Metabolism and It's Relationship to Weight Loss

2. Exercise to Manage Stress and Increase Metabolism
To help manage your stress and improve your metabolism in a healthy way, consider adding exercise to your daily routine. Find some different ways to be active each day. Consider kicking off your day with a brisk walk or taking a walk on your lunch break. The more active you become starting small, the easier it will be to introduce more regular aerobic or strength exercises into your routing later on. Consider yoga and tai chi because they not only offer meditation elements to help with stress but also build muscle to improve the number of calories you burn at rest.

3. Build up Your Muscles
One of the variables that affect your resting metabolic rate is the amount of lean muscle you have. At any given weight, the more muscle on your body, and the less fat, the higher your metabolic rate. That's because muscle uses a lot more energy than fat while at rest so the logic is if you can build up your muscle, and reduce your body fat, you'll have a higher resting metabolism and more quickly burn the fuel in your body.

4. High-intensity interval training (HIIT)
HIIT workouts involve quick and very intense bursts of activity. They can help you burn more fat (than any other type of workout) by increasing your metabolic rate, even after your workout has finished.

5. Get Enough Sleep
Lack of sleep has negative effects on metabolism and, therefore, is linked to a major increase in the risk of obesity. It's also been shown to boost the hunger hormone ghrelin, and decrease the fullness hormone leptin. This could explain why many people who are sleep deprived feel hungry and struggle to lose weight. Make sure to try and get at least 7-8 hours of sleep/night.

6. What to Include in Your Diet
When it comes to eating so-called "metabolism-boosting" foods in normal amounts, they won’t affect your metabolism enough to cause weight loss all on their own. That being said, when combined with moves like eating frequent, small meals throughout the day, strength training, staying hydrated, and sleeping well, reaching for these foods and drinks definitely can’t hurt.

• Eat More Protein: Because muscle burns more calories than fat, these foods will help you maintain more muscle mass and less body fat. Most healthy protein sources also provide low-calorie and low-fat meal choices, which lead to increased weight loss over time. It increases your metabolic rate by 15–30%, compared to 5–10% for carbs and 0–3% for fats. Additional benefits include the fact that eating protein has also been shown to help you feel more full and prevent you from overeating. 

• Drink Cold Water: Choosing water over other liquids means consuming less calories while also temporarily speeding up your metabolism. Drinking 17 oz of water increases resting metabolism by 10–30% for about an hour. Choosing cold water is significant because as your body uses energy to heat it up to body temperature the calorie-burning effect may be even greater. Added bonus: Studies show that drinking water a half an hour before you eat can help you eat less by helping to fill you up.

• Consume More Natural Foods: Natural and organic foods are easier for your body to break down and convert into energy. If you have a slow metabolism, you want to avoid eating highly processed foods that are difficult to digest and, therefore, more likely to be converted into fat.

• Drink Green or Oolong Tea: Both contain the active ingredient, catechin, which is proven to crank up metabolism. Researchers conducted a series of studies in dieters and found that those who drank tea lost more weight than those who didn't, suggesting that catechins may improve fat oxidation and thermogenesis, your body's production of energy, or heat, from digestion. If you drink five eight-ounce cups of green tea a day, you can increase your energy expenditure by 90 calories a day. Try it over ice or hot. 

• Add Spices to Your Diet: Adding ingredients like cayenne pepper, mustard, jalapeno peppers, ginger and cinnamon can help to speed up your metabolism even after you are finished eating. Spices can also be used to make bland foods taste better so that you are more likely to eat healthy foods and achieve weight loss.

So there you have it, metabolism is certainly affected by different tactics we take in our every day lives. Everything is all about balance and ultimately, the goal shouldn't be to focus on just your metabolism, but looking at the bigger picture of exercising and eating right in an effort to lose weight. You can affect how you "boost" your metabolism by exercising for your health and refueling with a healthy diet and smaller portions. Give these a try but ultimately focus on what small steps you can take to lead a more healthy and active lifestyle and the rest will follow!