How to Increase Metabolism to Lose Weight

Why would increasing metabolism help you lose weight faster? Let's review the basics. Metabolism is a set of chemical reactions that occur in your body in order to keep you alive. In essence, it's a conversion of food to energy. Boosting your metabolism means that you can burn more calories and therefore lose weight easier. If you think that your metabolism is slow, don't despair. There are things you can do to increase your metabolism to lose weight faster.

Instructions

1




If you are having a really hard time losing weight, ask your doctor to do a blood test to make sure your thyroid is working properly. The thyroid is a hormonal gland that controls your metabolism (and a lot of other things). When it malfunctions, a serious weight gain (or weight loss) can occur even when eating normally. Your doctor can prescribe medicine which will help normalize your thyroid function and thus, boost your metabolism. That alone may help you lose weight.

2




If your thyroid is working properly, then, in order to lose weight, just burn more calories than you get from food and drink. A matter of some simple math here. It will help, however, if you make some lifestyle choices that will lead to increase in your metabolism and help lose weight faster.

3




Eat frequently and keep your meals healthy. 5-6 small well balanced meals (250-300 calories each) a day would be ideal. Make sure that those meals include plenty of protein, and drink plenty of water.
Do not choose very low calorie diets because that will only cause your metabolism to slow down. A similar thing will happen if you don't eat frequently enough. By slowing down your metabolism, your body goes into defensive mode to save you from starvation!

4




Take a multivitamin daily to ensure your body has everything it needs for proper function.
Beware that while there are a lot of claims about all kinds of magic foods and supplements which are supposed to increase metabolism, most studies find that those effects are either very small or non-existent.
For instance, you would have to drink so much green tea to see even a small effect, that it would be very impractical. Do drink green tea, it does have a lot of benefits, but it is not likely to affect your metabolism significantly.
Studies on the effects of spicy foods on metabolism do indeed show an increase in metabolism rates for a short time after eating, but the researchers are still arguing whether it's enough to make any difference for weight loss. If you enjoy spicy foods, by all means, eat them. And if not, don't torture yourself, it probably won't help your weight loss much, anyway.

5




Exercise regularly. Do muscle building exercises, because muscles (as compared to fat) burn more calories when you are resting. And do aerobic exercises, like walking, running or biking, because they not only burn calories while you are doing them, but also increase your metabolism for a few hours after.

6




Finally, stop stressing out by looking for miracle diets and supplements that will make your metabolism go through the roof and make you lose all the weight in five days. Stress can slow down your metabolism! And the miracle diets only serve one purpose, which is to sell lots of stuff.
The truth is that study after study comes back with the same boring conclusions. In order to increase your metabolism and lose weight, all you have to do is eat healthy and exercise. And if you don't want to believe the scientists, not everyone does after all, watch the Biggest Loser. Those guys lose lots of weight by eating healthy and exercising like crazy.
You too can increase your metabolism and lose weight, and you don't even have to wait for a miracle diet to finally work for you.