Weight loss is always an uphill battle that requires a lot of hard work and dedication. The only way to successfully lose weight is a good diet plan and an exercise regime. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t other things you can do to make your weight loss journey easier and, more importantly, keep the weight off after you’ve lost it. This is the part where a lot of people fall down and their weight goes up and down all the time.
One of the best ways to make weight loss easier and keep the weight off is to improve your metabolism. If you’ve got a healthy metabolism, your body is far more efficient at processing your food and you won’t take on as many calories when you eat. Some people have a naturally high metabolism, they’re the lucky ones. But not everybody is that fortunate and some people have to work at it. The good news is, there are some great ways that you can boost your metabolism.
Drink Cold Water
It’s no secret that sugary drinks are the worst thing when you’re trying to lose weight. It goes without saying that you’ll lose more weight if you switch out to water instead. But did you know that drinking water also increases your metabolism for a short period? It doesn’t inspire long lasting effects but if you’re drinking water regularly throughout the day, you’ll be burning calories at a faster rate. You can get even better results if you drink ice cold water instead of room temperature. Your body will raise the temperature of that water and it’ll burn more calories in the process.
Drink Green Tea
Green tea is a popular drink amongst people that are serious about looking after themselves because it has so many health benefits. A lot of people drink it because it’s great for losing weight. Green tea is low in calories so you can drink as much as you like without worrying. It also increases metabolism by about 5 percent for a short period. If you switch out your normal coffee or tea for green tea, your metabolism will increase by quite a bit. However, some studies have shown that it works better for some people than others so don’t think that you’re guaranteed to lose weight by drinking a green tea in the mornings. That said, it’s worth adding to your diet plan.
Detox Diets
There are a lot of different diets out there that claim to hold the key to successful weight loss. Some of them work and some of them don’t. Detox diet plans are one of the ones that do work quite well. When you start a detox diet and limit your food intake, the way that your body processes calories changes. Instead of using up energy quickly, your body becomes more efficient and starts to burn energy more slowly. Detoxing regularly has been shown to boost your metabolism by a significant amount.
High Intensity Workouts
If you’re trying to lose weight then you should already have an exercise program in place. But if you’re looking to boost your metabolism, you might need to change it up a bit. All cardio exercise has a positive impact on your metabolism but high intensity interval training is by far the best. Doing short bursts of high intensity exercise with small breaks in between is a great way to burn off fat. But it also boosts your metabolism for a few hours after you finish exercising. You don’t need to do exclusively high intensity workouts but you should consider adding some of them to your routine.
Stand Up More
Recent studies have found that sitting down is really bad for your health. It increases your chance of getting a lot of different diseases and it’s bad for people that are trying to lose weight. When you’re sitting down, your body is incredibly inactive and you’re not burning any calories at all. That’s a big problem when most people spend all day long sitting down at work. But if you just make an effort to stand up a bit more and be a little more active, you can boost your metabolism by quite a lot. Simple things like taking the stairs instead of the elevator and taking small breaks every now and again to walk around for 5 minutes can make a big difference. If you’re particularly worried about it, you might want to consider asking your boss if you can get a standing desk instead of a sitting one.
Eat Spicy Foods
Adding a bit of spice to your food is a great way to make it more exciting, especially if you’re eating a limited diet. It’s also a good way to boost your metabolism. Capsaicin is the substance that gives foods like peppers their spice and it’s been shown to improve metabolism. However, the effect isn’t huge so you need to put quite a bit in there if you want big results. That’s fine if you can handle spicy foods but if you’re not great with spice, this might not be the solution for you. Having said that, every little helps so you might as well throw a few peppers in there when you can.
Sleep Properly
Everybody knows that a good night’s sleep is important if you want to stay healthy. It also helps to manage your metabolism properly as well. Lack of sleep has been directly linked to obesity because of the impact it has on your metabolism. If you aren’t sleeping properly, your metabolism will really suffer so you’re far more likely to put on weight quickly. It’s also been shown to increase blood sugar levels which is linked to diabetes. On top of all of that, lack of sleep boosts the hormones that inspire hunger so you’re far more likely to overeat if you’re not getting a good night’s sleep.
Make these simple lifestyle changes to boost your metabolism and you’ll find it a lot easier to lose weight and keep it off.
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Great tips! I definitely need to drink more water, sleep more, and add some HIIT workouts into my routine!