How to Improve Your Metabolism
A few weeks ago on our Facebook page and Instagram,we asked for suggestions of what people wanted to see in videos/posts/etc. One of the requests was for metabolism improvement. Buckle your seat belts--here we go.
1. Lift Heavy Weights: This goes for everyone--you won't turn into the Hulk or get "bulky." Lift weights that you find challenging to get through your reps/sets. Lifting weights will build muscle, which will burn fat. The more muscle you have = more calories burned throughout the day and higher metabolic rate.
2. Drink More Water: Water is the king or queen of all things health. Drink more water to improve your digestion, keep your skin healthy and clear, flush out toxins and more. Water makes a very slight difference in your metabolic rate over time which can be helpful.
3. Get Some Z's: If you are constantly neglecting flexing your eye muscles close, your body will not thank you for it. Sleep deprivation can make a LARGE impact on your hunger hormones (Ghrelin and Leptin) which let you know when it's time to eat again (G) and when you've had enough (L). When you don't sleep enough, you produce more Ghrelin/less Leptin so you're more likely to overeat or look for foods that are highly palatable to spike you awake.
4. Stop Stressin': If you had to pick one thing that we do to ourselves that is highly detrimental to the body, stress would be it. Stress can literally shut off all of your bodily functions that you don't need to live (slowly...but still) including your ability to lose weight/metabolism function. Essentially, when we place ourselves under too much constant stress, our body goes into fight or flight mode--and only does what it needs to survive.
5. High(er) Protein: Protein has multiple benefits. 1. It's satiating meaning that it will keep you feeling fuller, longer. 2. It has a higher Thermic Effect of Food than fats and carbs meaning that your body uses more calories to break it down. 3. Protein supports muscle building, which, as we said, is good for burning more calories.
6. Stop Dieting ALL THE TIME: As we quickly mentioned above, the less you eat, the more your body adapts (hello, plateaus). If you're eating only a little (for real...like counting it all) and you're not losing any weight, you've probably dieted too much or too often that the amount of calories you're eating is now your maintenance calories. To improve your metabolism here, work on a reverse diet: slowly increasing food over a period of time to get to a place where you can actually diet.
7. Don't Do a Detox: You have a magical organ called your liver that actually detoxes for you. You don't need to do a special juice cleanse or a liver detox...ever...because your body was literally made to do it on your own. While these can be a sort of "reset" to getting into a dieting mode mentally, they are usually like 100 calories and 100% unnecessary.
8. Don't Follow What Pinterest and Instagram Tells You: Drinking lemon water first thing in the morning will not magically speed your metabolism up ten fold. Apple Cider Vinegar won't burn fat and there is no special diet that will help you lose 10 pounds in 10 days besides starving. Work with a coach.
Just like anything else, improving your metabolism and dieting/weight loss takes CONSISTENCY, TIME and PATIENCE.
Remember: everyone is different and different things work better for some and not so well for others. Find something that works FOR YOU.
