Now, if you don’t know how important your metabolism is to weight loss you’re about to find out.
Your metabolism is basically the amount of calories you burn, so if you hear people talking about having a slow metabolism its because they have a hard time losing weight. And although yes, you can be born with a slow metabolism it is not a death sentence, there are some things you can do to try to boost your metabolism.
I don’t mean any food, at any time at any place, but eating can actually increase your metabolism for a few hours. And this is because of a little something called the thermic effect of food or TEF, which is the extra calories required to digest, absorb and process the nutrients in your meal.
And I you want to really make a difference, stick to food that causes the largest rise in TEF- protein. Protein actually increases your metabolic rate by 15–30%, so before you decide to stick to a plain salad, add some meat to it for a little extra boost.
Pack away the treadmill and pick up those dumbbells if you really want to make a difference in your metabolism. If you didn’t know, muscle uses more energy than fat, so if you increase your muscle mass you will increase your metabolic rate and burn more calories throughout the day.
Make the effort to increase your water intake, staying hydrated can actually help to burn calories, and if you are even mildly dehydrated, your metabolism can slow down. So make sure you are keeping hydrated, especially in this hot sun!
