That wonderful little bodily process called metabolism helps us convert food calories to energy to keep us functioning at optimum level and help in weight loss. But heredity, age and gender can keep metabolism out of our control, leaving us fatigued or at a stale mate with our battle of the bulge. But we're not completely helpless and there are tricks and life-style choices that can be made to raise metabolism, get more energy and burn calories.
Eat more often, lose weight.
It's hard enough getting up in the morning, when you're rushing around trying to get out of the house, who has time for breakfast? Well in order to keep up your metabolism you have to make time. After fasting for eight hours, your body needs fuel in the morning to jump start the metabolic process. When you starve yourself your body goes into hibernation mode and slows down metabolism to conserve energy. Start the day off with a healthy breakfast, such as cereal and fruit, before you walk out the door.
Throughout the day, find healthy munchies to keep your blood sugar stable so your metabolism keeps running at a consistent pace to burn those calories into energy. Also, eating earlier in the day will help keep you full so that you don't splurge later on when your body is preparing to go into hibernation at bedtime. WebMD says that your metabolism is at its best in the first hour after you eat. It adds that protein takes about 25% more energy to digest, keeping your metabolism up at a higher rate. Choosing a protein packed snack may be more beneficial than a carb heavy snack with the same amount of calories.
B Vitamins
Feeling tired and have depleted energy? Try boosting your body with B vitamins. Supplements that contain B-12 are essential for energy. B-12 is found in protein rich foods that make you feel full and give you more energy. Vegetarians are at risk for being B-12 deficient so finding a supplement may be a good idea. Some foods that are great for extracting B vitamins are spinach, asparagus, beans (navy, soy, black beans), melon, broccoli, fish, poultry and eggs, MSNBC reports.
Mate Tea and Green Tea
Stimulants in herbal drinks have been linked to raising metabolism and of course giving us our caffeine fix. Mate tea (pronounced "mah-tay") is native to South America where locals chew on the leaves to battle altitude sickness and give them energy. About.com says mate tea is more nutritious than black tea or coffee and despite having little caffeine is very energizing.
Green tea contains EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate), an antioxidant which is believed to help burn calories. A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that over a 24 hour period, people who had 90 milligrams of EGCG had 4% more energy than those who supplemented with caffeine, WebMD reports.
Walk, Run, Play, Laugh!
Routine exercise with cardio and weights is the best way to boost your metabolism and keep it running at an optimal level. By putting more stress on your body, your metabolism has to burn more calories too give you more energy to keep your body working at 100%. If you don't always have time to go to the gym, try making conscious decisions. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, enjoy the weather and walk instead of driving, turn up the music and rock out. The best advice, take every opportunity to laugh. CNN reports that a study at Vanderbuilt University measured the heat output of participants when they laughed to determine their metabolism. The subject's watched funny videos and their metabolic rate rose by 10-40 calories.
High energy means high metabolism so stay active, make healthy decisions, and keep positive!
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