How to Speed up Your Metabolism

Metabolism is a set of physical and chemical processes that occur in your body for the sustenance of life. Anabolism and catabolism are the constructive and destructive phases of metabolism. Anabolism uses the energy produced in the body for helping the cells in their growth and repair, while catabolism breaks down the complex substances in the body into simpler substances and in the process produces energy. Your body needs this energy all the time for the functioning of the various systems and organs like lungs, heart, kidneys and so on.

The rate at which your body burns calories is important for your general health as well as for weight maintenance. Many factors affect this rate. By manipulating some of the factors, you can either speed up or slow down your metabolism for weight management: weight loss, or weight gain.

As you grow older, as you lower your activity levels and reduce your physical stress, you are likely to reduce the muscle in your body. When you go on a crash or starvation diet, your muscle is used up for energy production. Your metabolism slows down in these cases.

You can increase the rate of your metabolism in several ways. Some of these are:

#1. Eating healthy and small meals more often and regularly is one good method. Metabolism kicks in better with the intake of food. The frequent small meals you consume keep the metabolism going for a longer duration.

#2. Eating protein-rich foods like low-fat dairy products, lean meat, and skinless chicken in plenty are found to increase metabolism. Include fish, dark green vegetables and foods high in fiber to your meals. There is evidence to show that foods rich in protein increase the burning of calories by about 25%. Also, drink at least 8 to 10 glasses of water every day.

#3. Consume foods that contain antioxidants for speeding up your metabolism. For instance, green tea may be preferred to coffee due to its high antioxidant content.

#4. The temperature of your body environment affects your metabolism. If it is very cold or very hot, the rate of metabolism is found to go up by about 20 %. You can manipulate that temperature. You can either chill out or have sauna, but be sure that your doctor does not object because of any existing medical condition.

#5. Keep yourself active and moving throughout the day. When you increase your physical activity, your muscle increases and, consequently, the metabolic rate also goes up. Aerobic exercises coupled with resistance training and exercises are very useful in this regard. If you have a job that requires you to sit at the desk for long hours, find ways to incorporate some physical activity and movement that takes you away from the desk, even for short durations, as often as possible.

#6. By increasing the heart rate, you can increase the metabolic rate. Adding spices, especially chili or green pepper, to your food will most likely do that. It is believed that spices speed up the metabolism by about 50%. But you have to develop considerable tolerance for the spicy condiments if you do not already have it.

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