Your metabolism is the rate at which your body burns calories. To keep body fat to a minimum, you'll want to keep your metabolism as high as possible. While your metabolic rate depends heavily on genetics, you still raise or lower it through the lifestyle choices you make. Keep your metabolic rate as high as possible with a few easy changes.
Grazing
Eating lots of small meals as opposed to eating a few large ones is a sensible way to keep your metabolism stoked. Your body raises and lowers your metabolism based on how much food you eat. By spreading your calories out over the course of the day, your body will begin to burn more. Other benefits of eating this way include stable energy levels and fewer cravings.
Hit the Weights
Adding muscle is a sure fire way to ramp up your metabolic rate, which is why resistance training is recommended by the Mayo Clinic. Because muscle burns calories to maintain itself, adding some will boost your metabolism, even at rest. By making yourself stronger, you'll also boost your ability to burn calories using cardiovascular exercises, such as incline walking, stationary cycling and the elliptical trainer.
Sleep Yourself Lean
If you are not sleeping enough, you could be throwing a monkey wrench into many biological processes including metabolism. In a study conducted by the University of Chicago, subjects who decreased their average night's sleep from eight hours to four showed severely decreased glucose metabolism, with some subjects' symptoms mimicking those of type II diabetes. Keep your metabolism going strong by getting between eight and nine hours of sleep per night.
Have a Cup of Joe
Pharmaceutical and over-the-counter stimulants are gaining popularity as weight loss aids, but you may already be waking up to a cup of a safe and proven metabolism booster each morning. Coffee contains caffeine, a natural stimulant. When taken before exercise, caffeine has been shown to increase alertness, resistance to fatigue, and your body's ability to use fat as fuel. Since caffeine is a stimulant, consult your doctor if you have any blood pressure or heart issues. Otherwise, caffeine is generally safe, and sensible use is recognized as a performance enhancer by the American Council on Exercise.
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