If your energy level drops and you feel less fit than usual, you can jump-start your metabolism simply without drugs or drastic diets. Stabilizing your diet can remove fitness roadblocks, and you will have better nutrition to increase your activity level. This equation boosts a slow metabolism, and persistence can raise your metabolism to optimum levels. Try a few easy lifestyle changes to introduce new techniques into your daily routine that may yield permanent results.
Reduce Harmful Foods
Revamping your diet should begin with removing the nutrients you don't need, to make more room for those that aid your metabolism. Your body digests foods with high fat content less efficiently, which can slow down the absorption of all your food nutrients. The American Heart Association suggests reducing total fat intake by switching to low-fat dairy items and alternating fish, lean meats and skinless poultry in your weekly meals to replace higher fat meats.
Cut down on junk food, including snacks with added sugar, sugary soft drinks and baked goods, which often contain added sugar and fat. To maintain a healthy weight and raise your energy level, you must remove unnecessary "empty" calories before boosting your intake of more nutritious foods.
Increase Beneficial Nutrients
Replacing the bulk from fatty foods with dietary fiber creates a better balance for your digestive system. As your absorption of nutrients improves, add more foods with iron and B vitamins to support greater red blood cell production. Blood cells carry nutrients and the oxygen needed to process them to all your body's cells. Many iron-rich foods, such as beans, lentils, peas, whole grains and leafy green vegetables, also contain various B vitamins and have a high fiber content.
You'll get more fiber in comparable calories by eating whole-grain foods, such as brown rice and whole wheat bread, rather than refined grain products like white rice and white bread. For broad nutrition, add two to five servings each of vitamin- and mineral-rich fruits and vegetables to your daily diet. All of these foods are low in fat.
Get More Exercise
Follow the first two tips to relieve the nutritional imbalance that may have been slowing you down. You'll now have more energy to jump-start your metabolism with physical activity. Daily exercise keeps your digestive muscles active, so you can derive the greatest benefits from food nutrients.
A combination of aerobics, stretching and strength training will improve your metabolism and cardiopulmonary fitness. Improving your fitness level keeps extra weight off, which helps you be more active. The USDA recommends vigorous workouts of 60 minutes daily to perpetuate this healthy cycle.
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