Metabolism is a series of chemical and physical changes that is responsible for maintaining the body function. It absorbs the food, converts it into energy, eliminates waste, improves blood circulation and regulates body heat.
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the metabolic rate when the body is at rest. BMR is hereditary, some have high metabolic rate and for some the rate is low. Muscles use more energy than fat and men have more muscle than women so their BMR is higher.
When the muscle mass reduces, the energy requirement lowers and taking the same amount of food as before makes you put on weight. Dieting too slows your metabolic rate as less calories lowers metabolism by 30%. Here are few natural ways to improve your metabolic rate.
- Eat Well
In order to increase or maintain your metabolic rate, you have to keep up on the calories. While sleeping your metabolism slows down and it requires food to start working again. When you skip breakfast, the body does not have enough calories to burn and the metabolism slows down automatically. So if you are dieting, your metabolism is surely slow. Instead of skimping on food, eat low calorie meals 5 times a day.
- Use Those Muscles
Another way to increase your metabolism is by working out. Cardio is a good but try combining it with weight lifting for effectively improving the metabolic rate. More the muscles, higher is the metabolic rate. You can also workout by increasing the treadmill speed for a minute and then resting for the next minute. Changing your exercise routine is another way to trick your body into burning more calories.
- Drink Green Tea
Green tea is famous for its antioxidants but did you know that Catechin, an element in the green tea improves metabolism? A study showed more weight loss in people who drank 4 to 5 cups a day along with exercising for half an hour. The catechins activates the cells to release fat and the liver converts this fat into energy. So while you are losing fat, you are gaining muscle from the exercise, improving your metabolism. Now we know why green tree is helpful in losing weight.
- Go For Whole Foods
Eating food made out of whole foods (unpolished grains, vegetables and meat) makes it harder for your body to break them down. This increases your metabolic rate and the slower the breakdown of food, slower the energy is formed which gets stored directly in the muscles. Easy whole foods are oatmeal, cooked brown rice, whole wheat bread, eggs, meat etc.
- Nibble Away
Instead of eating 3 big meals, change to eat smaller frequent ones. Studies show that eating smaller portions helps in maintain the metabolic rate throughout the day and stabilize the sugar level in your body. This aids weight loss and keeps your calorie intake steady. Try eating 6 meals a day each within 300 calories.
- Omega 3
Fishes are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids. These Omega-3 fatty acids helps regulate metabolism by maintaining the blood sugar and minimizing inflammation. Studies in rats show weight loss when fish oil intake was combined with exercising. If you are a vegetarian, then flax seeds are the best alternative to eating fish. Flax seeds and flax seed oil contain the highest amount of Omega – 3 fatty acids as compared to other foods.
