One person gains weight much faster than another, this has to do with metabolism. If you have a good metabolism, you will lose weight more easily. You can do a number of things yourself to increase metabolism, which will help you lose weight better than if you were on a strict diet. Metabolism is a term for how quickly your body converts food into energy. Boosting your metabolism results in higher calorie burning. The speed of your metabolism depends on your gender, age, height, hormone balance and hereditary predisposition. Men burn calories faster than women, and (unfortunately) the older you get, the slower your metabolism. You simply cannot influence these things, but you can make changes to your diet and lifestyle that will speed up your metabolism.
1) Muscle mass
The best way to speed up your metabolism is to put your muscles to work, so exercise! The most effective is strength training with weights. Muscles use a lot more calories than fat tissue. 2.3 kilograms of extra muscle mass results in an extra burn of 100 calories per day! Don’t be swayed by changes on the scale as they can confuse you. Muscle tissue weighs more than fat tissue. So the best way is to look at your body and notice the changes. If all goes well, your body will become more toned. If you want to lose a lot of weight, you will become lighter in the long run.
2) Morning exercise
You already knew that exercise is good for your metabolism and calorie burning, but which part of the day you exercise also has an influence. Preferably exercise early in the morning, because that has an effect on your metabolism all day long. Go for a run before work or take the bike to work instead of the car, and you will notice that you are less hungry throughout the day.
3) Water!
It is very important to drink a lot of water. With mild dehydration, your metabolism already slows down. If you drink about 8 glasses of drinking water per day, you will burn a lot more calories than if you only drink 4. Drinking ice cold water also speeds up your metabolism, but is not recommended if you have a sensitive stomach. In addition to the fact that water is good for metabolism, it also improves the condition of your skin.
4) More small portions
It is better for you to eat small portions throughout the day rather than a large meal 3 times a day. Between those meals, your body goes into energy saving mode, and then you actually train your metabolism to slow down, which is not what you want. Don’t skip meals at all. If you eat several small portions per day, you will generally feel less hungry and feel full more quickly in the evening.
5) Avoid crash diets
A crash diet is a disaster for your metabolism. With a crash diet you only consume 1000 calories (or less) per day. This will help you lose weight quickly in the short term, but at the expense of your muscles and healthy nutrition. This way you teach your body to burn calories slowly. A crash diet cannot be maintained for long, and when you want to return to a normal eating pattern, your metabolism has slowed down significantly, causing the kilos to pile on again.
6) Proteins and peppers
Your body uses twice as much energy digesting proteins as it does digesting carbohydrates and fats. Protein is found in dairy products, chicken, fish, eggs, tofu, lean meat, nuts and beans.
To burn extra calories, you can season your food spicy. Chili peppers increase metabolism by 20% for half an hour after meals. So this is not a long-term solution, but every little bit helps.
7) Black coffee
Coffee improves your memory and contains many important antioxidants, and a cup of comfort also has a stimulating effect on your metabolism due to the caffeine it contains. Drink your coffee black, because milk, cream and sugar cause you to absorb more calories than you burn. Drinking coffee boosts your metabolism for a few hours. Caffeine does remove fluid from your body, so keep drinking water, at least one glass of water for every cup of coffee.
8) Green tea
If you don’t drink coffee, drink green tea. That also has a stimulating effect. Green tea contains caffeine and vegetable proteins that help it burn fats. Three to four cups per day are recommended, each cup boosts your metabolism for a few hours. Coffee and tea will not make you lose ten kilos, but simply help your metabolism.
9) Enjoy in moderation
Alcohol suppresses your body’s ability to burn fat, just think of the well-known beer belly. If you drink alcohol during a meal, your body burns fat slower than normal during the same meal. Alcohol also removes fluid from the body. So pay close attention to your alcohol consumption, and in any case do not drink more than one glass on average per day. Red wine seems to be the healthiest with a meal.
10) Get enough sleep
If you don’t sleep enough, your body’s ability to burn carbohydrates is affected. This leads to increased hunger and a slowed metabolism. Your entire energy level throughout the day is also affected, which means you probably want to exercise less and therefore slow down your metabolism.