Did you know certain foods that speed up your metabolism can help you burn fat and lose weight? If that sounds too good to be true, don’t start doubting just yet. There really are certain foods that act as fire stokers for your fat-burning furnace. By incorporating them into your diet, you’re giving yourself even more of an advantage when it comes to weight loss.
Exercise will speed your metabolism. This is the best way to rev your fat-burning engines. And increasing your lean muscle mass by strength training and weight lifting adds more active muscle to your body, which also increases your metabolism. The most important thing to remember, though, about boosting your metabolism, aside from what you eat is how often you eat. If you skip meals, your metabolism-speeding efforts might be for nothing. Eat breakfast to jump start your metabolism for the day, and eat regular meals over the course of the day. If you want a fire to burn hotter and brighter you add more firewood. Give your body the proper foods to ‘burn’ through the day, and your metabolism will have fuel to run on. Add these foods that speed up your metabolism to your diet for even more benefit.
Cold-water fish: Salmon, tuna and sardines are some good sources of Omega-3 fatty acids, which are great for overall health. And eating these types of fish can lower the level of the hormone leptin in your body. Studies have shown that lower levels of this hormone make it easier to lose weight, and keep it off. For those who just don’t like fish, there’s always the option of taking supplements. Fish oil supplements have been shown as having a similar effect as eating fish.
Spices: Cayenne pepper, and other hot peppers like jalape?o contain capsaicin, that gives them their heat. This makes the foods thermogenic, which means that they speed metabolism after you eat them. These foods that speed up your metabolism keep it revved for up to 3 hours after you’ve eaten a spicy meal, so forget about the indigestion and choose something hot.
Whole grains: Whole grains release slower into the bloodstream than simple sugars, and keep insulin levels lower after you’ve eaten them. The more insulin that’s released into your bloodstream, the more your body is signaled to store fat. So keeping your insulin levels low keeps your metabolism humming along faster than if you’d eaten something quickly processed by your body, like simple starches or sugars. Whole grains are foods that speed up your metabolism because they digest slower. You also avoid the blood sugar crash that can happen after lots of insulin is released in the bloodstream to process the sugar. This more even level of blood sugar helps keep your metabolism from slowing.
Protein: Protein is necessary for a good metabolism. Eggs, lean beef, chicken or fish, beans and peanut butter are great examples of foods that speed up your metabolism with their protein content.
