Geschatte leestijd: 6 minutenMetabolism is another word for metabolism. Increasing Metabolism actually means achieving a higher metabolism. Metabolism is a Greek word that is derived from change or conversion. It is a biochemical process that occurs in the human body. In simple words, metabolism is the way our body burns the calories from the food we eat. The pace of our metabolism is equal to the amount of energy or calories our body needs to maintain itself. Metabolism takes place in our muscles and organs and is the result of what we call ‘burning calories.’ So, metabolism is actually the speed at which the engine of our body runs.
Function of metabolism
A healthy metabolism contributes to a healthy body, but what does it do exactly?
- Creating reserves
- Uptake of substances in the body
- Creating energy
- Processing waste products
- Building blocks for biological processes
Increase metabolism
When we talk about increasing metabolism, we mean that our body is going to use more energy. The biggest advantage of this is that you can actually eat more and relatively exercise less to achieve the same goals. Thus, a top athlete can absorb more energy by eating more, and thus deliver better performances. Increasing metabolism is part of a responsible lifestyle.
How can you increase your metabolism
Get enough rest
Going to bed on time and getting good sleep is beneficial for your metabolism. Research has shown that insufficient rest affects the burning of carbohydrates, leading to glucose intolerance and an extra feeling of hunger.
Drink water
Your body needs sufficient fluid for the intake and removal of waste products. If you don’t take in enough fluid, this slows down the metabolism in your body. Water also ensures that your organs can function optimally.
Fibers
Fiber-rich foods positively influence your metabolism. The metabolism works extra hard when you eat a lot of fiber.
Strength training
By doing strength training, your resting metabolism increases. Strength training is a very effective way to increase your resting metabolism because muscle mass requires more energy than fat mass. Research has shown that muscle mass burns even 9 times more calories than fat. In addition, during the recovery from strength training, energy is needed to repair the muscles. This also increases metabolism.
Iron
Iron provides a healthy dose of oxygen in your muscles to burn fat.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D promotes a healthy and well-functioning metabolism. Vitamin D is found in salmon, tuna, and eggs.
Spicy food
Eating spicy food immediately activates your metabolism. Your stomach wants to digest spicy food quickly and immediately includes the rest of the food in this digestion process.
Exercise
Regular exercise like sports or just taking a walk is beneficial for your metabolism. Your metabolism works harder after you’ve just exercised.
Breakfast
It is important to start every morning with breakfast. As soon as you start eating, your metabolism starts working.
Coffee and tea
When you think of coffee or tea, you don’t immediately think of ‘healthy’. The caffeine in coffee and tea speeds up metabolism. So it’s definitely healthy to drink 1 to 2 cups of coffee or tea. Especially green tea is extra stimulating for your metabolism, as green tea contains a lot of antioxidants.
It is very difficult for someone to lose body fat, and it can also be very frustrating. Ultimately, the result is worth it.
You can then ensure that you consume fewer calories, or that you move more. Both are quite a challenge for some. An alternative, however, is to ensure that your body “simply” burns more.
Increase metabolism with 7 tips
1. Eat five to six meals a day
The traditional three meals a day are simply not enough to burn a lot of fat.
Every time you eat, your metabolism is revved up to burn what you’ve eaten and you immediately start breaking down the food.
When you only eat three meals a day, your body feels the need to be frugal with what comes in. The metabolism then slows down.
Your goal should be to keep your metabolism in high gear to burn as much fat as possible. You can best achieve this by dividing your food over five or six smaller meals a day, or by eating every 2.5 to 3 hours. Bodybuilders often eat 8 times a day.
Eating more meals doesn’t mean you have to eat each meal like a horse; it just means you eat the normal three meals but eat a small extra meal in between. The advantage of this is twofold:
- It keeps your metabolism high
- It makes you less hungry at your next meal, so you will want to eat less
It is often not practical to prepare a meal halfway through the morning or between your other meals. You can, for example, eat protein bars or other convenient snacks that provide you with the right nutrition. Make sure you choose a bar with a low percentage of carbohydrates and a high percentage of protein.
2. Drink water
The importance of drinking water is often underestimated. Your body consists of 70 percent water and that’s how you should treat it. Give your body what it needs.
Water is essential when you’re dieting or trying to lose weight. It helps your body to use all the nutrients you get from your diet properly, which is very important during a diet. Water helps you transport nutrients efficiently to your cells and determines how the cells use these substances. You need all of this to stay healthy and build muscle mass.
At the same time, water allows your body to remove waste products and toxins. Water also makes your skin more elastic, so you can build mass without your skin tearing.
Furthermore, water makes your complexion more beautiful and protects your joints. This last point is important if you’re losing fat, as you also lose fat that protects your joints.
By drinking plenty of water, you can prevent injuries, but also things like cramps. Ever seen a bodybuilder collapse on stage? This is usually due to a (deliberate) lack of fluid to appear as dry as possible on stage.
3. Don’t eat before going to bed
Eating before going to bed is not such a good decision. When you sleep, your metabolism decreases. For this reason, and only for this reason, you should not eat in the three hours before going to bed. The food you eat may possibly be stored as fat because your body cannot fully burn it.
Just think about it: you sleep eight or more hours without your body having anything to do. Avoid it if you can, and you’ll be thankful for it!
It should be noted, however, that if you’re also engaged in muscle building at the same time, it’s actually wise to take slow protein (like casein) before bed. Those eight hours you sleep are otherwise a very long period during which your muscles aren’t provided with the necessary amino acids.
4. Do cardio
Cardiovascular training is one of the most important keys to weight loss. Whether you lose more weight through cardio or diet depends on your body and personal preferences.
The best time to do cardio is when you wake up in the morning, before you eat anything. The reason for this is that when you wake up, your blood sugar level is very low, so your body will burn fat much faster than if you had to burn all your carbohydrates before you could start on your fat reserves.
It gets a little more complicated: the best way to burn fat is to train in the right heart rate zone, which is around 65 percent of your heart rate reserve (the difference between your estimated maximum heart rate – MHR – and your resting heart rate – RHR).
The way to calculate what 65% is for you is by performing the following calculation (Karvonen formula):
- Determine your resting heart rate (Resting Heart Rate or RHR): this is your heart rate at rest (best determined in the morning before you get out of bed)
- Calculate your maximum heart rate (Maximum Heart Rate or MHR): 220 – your age
- Calculate your heart rate reserve (Heart Rate Reserve or HRR): Maximum Heart Rate – Resting Heart Rate
- Now calculate what 65% of your heart rate reserve is: (HRR x 65%) + RHR
You can best keep track of this percentage by purchasing a heart rate monitor. In these kinds of watches, you can also indicate a zone in which you want to train, and your watch will alert you if you go above or below the limits of that zone.
5. Eat a lot of protein
To keep your metabolism at a high level and efficiently burn fat while retaining as much muscle mass as possible, it depends on eating a large amount of protein.
Your body will first burn carbohydrates because carbohydrates are the main energy source. When your body runs out of carbohydrates, it will start to burn fat for energy.
You don’t want your body to use your muscle mass, which you’ve worked hard for, to make energy. For this reason, it is important to eat enough protein while you are losing weight. It keeps your metabolism going!
6. Reduce the amount of carbohydrates you eat
If you don’t reduce the amount of carbohydrates you eat, your fat loss will be minimal. By reducing your carbohydrates, your body will mainly burn fat. Since your body burns carbohydrates first and then fat, it won’t have carbohydrates to burn due to the reduction and will immediately start burning your fat.
7. Take a multi-vitamin
If you’re on a diet, it’s wise to take a good multi-vitamin to stay strong and healthy. Since your eating habits change when you’re on a diet, you need to make sure you get enough essential vitamins and minerals.
Additional notes:
- To prevent overeating or eating what you don’t really need, wait fifteen minutes after eating to see if you really want a second portion. Your body needs about fifteen minutes to know it’s ‘full’. For sugars/carbohydrates, this signal is even worse. Why do you think you still want dessert after a heavy meal? The signal “enough” was mainly given by the amount of fats and proteins.
- Make sure you get enough sleep. Sleep gives you energy for the next day, which is extra important if you’re eating fewer carbohydrates. Try to get at least eight hours of sleep a night. If you’re young, try to get ten hours.
- Don’t be afraid to eat vegetables and fruits when you’re trying to lose weight. Just make sure your choice isn’t full of carbohydrates, like baked potatoes. But don’t hesitate if you want to eat an apple or orange for breakfast, or green beans for dinner.
