Exercise can boost your metabolism by increasing the calories you need to consume for your body to maintain its current volume. Exercise will also increase your muscle mass, and the greater muscle mass you have the higher your basal metabolic rate will be, according to Mayo Clinic. Exercise in the standard sense is not the only way to boost your metabolism. What you eat and drink and how many little movements you make during the day can influence your metabolism.
Foods High in Calcium
Foods high in calcium are not only good for your bones they can also increase your metabolism, according to Science Daily. Foods high in calcium include milk, cheese, yogurt, spinach, collard greens, sesame seeds, raw kelp and broccoli. Calcium helps to boost your metabolism because calcium enters the body's fat cells, and fat cells that contain a lot of calcium burn more energy. As with other dietary metabolism boosters, however, foods high in calcium can help you lose weight only if you cut calories.
Ice-Cold Water
If you drink ice-cold water, your metabolism will go up. Ice-cold water will cool down the body. For the body to maintain its normal temperature, it must burn extra calories. A calorie, as the word is ordinarily used, is defined as the amount of energy it takes to raise the temperature of 1,000 g of water 1 degree Celsius. According to the Diet Rebel, if you drink eight, 8-oz. glasses of ice cold water, you will burn an extra 70 calories. This may not sound like a lot. But every little bit helps. It will allow you to eat an extra slice of bread or piece of chocolate a day, and a 70-calorie reduction in your daily food intake adds up to 6 lbs. of body fat lost per year.
Foods High in Fiber
Foods high in fiber can increase the amount of food you can eat per day. The human body cannot digest fiber. So, fiber by itself does not add any calories to your diet. When fibers enter the digestive system, they absorb water and fat. So, some of the fat you consume when you eat a fiber-rich diet will be absorbed by the fiber you consume and will be excreted without being digested. Vegetables, fruits, whole grain bread and pasta and brown rice are rich in fiber.
Little Movements
According to Mayo Clinic's Dr. Jim Levine, the main difference between obese and lean people is that lean people make a lot more little movements a day than obese people. Levine is not talking about exercise in the regular sense but what you do while you do other things and how you do them. For example, rather than just reading, tap your foot while reading, instead of walking from room to room, jog from room to room and instead of just doing the laundry, dance and jump while doing the laundry. By doing these little extra movements, you can burn up to 400 additional calories a day.
References
- Mayo Clinic: Metabolism and Weight Loss: How You Burn Calories
- Science Daily: Diet Rich In Calcium Aids Weight Loss in People With Calcium Deficient Diets
- The Diet Rebel: How To Burn 861 Calories Sitting on Your Ass
- Scientific American: Weight-Loss Winner: A Diet High in Fiber, Low in Calories
- Better Health: Mayo Clinic's Dr. Jim Levine On How "NEAT" Good Health Can Be
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