6 Ways to Boost Your Metabolism
I’m excited to welcome Jules Clancy to the blog today. She owns the amazingly beautiful food website, Stonesoup. Please leave a comment below to welcome Jules here, and if you’re not familar with her blog, don’t forget to check that out, too ~ Mel
We’ve all heard someone talk about how they can eat what they like and not put on weight, because they are lucky they have a ‘fast’ or ‘high’ metabolism.
And, while it certainly is true that we all have inherently different metabolic rates, this isn’t something that is set in stone. You can change your metabolism, and it can have a major impact on your body shape.
So what is metabolism?
Metabolism is the amount of energy (or calories) your body needs just to keep you alive. It’s the energy required to keep your heart beating, your lungs breathing, basically maintaining all of your bodily functions.
The thing is, the amount of energy you need just to keep living, is much larger than the extra energy needed to climb a flight of stairs, or go for a run. So, boosting your metabolism can have a big impact on your weight loss success.
6 Ways To Boost Your Metabolism
1. Eat protein for breakfast
As Tim Ferriss discussed in his book, The 4-Hour Body, your resting metabolism increases by 20% if you eat breakfast with at least 30% protein. Bring on the eggs!
2. Drink ice water on an empty stomach
Another Tim Ferris tip is that drinking 500mL ice water immediately upon waking increases resting metabolism by 24-30%.
Mel adds: “In Tim’s book he mentions that at least two studies confirm these figures.”
3. Exercise regularly
Moving our bodies causes our metabolism to be elevated after our workouts. And the good news is that shorter, more frequent exercise has a more beneficial impact on metabolism than longer, less frequent workouts.
4. Go for cross training
Short periods of high intensity exercise such as interval training, sprints or weight lifting, are more effective at increasing metabolism, than long periods of low intensity exercise, such as walking or running.
5. Improve your thyroid function
Your thyroid is the part of the body which regulates your metabolic rate. Support your thyroid function by including more seafood, nuts and seeds in your diet.
6. Don’t forget to have a cheat day
Depriving your body of fuel encourages your metabolism to slow down. But, some people believe including one cheat day each week, where you spike your calorie intake more than normal, is a great way to reset your metabolism to a higher level.
Having one day of treats is also beneficial from a psychological perspective. Its easier to avoid treats during the rest of the week, if you tell yourself you can have them later, rather than never.
Salmon and Butter Bean Salad
Canned fish is such a wonderful convenience food to have in your pantry. I love this salad with salmon, but it is also brilliant with tuna or sardines. Feel free to sprinkle over some sesame seeds, or roasted almonds to help your thyroid function even more.
Stone Soup
Serves 2
Ingredients
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 medium can salmon, drained
1 can butter beans (400g/14oz), drained
small handful mixed washed leaves
Method
- Combine the lemon juice with 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
- Toss the salmon and beans in the dressing. Then add the leaves.
- Taste and season again, if needed.
Bonus Tip
Boost friendly bacteria — you can help bolster your immunity and promote good digestion by incorporating a natural probiotic supplement into your diet. Probiotics also make a great complement to any natural probiotics program you might undertake; as they help to balance intestinal flora, which can become unbalanced through aging, diet, disease, or medication.
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23 Comments
Menekse Stewart
07.26.2011
Great post! Definitely going to try that salmon and butter bean salad, as well as applying your tips for a better metabolic rate! Thanks!
Melanie
07.27.2011
Me too, Menekse. It will travel so well if you are going to work, too. Not like some lunch items, and better than a soggy sandwich
Ruth
07.26.2011
Interesting thought on the iced water! This salad looks and sounds yum!!
Melanie
07.27.2011
It certainly is, Ruth. The idea has been around for some time. I need to try to find those studies referenced in Tim’s book, since I haven’t read them personally.
Scott Jones
07.26.2011
Never heard the ice water idea. I definitely will try it. Thanks.
Melanie
07.27.2011
Some people question the validity, however it can’t do any harm.
jules
07.27.2011
cathy
so funny that you got a burger ad with this post – the beauty of having a cheat day is that it isn’t out of the question…
cathy in NZ
07.26.2011
sounds interesting these concepts…some definitely are already on my list but others I will need to try out.
what did amuse me though was the email info had an advert placed in it:
A groupon deal for a fast food/diner/ place in New Zealand, where I am. I didn’t quite see how the burger went with this healthy ideas info. Other than maybe the hint “to take a day off”
Melanie
07.27.2011
lol Cathy. We have no control over the specific content of those ads. They basically see that the article content is about about food, and since fast food is kindof related, you see that ad in your email.
cathy in NZ
07.27.2011
Melanie and Jules
once upon a time, and probably is still in place – there were ‘banners’ on every website advertising all sort of things and then email servers got into the swing of things…
i realise it helps you as a website owner to keep your costs down and in the main they do not really sidetrack us/me from reading stuff
but it is interesting if you start looking at them a bit more diligently what exactly they are in relationship to what is on the ‘page’
one of my gmail ads today is a fitness product from a NZ company whilst the other is learning an language…
OT: weather looks back to normal after a big scare this past week it was going to SNOW up here…we don’t do snow. But boy was it cold. Apparently there were snow clouds but as I don’t really know what they are, I didn’t see anything much different…the weather station advised us to wear 3/4 layers plus windproof clothing – usual winter stance is 2 layers!
Melanie
08.04.2011
The ad placements do allow me to keep producing free content on Dietriffic, perhaps someday I can get rid completely but not yet unfortunately.
I hope you can stay warm, Cathy
cathy in NZ
08.04.2011
I do stay warm most of the time…in that cold spell, I did a big warm clothing hunt and came upon an old wool sweater that is so long that it covers my butt. I have been wearing it a lot since, at home and it’s really very cosy.
I also diligently put my heating on especially about 30mins before I hit the sack (bed) and it helps me be warm quickly – since I have to take the lovely sweater off!
In NZ, heating is at your own resource, most houses do not have ?furnaces but rather we use a variety of portable sources for heating. However, there are now a product known as a “heat pump” which is a large inhouse machine that with the aid of the thermostat and a times you have the house/rooms fully heated when you need them…this a a rental so it won’t be happening anytime soon for me
But I have efficient portable heating so I’m alright with that plus of course the new-found sweater :=)
Melanie
08.08.2011
Hi Cathy,
I noticed that when we lived in Australia, we only had heat in the living room, which came from a reversible air conditioner. We are so used to central heating in every room in the UK, that I found this unusual in winter. Like you say, lots of layers are helpful, though.
christina thomas
07.28.2011
great, great luck in stumbling upon this page. Looks like I will be gobbling 2 cups of ice water upon awaking every day from now on LOL. Among other things…
Melanie
08.04.2011
lol Christina
Taleen
07.28.2011
LOVE the recipe at the end!! THANK you!
Melanie
08.04.2011
Me too, Taleen!! I haven’t got around to trying it yet, but maybe next week. Been doing recipe videos all week for the weight loss program, but this would fit well, too
Connie McKnight
08.06.2011
Jules,
I’m always interested in ways to boost my metabolism. I spent too many years eating way too little and I taught my body to store every morsel as fat, for it might not get fed for a while.
I love your suggestions. I’m going to try them and see if anything changes.Sounds like purchasing Tim Ferris’ book is also a wise move.
Connie
Melanie
08.08.2011
Hi Connie,
Tim’s book is definitely an interesting read
micvermont
08.20.2011
wow thanks for this article really good and interesting. Have been looking for additional info for my clients and i think i would add this one up. Two thumbs up!
Melanie
08.24.2011
Thank you
Katy
09.27.2011
I did not know that Ice water would/could boost metabolism. However I have read that drinking ice water can burn more calories then room temp water because your body has to work to heat it up. Any truth to this? Also for ice water can it just be cold water like refrigerator cold? Thanks!!
Melanie
10.11.2011
The two are connected, so yes, that is the theory anyway. It can be very cold water from your refrigerator, yes.
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