How Do I Naturally Reset My Metabolism?
How Do I Naturally Reset My Metabolism?
January 3, 2023
Sometimes a reset is all you need to refresh your problems and start afresh – like when your computer starts acting up. While there is no on/off switch for your metabolism, there are ways to activate a restart when your body’s system becomes sluggish. In this article, we take an in-depth look at your metabolism and what you can do to control it.
What is Metabolism?
Metabolism is the process by which your body breaks down all the food and drinks you ingest, turning them into the energy it needs to function throughout the day.
Metabolic rate is how quickly your body burns calories. A slower-than-normal metabolism creates negative side effects such as fatigue, mood swings, food cravings, and difficulty losing weight. People with a high metabolism burn calories faster than those with a lower metabolism.
Fortunately, slow metabolism is not permanent, and with the right changes to your diet and lifestyle, you can reset your metabolism and get back to feeling better. The best part is that it does not take long to move in the right direction. Below are some tips you can use to naturally reset your metabolism, as discussed by weight loss experts.
Get Enough Sleep
Lack of enough sleep can disrupt the hormone balances in your body. Short or poor-quality sleep leads to slow metabolism, which increases your risk for weight gain. The body perceives sleep deprivation as an additional stressor, so cortisol levels go up, and testosterone drops. A study from the University of Chicago found that getting only 5.5 hours of sleep each night for two weeks reduced fat loss by 55 percent. People who get 6 hours versus 8 hours of sleep per night carry 5 to 15 pounds of extra belly fat.
Aim for around eight hours of quality sleep per night. You’ll be well-rested, alert, and metabolically fired up.
Drink Water
Hydration is one of the factors that affect your ability to lose weight. Researchers have found that drinking 16.9 ounces of water increased metabolic rate by 30 percent for 30 to 40 minutes. Water is also a zero-calorie option and a natural appetite suppressant. Thus, for the most metabolism-boosting benefits, aim to drink 16.9 ounces (500ml) of water multiple times throughout the day.
Move Your Body
While you don’t require vigorous exercise to lose weight, engaging in some strength training, cardio, or high-interval intensity training a few times a week can help reset your metabolism. Muscle burns more calories than fat. When you get stronger, your metabolism will increase as well.
A study found that doing cardiovascular exercise for 45 minutes increased participants’ metabolic rate for 14 hours after working out. Whether you go for a walk, jump rope, or pick up some weight, you can reset your metabolism by getting sweaty a few days a week.
If you don’t get time to exercise or cannot work out for a particular reason, you can still rev up your metabolism. Moving more each day increases your non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT). You can walk while on a phone call, take the stairs instead of the elevator or park
further away from your office.
Eat Plenty of Protein
Eating food can temporarily increase your metabolism for a few hours. This is known as the thermic effect of food caused by the extra calories required to digest, absorb and process the nutrients in your meal. Protein causes the largest rise in TEF. Dietary protein requires 20 to 30 percent of its usable energy to be expended for metabolism, compared to 5 to 10 percent for carbs and 0 to 3 percent for fats. Eating protein also gives you a greater sense of fullness and prevents you from overeating. Eating more protein also reduces the drop-in metabolism associated with losing fat. This is because protein helps prevent muscle loss, which is a common side effect of dieting. At Eastside Weight Loss Clinic, we’ll give you a good meal plan.
Spice Your Food
Well-seasoned food does not just taste better but can also help you lose weight. Healthy spices and herbs improve flavor and add a few calories. Eating spicy food that contains compounds like capsaicin can increase metabolism and burn an extra 50 calories per day. The effects of adding spices alone to your food may be quite small, but those extra 50 calories per day can add up. Also, when combined with other metabolism-boosting strategies can help rev-up your metabolism.
Reduce Stress
Too much stress and anxiety leads to weight gain. When you experience stress, your body releases the cortisol hormone, which slows down your metabolism. Researchers found that people who experienced a stressful event burned fewer calories over 24 hours than those who did not experience the same stress. Over a year, this can add up to 11 pounds of weight gain.
Reducing stress can be hard in our busy modern lives, but it is necessary if you want to lose some pounds and improve your overall health. Meditation is a great option to reduce stress. Practicing mindfulness for 10 to 5 minutes daily has lowered cortisol levels. You can look for online apps and videos to guide you through meditation.
Drink Green Tea
Green tea and oolong tea increase metabolism and fat burning. These teas help convert some of the fat stored in your body into free fatty acids, which may increase fat burning when combined with exercise. Drinking these teas is good for weight loss and maintenance since they are low in calories. Their metabolism-boosting properties may also help prevent a weight loss plateau in people who are losing weight that occurs due to a decrease in metabolism.
Conclusion
Making small lifestyle changes and incorporating the above tips into your routine can help rev up your metabolism. A high metabolic rate can help you lose weight, keep it off and give you more energy. At Eastside Weight Loss Clinic, we have a weight loss program based on dieting. We have seen a real transformation in our clients, and they have been happy to share their experiences with us. Look at what they have to say here. If you want to enroll in a weight loss program, contact our clinic for real results.
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