8 WAYS TO SPEED UP YOUR METABOLISM

A healthy and fast metabolism is often associated with the ability to lose weight and stay in shape!

It’s the self-renewing process of all living things, and it influences many aspects of our wellbeing, including body composition, our moods, immune function and our energy levels.

Having a healthy and fast metabolism is often associated with the ability to lose weight and stay in shape easily, while those who struggle to shift unwanted weight will often blame a sluggish metabolism.

However, our weight isn’t the only thing at the mercy of our internal chemical processes. When the metabolism really slows down, we can end up with chronic fatigue, high blood pressure, and a weakened immune system, among other issues nobody wants.

Our basal metabolic rate (BMR) is unique to each of us. It's influenced by our genes, age, and gender to some degree, but our BMR is also influenced by other factors that we can control. Essentially, the healthier our lifestyle choices, the faster our BMR will be.

Moving more, eating right, staying hydrated, and sleeping well are all essential elements of living a healthier lifestyle, but there are some more specific things we can do to turn up the heat of our internal processes.

Here are 8 ways to speed up your metabolism:

When we eat, our metabolism is increased for a few hours. This is called the thermic effect of food (TEF). While eating carbohydrates and fats also raises our metabolism through the TEF, eating protein results in the biggest boost (15-30%).

Eating sufficient protein also helps reduce the drop in metabolism that often results from losing weight, as it contains the amino acids responsible for building and repairing muscle tissue.

Maintaining or increasing your muscle mass is essential to a healthy metabolism, and is especially important if you’re trying to lower your body fat percentage. Fortunately, there is a wide variety of protein sources to choose from, making it easy to have some with every meal.

If you add fuel to your metabolic fire first thing in the morning with a balanced and nutritious breakfast, you’ll be on your way to a much better day

Not only does eating breakfast prevent dietary disasters later in the day, but it also helps wake up your metabolism. If you add fuel to your metabolic fire first thing in the morning with a balanced and nutritious breakfast, you’ll be on your way to a much better day.

Do you have a sweet tooth at breakfast time? Try this deliciously purple Blueberry Orange Breakfast Smoothie. If eating breakfast every day can speed up your metabolism AND be this delicious, why would you ever skip it?

It’s not just food that can speed things up; water-induced thermogenesis means there’s yet another reason to make sure you’re drinking plenty of water. This phenomenon is the increase in the number of calories burned that results from drinking water.

As thermogenesis refers to the production of heat within the body, drinking cold water is even more effective because it requires even more warming.

The more heat our bodies need to generate to maintain our internal temperature, the more our metabolic processes will need to speed up, and the more calories we'll burn.

Adding some High-Intensity Interval Training to your new year’s workout regime is a great way to get fit and speed up your metabolism. Although this workout style can be quite challenging, the effect it has on metabolism makes it worth the effort.

Not only do HIIT workouts torch a huge number of calories in a short amount of time compared to other workout styles, but this training style will also keep your metabolism elevated all day long, burning more calories while you rest and recover.

This is because HIIT triggers a reaction called Excess Post Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC).

If you're new to  HIIT training, start out with a couple of 15-20 minute sessions each week.

From sculpting a lean physique to maintaining healthy bones as we age; boosting your metabolism is just the icing on the cake when it comes to lifting weights

As if feeling energetic and strong wasn’t enough; strength training has so many more benefits. From sculpting a lean physique to maintaining healthy bones as we age; boosting your metabolism is just the icing on the cake when it comes to lifting weights.

Generally speaking, men have faster metabolisms than women, but this is mainly because they naturally have more muscle mass. The more muscle we have, the more calories we burn at rest. Although it's impossible for women to gain the amount of muscle that men can naturally, ladies can definitely build strong, lean bodies and rev up their metabolism.

Not only is developing a daily headstand or handstand practice a great way to build strength, reduce stress, and have a bit of fun; getting upside-down can also speed up your metabolism.

By increasing the rate of blood flow through your neck and head, inversion practice stimulates the endocrine system. This is the collection of all the glands in the body, which produce the hormones that regulate all bodily functions, including your metabolism.

As the blood flows to the neck, it meets the thyroid gland, which produces the hormones responsible for controlling your metabolic rate; T3 and T4.

A stimulated thyroid gland is a healthy thyroid gland, and a healthy thyroid gland means a faster metabolism. So get upside-down, have some fun, and feel your mood and energy rise with your feet.

Doing handstands isn't the only way to stimulate your thyroid gland and boost your metabolism. It's also important to make sure your thyroid is well-supported by your diet. Iron, Zinc and Selenium are the most important micronutrients for healthy thyroid function, and getting enough daily can help speed up your metabolism.

Zinc can be found in legumes, nuts, seeds and oatmeal, and just 2 brazil nuts each day will provide you with enough selenium. If you’re not a fan of brazil nuts, don’t worry; there are many other high-selenium foods to choose from.

As for iron, blackstrap molasses, potatoes and tahini are some surprisingly rich sources among the many iron-rich, plant foods.

A lack of sleep is bad for all aspects of our health and wellbeing, including our metabolism. In addition to decreasing the number of calories we burn each day, poor sleep can increase insulin resistance and disrupt the appetite-regulating hormone, ghrelin.

In fact, a consistent lack of sleep can be linked to an increased risk of obesity, whereas those who prioritise a good night’s sleep tend to have fewer weight problems, more energy, and better health in general.

To help your metabolism operate at its peak, aim to get around 8 hours of sleep each night, avoid bright lights and screens in the evening, and turn your bedroom into a sacred sleeping space. If you do need to look at a screen in the late afternoon or evening, then it’s time to invest in some stylish blue light blocking glasses.

Even though the processes that make up your metabolism are quite complex, speeding these processes up to a healthy rate doesn’t require anything artificial or complicated; it really is as simple as committing to a long-term healthy lifestyle.

So, this year - let’s make a promise with ourselves to move more, eat right, stay hydrated and sleep well to benefit from better moods, more energy, and a fitter, healthier body.