What Should I Eat to Speed Up My Metabolism to Lose Weight?

What Should I Eat to Speed Up My Metabolism to Lose Weight?

January 4, 2023

You might be looking for food that can boost your metabolism if you’re trying to lose weight. Certain foods may help you increase your metabolic rate. Metabolic rate is the number of calories your body burns. Including these foods in your diet may make it easier to burn body fat, though eating them doesn’t guarantee that you will lose weight. Instead, they are added to a balanced, calorie-restricted diet to encourage weight loss.

Aside from going to a weight loss center, here are foods that may speed up your metabolism:

1. Protein-rich food

Meat, fish, eggs, dairy, legumes, nuts, and seeds can help you increase your metabolism for several hours. Your body requires more energy to digest them. This is also known as the Thermic Effect of Food (TEF). This refers to the number of calories your body needs to digest, absorb, and process the nutrients in your food. According to research, high-protein foods increase TEF the most. They can increase your metabolic rate by 15-30%. These foods also decrease the metabolic drop seen during weight loss by letting your body hold on to your muscle mass. They also keep you full longer, which prevents you from overeating.

A large, hard-boiled egg contains around 6.29 grams of protein. It’s an ideal option to speed up your metabolism. This enhances DIT (Diet-Induced Thermogenesis). People who consumed 29% of their total daily calories from protein had a higher metabolic rate than those who only consumed 11%.

2. Mineral-rich food

Iron and selenium play important roles in your body’s function. Also, they are both needed for the proper function of your thyroid gland, which regulates your metabolism. A diet with low iron and selenium reduces your thyroid’s ability to produce hormones, which will slow down your metabolism. Include meat, seafood, legumes, nuts, and seeds in your daily diet.

3. Chili peppers

Capsaicin boosts your metabolism by increasing the rate at which your body burns calories. Research shows that they burn an extra 50 calories per day. Capsaicin also reduces your appetite. Consuming capsaicin-rich food before each meal reduces calorie consumption, especially carbohydrates. Also, including cayenne pepper in your meal increases the amount of fat burned by your body for energy. Capsaicin also reduces pain and inflammation, acts as an anti-cancer agent, and provides antioxidants to the body.

4. Coffee

Caffeine helps increase metabolic rate. Studies show that people who consume three cups of coffee daily burn up to an extra 100 calories per day. It also helps burn fat for energy and boosts your workout levels.

5. Tea

Catechins work with caffeine to increase metabolic rate. Oolong and matcha green tea increase fat oxidation and help you burn extra calories. They also help you burn stored fats more effectively for energy. They increase your fat-burning ability by as much as 17%. Green Tee Extract (GTE) increases fat metabolism both at rest and while exercising. Drinking four cups of green tea daily significantly reduces body weight, BMI (body mass index), waist size, and systolic blood pressure.

6. Beans and legumes

Lentils, peas, chickpeas, black beans, and peanuts are high in protein. High protein content requires your body to burn more calories to digest them. Again, this is due to their TEF. Legumes have dietary fiber, resistant starch, and soluble fiber. These can be used by the body as prebiotics to feed the good bacteria in your large intestine. These bacteria produce short-chain fatty acids, which help your body use stored fat as energy. They can also maintain normal blood sugar levels.

Flaxseeds contain protein, vitamins, and other nutrients. It’s also known as a “functional food” because people eat them for their health benefits. It helps improve metabolic syndrome, which is a group of conditions that lead to diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases. It contains high amounts of fiber, protein, omega-3 fats, antioxidants, and other nutrients. Its fiber ferments in the gut and adds to the body’s good bacteria, aiding metabolic health and preventing obesity.

7. Ginger

Two grams of ginger dissolved in hot water along with a meal can help you burn around 43 calories. It can also decrease hunger levels and enhance the feeling of fullness. Grains of paradise also have the same effect. Both ginger and grains of paradise increase body temperature and metabolic rate, helping you control your appetite. They help reduce your body weight and fasting glucose levels while increasing HDL (high-density lipoprotein) or good cholesterol.

8. Cacao

Cocoa promotes gene expression that stimulates fat burning. It also prevents the enzymes needed to break down fats and carbohydrates during digestion, which prevents the body from absorbing the calories.

9. Apple cider vinegar

Vinegar is helpful in increasing the amount of fat burned for energy. It slows down stomach emptying and increases the feeling of fullness. Take one to two tablespoons per day, diluted in at least one cup of water per tablespoon, to prevent tooth erosion and damage to your digestive tract.

10. MCT (Medium Chain Triglyceride) oil

Long-chain triglyceride is more commonly found in food. Once MCT is absorbed, they go directly to the liver to be converted into energy. It is usually taken as a supplement and can be added to soups or smoothies.

11. Water

An increase in metabolism by staying hydrated is due to water-induced thermogenesis. These are the additional calories needed to heat the water to body temperature.

12. Seaweed

Iodine is required for the production of thyroid hormones. One of the functions of thyroid hormones is regulating your metabolic rate. Seaweed contains iodine which you need to maintain your metabolic health. Fucoxanthin is found in brown seaweeds, which also speeds up your metabolic rate.

If you’re looking for a weight loss clinic in Kirkland, WA, then Eastside Weight Loss is the right health center for you. Once you have signed up for the Eastside Weight Loss program, one of our consultants will sit down with you and explain how to follow your plan. They will work with you on how to integrate your plan with your day-to-day lifestyle, introduce foods to you, give you tips and tricks for success, and be there to answer any questions you might have.

We use a series of exclusive products over the course of your prescribed program to reset your metabolism. Schedule a free weight loss consultation below.