We all know that our body’s metabolism slows down with age. Just like how a machine needs fuel to run, your body also needs the right kind of fuel to rev up the metabolism rate. If you’ve been thinking that eating less than 1200 calories (for women) and 1800 calories (for men) per day is going to help you get the figure you’ve been dreaming about, you’re wrong! Every human body needs a special set of nutrients that propel the process of digestion, absorption and excretion. You’re metabolism takes a hit the moment one of these three start craving for the right kind of nutrients, which acts as as ‘fuel’. Also, a person’s Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), which accounts for about 70% of your total energy expenditure, decreases with age and ultimately leads to weight gain. It is always good to have a higher muscle mass as this tends to spike up the metabolic rate and helps in maintaining the BMR.

Here are 7 easy and absolutely interesting ways to help you better your metabolic rate:

1. Chill with cold water: It’s high time you marry your water bottle. Take it everywhere you go and make sure you give it a lot of attention even when you’re busy. Sipping cold water every once in a while can raise the resting metabolism and help you burn about 50 calories everyday. Hot water also seems to do magic – A glass of hot water as soon as you’re up from the bed is enough to wake up your digestive tract and kickstart your metabolism.

2. Go NEAT: There are simple measures that will help you lose upto 350 calories per day easily – this is what we call Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT). Go for easy alternatives at work like climbing stairs, walking while you’re over a call, short walks within the floor to reach out to a colleague instead of using the intercom, etc. This is the easiest way to lose calories even without having to strenuously work for it.

3. Interval Training: As we mentioned before, the muscle mass plays quite an important role in influencing your metabolic rate. This is why it is important for you to indulge in high intensity workouts. These workouts can be quite a put off for most of us given the fact that it involves a lot of muscle soreness. But the trick here is to do it in sets/intervals. Start with 10 minutes of normal walking followed by 3 minutes of intense workout and keep repeating this. As you get better, slowly increase the time of accelerated intensity.

4. Eat the egg yolk: Your body requires proteins to do justice to your metabolism. Egg yolks are brilliant sources of proteins and happen to be loaded with metabolism inducing nutrients. Egg whites might be low in calories and fat free but it is the yolk that gives the required nourishment for your metabolism.

5. Dark Chocolate: Research shows that the cocoa in dark chocolate, can play a major role in regulating metabolism by alleviating stress inducing hormones. Keep the quantity in check though. Researchers say 40 grams per day of high quality dark chocolate is ideal.

 

6. Spice up your meals: Spicy foods have the natural ability to kick your metabolism into a higher gear. Red chilli, green chilli and pepper are brilliant metabolism boosters.

7. Watch what you eat: Never go on crash diets. Depriving your body of the minimum calories only does more harm than good. Your metabolism levels go down if you lose muscle weight through crash diets. Make sure you take all the nutrients required and eat healthily. Also, cutting down on alcohol helps you boost the fat burning process by upto 70%.

 

References:
http://www.redbookmag.com/ body/health-fitness/advice/ a40/speed-metabolism-yl/

http://positivemed.com/2015/ 06/22/10-interesting-facts- about-metabolism-and-how-to- improve-it-to-lose-weight/