Have you hit a plateau in your fitness journey? Do you feel like you can’t lose any more weight, no matter what you do? If so, don’t despair”you are not alone. Many people struggle to meet their fitness and weight-management goals. Interestingly, each person’s metabolism is different in terms of speed and effectiveness. Your age, sex and genes can contribute to your metabolism, but lifestyle choices related to nutrition, physical activity and sleep also play significant roles. While you can’t change some of these factors, you can make better lifestyle choices that will speed up your metabolism, which will, in turn, help you achieve your health and fitness goals. Here are some tips to speed up your metabolism:
Drink plenty of water: If you don’t consume enough water, you will get dehydrated. Dehydration slows down your metabolism. Be sure to drink at least eight to ten glasses of water every day.
Eat a big breakfast: Breakfast is essential. Your body has been deprived of food throughout the night; therefore your metabolism has slowed down. If the cells do not receive sufficient nutrients they will begin to function less efficiently on smaller amounts, and they will actually store more fat to use during these times of nutritional deprivation. Also, eating a healthy breakfast can reduce hunger throughout the day and help you make better food choices at other meals. Skipping breakfast will lead to a sluggish metabolism as the body shifts into a starvation-response mode. And coupled with a hunger-induced binge, it would lead to weight gain. Kick start your metabolism by feeding yourself first thing in the morning.
Eat regular meals: Having smaller meals or healthy snacks every three to four hours helps keep your metabolism burning calories throughout the day. Studies show that people who eat smaller meals regularly are less likely to overeat. Also, do not skip meals. Skipping meals and fasting for long periods of times slows down your metabolism.
Eat a balanced diet: It is essential for overall health and better fitness to eat a nutritionally balanced diet, consisting of whole grains, fruits and vegetables, adequate protein and healthy fats. In particular, include healthy proteins, such as fish, nuts, lentils and beans, as your body burns more calories digesting protein than it does while digesting carbohydrates or fat.
Build more muscle: Gaining lean muscle mass boosts your metabolism and makes losing weight much easier. You will burn a lot more calories per hour during your cardio workout thanks to that extra muscle mass. Muscle burns more calories than fat does, even at rest, so any strength-training activities that build lean muscle are excellent. The key is to challenge all your muscles and do a full-body strength-training workout, hitting your core, arms, legs, shoulders, back and chest.
Do intervals: Adding fast-paced intervals to your exercise routine raises your metabolic rate higher than doing your workout at a steady pace, and will continue to do so up to an hour after you are done. Also, be physically active throughout the day. The more active you are, the more energy your body burns.
Get adequate sleep: Lack of sleep affects the hormones that regulate your appetite and metabolism. Aim for seven to eight hours of sleep every night. Taking an occasional nap is also helpful.
Limit your alcohol intake: While the occasional alcoholic beverage won't do much harm, any more than that can significantly slow down your metabolism. Aside from its metabolism-slowing effect, alcohol may also stimulate the appetite. The mix of a big appetite and lowered inhibitions is a recipe for diet disaster. Limit your alcohol intake and stay away from fatty food.
Turning these tips into daily habits is a great way to give your metabolism a boost and enhance your ability to meet your health and fitness goals. Regardless of where you are in your health and fitness journey, don’t despair”get up, get moving and give your metabolism the boost you need to start seeing results.
Nivedita Dempo is a fitness expert and the owner of Studio 101, Goa’s premier fitness centre
