Most people, whether they’re active or not, have at least a few pounds of fat they would like to burn. I’m no exception… I have some “love handle” fat that I’m working to burn right now too.
So how do we do it? Obviously eating right and exercising are very important, but if you don’t work on increasing your metabolism it could take longer than expected!
In other words, if you want to burn fat, you need to speed up your metabolism! Fortunately there are several things you can do, which help do that very thing:
Eat more frequently, but reduce the quantity
This is something that is getting more and more press these days and for good reason! It’s recommend that you eat every 3 hours, but less volume. So, one plan could be to eat breakfast as normal (you heard right, it really is the most important meal of the day,) but split your lunch and dinner each into 2 half portions, equaling 4 small meals (5 counting breakfast.) Eating smaller portions more frequently causes your metabolism to work almost constantly, so it actually tricks it into burning more!
Consume more Protein
Protein isn’t just for body builders! Protein is mostly made of Amino Acids, which are harder for your body to burn than carbohydrates and fat. Because of that, your body burns more calories breaking down those amino acids. So go to GNC, or wherever, and get a big tub of protein and start drinking protein shakes after every workout, whether you’re trying to build muscle or not, but ESPECIALLY if you’re trying to build muscle mass!
Lift Weights
Speaking of building muscle, it’s said that one pound of muscle burns almost 10 times as many calories as one pound of fat! When you strength train your metabolism goes into overdrive and it settles back down hours after your workout. Protein increases metabolism on it’s own and it also helps improve overall muscle gain, so protein and strength endurance combined will really increase your metabolism and strength! And the more muscle mass you have, the faster your metabolism will get.
Eat spicy stuff
I know some people hate spicy foods, I was one of those people until I started having a really odd craving for spicy foods a few months back. Jalapeno and Cayenne peppers contain a compound called Capsaicin, which research has shown temporarily increases the rate of your resting metabolism.
Interval Workouts
People who do repetitions of high-energy cardio bursts can lose twice as much weight as those who do steady workouts. Going from aerobic (low intensity) to anaerobic (high intensity) combines the best of both worlds. During the aerobic phrase of the workout you’re burning optimal fat. During the anaerobic phrase you’re improving your overall cardio and making your body work harder. So doing different types of interval training, like circuits etc. are a great way to increase your metabolism and improve your overall fitness.
Drink Cold Water
Drinking water in general is an essential part of health in general, but it’s very important in weight loss believe it or not! Not drinking enough water can and most likely will slow down your metabolism and digestion. It will also cause a decrease in energy, which 99% of the time will mean less activity and less activity means less calories being burned!
Drink at LEAST 64 ounces of water every single day and the colder the better! Research has proven that cold water can actually burn more calories than room temp. water!
img credit: Fuschia Foot
3 Responses to “6 Ways to Increase your Metabolism and Burn Fat”
Natural Caffeine helps too… I started drinking green tea 2-5 times a day more for the antioxidents rather than anything and since then a few pounds have been shed… I can’t directly say it was the green tea but it’s a coincidence….
Wow! Now these are some great tips! Thank you.
Protein consumption really does have so many great benefits to muscle building and fat loss, I’m glad you mentioned this.
I find it really good to add a little cardio after your weight training to really accelerate the fat burning.
Have been searching for some decent information on this for awhile now thats for the great article.