You may think that your genetics play a key role in regulating your body and dictating the tempo of your metabolism – and you would be largely right about that. However, there are a number of other factors which can influence your metabolic rate on top of this, and it’s certainly useful to be aware of these when embarking on a weight loss or fat burning journey.
The question is – can we speed up our metabolism by either our behaviour or our diet in order to increase calorie burn over and above what it normally would be and thus speed up weight loss? Well, this is something that has been debated for years and recent studies have shown some interesting results.
For example one study found that people who ate a large breakfast burned more calories than those who skipped out on their morning meal and ate a large evening meal instead. This was true even if they were eating the same amount of food. Another study showed that people who drank coffee had higher levels of energy expenditure than non-coffee drinkers – the caffeine in coffee acts as a stimulant, in the same way as most thermogenic fat burning pills on the market operate.
So What Exactly is Your Metabolic Rate?
Metabolic rate refers to how many calories your body burns per unit time. It’s measured in units called “kcal” (kilocalories) and is a function of both your genetic makeup and your lifestyle choices. The faster your metabolism, the more calories you’ll burn during any given period of time.
Your resting metabolic rate refers to the basal level of energy use that occurs while you’re asleep and at rest. This is the baseline level of energy consumption that your body uses just to keep itself going. If you want to lose weight, it can be useful to increase your resting metabolic rate and thus burn more calories when you’re not even trying.
Let’s look into five simple ways to speed up your metabolism.
1. Bigger Muscles = Higher Metabolic Rate
Your muscles are responsible for generating heat during exercise. As they flex and move, they do work and energy is expended which creates heat as a by-product. The bigger your muscle mass in volume, the greater the amount of heat generated. So, if you want to speed up your metabolism then you should try and build muscle mass.
This means lifting weights regularly and particularly concentrating on the largest muscles in your body – yes you got it – your leg muscles, particularly the quadriceps, calves, hamstrings and glutes (bum). Gym-goers often neglect the legs, but by performing heavy squats (3 sets of 6-8 reps) you can rapidly burn energy, increasing muscle size and thus increase your resting calorie burn – it’s a virtuous circle.
Other important muscles to work are your back, core and chest – perform deadlifts for the former as well as the lateral pull down or horizontal row. For the core look at situps and plank and good old bench press and pec deck for the chest.
We’ve recently published a roundup of the best home multi-gyms on the current UK market so be sure to check it out.
2. Including Natural Stimulants In Your Diet
People have been drinking tea and coffee since ancient times, and both are well known for waking you up in the morning. This is due to the presence of caffeine, an alkaloid which stimulates the central nervous system and increases blood flow to the brain, resulting in increased alertness. Caffeine also helps to raise your heart rate and breathing rate, helping to boost your metabolic rate.
Give Green Tea A Try
Green tea is also useful in this regard. Green tea contains epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a compound with thermogenic properties similar to caffeine. EGCG has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity, lower triglycerides and reduce inflammation, all of which will help you burn more calories. In terms of taste, green tea is less harsh or tannin-rich than normal tea and it’s actually quite soothing to drink – you also don’t need milk which is a bonus to avoid putting in unwanted calories into the drink.
PhenQ – Natural Fat Burner
We have also recently been testing PhenQ which is a natural fat burner containing ingredients such as L-Carnitine, Chromium, Magnesium, Biotin & Vitamin D. We found it very effective at boosting our metabolism without any side effects on a one month trial. Check out our round-up article on the best thermogenic fat burners on the UK market.
Spice Up Your Life
Adding spices such as chopped-up chili peppers to your meals can also stimulate your body and therefore increase your metabolic rate. Chili peppers contain capsaicin, a substance which stimulates the release of adrenaline and noradrenaline, causing your body temperature to rise and your heart rate to increase. We never need any excuse to add chillis to our meals – grill some chicken with chili peppers for a dual protein and fat burning combo and serve with asparagus. A perfect fat burning lunch post workout with a protein shake.
3. Eat More Protein-Rich Foods
Consuming protein in either everyday food or via protein shakes or protein bars is essential for building muscle as we learnt above. But can protein on its own improve your metabolic rate? Well actually the answer is yes. Eating high protein foods like eggs, lean meat, fish, nuts and seeds will not only give you the amino acids needed to build muscle, but they’ll also provide you with a steady supply of fuel for when you’re working hard in the gym. The combination of these two factors means that you’ll be able to exercise harder and longer without feeling tired or hungry.
Check out some great recipes you can rustle up with protein powder for tasty treats.
4. Sleep Well For Improved Metabolism
Sleep is an essential part of our lives and is actually a period of time when your body can repair and build. Good sleep of around 7-8 hours per night (for an adult) will help you maintain a healthy weight and burn more visceral fat than if you’re surviving on just a couple of hours a night.
Lack of sleep causes us to eat more, be less active and feel tired throughout the day. It’s no wonder we end up eating more junk food and being sedentary! Make sure you get enough sleep every night by trying to go to bed earlier and avoid too much stimulation or food for at least an hour beforehand.
5. Get Rid Of Excess Body Fat
The final thing you can do to speed up your metabolism is to get rid of excess body fat. This is because having excess fat stored around your midsection makes it difficult for your body to metabolize energy efficiently. As a result, your metabolism slows down and you start storing more calories as fat, exacerbating the problem.
So how do you lose belly fat? Well this is a major subject in itself, but some key areas to start are:
• Eat smaller portions
• Do cardio exercises regularly – we like the high intensity cardio over short blast periods.
• Drink lots of water
• Reduce alcohol intake (tough but necessary)
• Avoid sugar in all foods
• Cut back on processed foods
By introducing these simple changes into your routine, you should see results within weeks.
So there we have it! 5 simple ways to speed up your metabolism. If you’d like to find out more about how to lose weight fast then check out our in-depth weight loss guide here.
