
| are starving. The safest bet is to eat about 250 | | | | to the very hottest days in summer. In the winter it will |
| calories less than you need at the sedentary level and | | | | help you get up and get moving and in summer |
| to take 250 - 500 calories of exercise each day to | | | | encourage you to go to the pool to cool off! |
| give a steady weight loss of between one and two | | | | 13. Drink Iced Water |
| pounds a week. | | | | Another trick is to drink a glass of iced water a few |
| 4. Eat Lean Protein | | | | times a day. You'll raise your metabolism just by having |
| It takes more energy for the body to digest protein | | | | to bring the water up to body temperature. Drinking |
| than carbohydrate or fat. Studies have shown that | | | | water is required anyway, of course, to keep your |
| people who eat a high-protein diet burn more than | | | | bodily functions working smoothly (including your |
| twice as many calories in the hours following their meal | | | | metabolism). |
| as those eating a high carbohydrate diet. While the | | | | 14. Watch the alcohol |
| safety of high-protein diets can be disputed, it does | | | | On top of the empty calories that alcohol contains, it |
| make sense to include some lean protein as part of | | | | also has a dehydrating effect, which slows down your |
| each meal. | | | | thermic metabolism. Alcohol tends to inhibit the process |
| 5. Eat Fibre | | | | of metabolizing fat too, which can lower your basal |
| Food with lots of fibre also gives your thermic | | | | metabolism. And there's not much chance of you |
| metabolism a boost. High-fibre foods like beans, fruit, | | | | wanting to exercise after all that booze so it'll have an |
| vegetables and whole grains simply take longer to | | | | effect on your activity metabolism too. Bad news all |
| digest and therefore help burn more calories. | | | | round! |
| 6. Spice up your food | | | | 15. Take up yoga |
| Spicy foods (especially chilli) raise the metabolism by | | | | The chemical processes which comprise your |
| as much as twenty-five per cent for a few hours | | | | metabolism are regulated by the endocrine system, |
| after eating. So eat hot and spicy food a bit more | | | | especially the thyroid. Yoga has many postures which |
| regularly and see if this helps you. Just go easy on the | | | | have a powerful twisting and compressing effect on |
| refried beans and guacamole if you decide to go | | | | the endocrine organs, strengthening and stimulating |
| Mexican! | | | | them and this can help to regulate and boost your |
| 7. Drink Coffee | | | | metabolism. |
| Caffeine speeds up your heart rate and the faster | | | | If you boost your metabolism with these tips, you'll be |
| your heart rate the more calories you burn. Not great if | | | | improving your general health as well as your capacity |
| you have heart problems or difficulty getting to sleep | | | | to burn calories. You'll not only find that you lose weight |
| however! | | | | more quickly but also that you will have more energy, |
| 8. Drink Green Tea | | | | greater strength and you'll be able to get through |
| The phytochemicals in green tea are supposed to | | | | everything you have to do in a day more easily. |
| raise metabolism slightly by causing your brain and | | | | |