When it comes to the metabolism of the body, you would be hard pressed to find a better predictor of size. This is because your metabolic rate is what is responsible for the amount of calories you burn throughout the day during rest and activities. If you happen to have a high metabolism, then you can burn calories efficiently. If your metabolism is low, then weight loss can be difficult. With that being said, there are ways of turning your body into a fat-burning machine by firing up your metabolism. The approach involves some dietary adjustments, some exercise and a little bit of discipline.
Step 1
Avoid starving. When you go long periods of time without eating, your metabolism slows because your body does not know when it is going to get fed again. To reverse this and get the metabolism moving quickly, eat small, balanced meals every couple hours throughout the day, starting as soon as you wake up.
Step 2
Make sure to eat protein. Protein is a macronutrient that has a high thermic effect when it is eaten, meaning that it takes the body a lot of calories to break it down. Make sure to get enough protein in your daily diet and include it in every one of your meals. According to the Centers for Disease Control, women aged 19 to 70 should get 46g a day and men 19 to 70 should get 56g a day.
Step 3
Do high intensity aerobic exercise. When you do cardio in a high intensity format, you can increase your metabolism for hours after you are done. This is called excess postexercise oxygen consumption, or EPOC for short. During EPOC, there are several factors that cause metabolism to be elevated. Heart rate and breathing rate are trying to come back to normal, energy resources are being replenished, energy is used to supply the blood with oxygen and energy is used to bring the temperature of the body back to normal. An example of this training can be seen with sprinting. After performing a warmup, you can alternate 20 second sprints with 40 second rest intervals, then finishing with a cool down.
Step 4
Increase your muscle mass. Muscle is metabolically active tissue meaning that it can contribute to a high caloric expenditure during the day and night regardless if you are resting or moving. Perform exercises that target all the major muscles in the body such as bench presses, deadlifts, shoulder presses, squats, tricep extensions and bicep curls. You can also increase the EPOC by taking short rest periods in between your sets such as 30 to 45 seconds. Another way that muscle can help boost metabolism is it increases the number of enzymes in the body that cause fat burning.
Step 5
Drink cold water. Water already offers various benefits to the body such as hydration, lubrication, detoxification and it aids in the digestion process. But if you drink water that is really cold, it can also increase your metabolism. This happens as a result of the body burning more calories to try to warm up.
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