How to Increase your Metabolism

What causes a slow metabolism?

Metabolism is the process developing energy from the consumed food. Slow metabolism is the condition in which the food gets converted into calories at a slower rate and starts getting stored as fats. Slow

metabolic rate is mainly concerned with the age. On the other hand, the slower metabolic rate can be caused by reduced dieting, skipping meals and even lack of exercise. The other causes for the slow metabolism are given below.

• Extreme fasting
• Excessive dieting
• Physical ailment
• Lack of physical exercise
• Skipping meals
• Poor sleeping habits
• Too much gap between meals
• Eating too many foods that are loaded with sugar 

Metabolic slowdown will happen to everyone on a calorie reduced diet. This also includes people on a low-carb diet as the net effect of the low-carb is also a calorie reduced intake. A slow metabolism is often the reason why dieters experience a sticking point in their weight loss results.

Hypothyroidism may be also a cause of slow metabolism. This happens when the thyroid gland produces too little of the hormone thyroxine. This may be result in weight gain, slow body processing including a slow heart rate and fatigue.

How can I increase my metabolism?

The more you Increase your muscle mass the more your metabolism will increase:  Your lean body mass is by far the most important factor of metabolism. Muscle burns up to 90% more calories than fat.

Keep yourself in motion regularly: After regular exercise such as walking, biking and swimming your metabolism rate will increase not only during the activity but for several hours after. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator is a great and natural way to embody exercise in your daily life.

Eat more, don't ever skip a meal :If you try to lose weight by skipping meals or not eat at all, your metabolism will decrease which is the opposite of losing fat. What the body does when it goes into 'starvation mode' is compensate for the low calorie intake by decreasing the metabolic rate.

Determine what is influencing your metabolism: There are some factors that you can change, and some factors that you can't. You should be recognize them.

Calculate your resting metabolic rate (RMR): RMR is often used interchangeably with basal metabolic rate (BMR); although they are slightly different, estimating either is sufficient for the purpose of losing weight.

Adjust your diet accordingly: Your RMR will tell you how many calories you need to maintain your body at rest.

Eat small, frequent meals: Extending the time between meals makes your body go into "starvation mode", which means it'll hold onto as many calories as possible and store them as fat.

Drink water: As with food, depriving your body of water can encourage it to "store" rather than "burn". In order to encourage your liver to focus on metabolism rather than water retention, make sure you drink an appropriate amount of water.

Boost metabolism temporarily with aerobic exercise: Boost metabolism in the long run with weight training. Muscle burns more calories than fat does (73 more calories per kilogram per day).

Foods that increase metabolism

Foods that speed metabolism include those foods that have an elevated level of complex carbohydrates and proteins. The complex carbohydrates and proteins require more energy for the body to break down and use. This results in extra calories being burned just for the sake of digestion and cellular metabolism. Complex carbohydrates take longer to break down by the bodies digestive system the release of the caloric energy is spread out over a longer period of time. This results in less insulin being released into the blood stream and a more balanced energy flow during our waking hours resulting in less snacking on sugary sweets. Most of the complex carbohydrates we eat come from fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables can help increase our metabolism in one other way. They are high in fiber and our bodies’ burn more calories digesting fiber then just about anything else.

Asparagus, Aubergine, Beans, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery, Chicory, Chives, Cress, Cucumbers, Fennel, Garlic, Gourd, Leek, Lettuce, Marrow, Peppers, Radish, Spinach, Tomatoes, Turnip, Apples, Apricots, Blackberries, Blackcurrant, Blueberries, Clementines, Cranberries, Damsons, Grapefruit, Guava, Honeydew Melons, Lemon, Melon Cantaloupes, Oranges, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Raspberries, Strawberries, Tangerines, Cayenne pepper, Cinnamon, Curry, Extra virgin olive oil, Fish, Flaxseed, Green tea, Hot peppers, Hot mustard, Kelp etc. are the main food items which can increase the metabolic rate. Here is a complete list of foods that speed metabolism.

Increasing metabolism and exercise

• Get into a regular exercise program. Exercise at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week.
• Do aerobic exercise such as walking, biking or using a stair-climbing machine for at least 30 minutes.
• Incorporate weight lifting or other muscle-building or maintenance programs. The more muscle mass you have, the faster your metabolism.
• Exercise twice a day if possible. Do your vigorous workout in the morning, and then take a walk after dinner. This way you will continue to burn calories at a higher pace for almost the entire 24 hours.

Your energy expenditure remain elevated above RMR for a period of time after we stop the exercise, and if so, does it contribute significantly to our total energy expenditure on the day we exercise. The amount of this post-exercise elevation of energy expenditure depends primarily on how hard you exercise (i.e., intensity) and to a lesser degree on how long you exercise (i.e., duration).