Eating more often throughout the day is the key to pumping up your metabolism and burning more calories -– even when you are at rest. This is because the body burns calories every day through digestion, absorption, transportation and storage of food. However, if you really want to affect your metabolism, include regular physical activity in your schedule, varying the type, intensity and duration, and you'll see additional results.
Step 1
Eat a minimum of 1,200 calories per day if you are a woman, and a minimum of 1,500 calories per day if you are a man. Restricting your caloric intake any further slows your metabolism, warns Mike Boggs, C.S.C.S. In addition, Samantha Heller, M.S., R.D., says restricting calories signals your body that there is no food available, so it holds on to your carbohydrate and fat stores and slows your metabolism.
Step 2
Have breakfast. Doing so might increase your metabolism by up to 10 percent, Heller notes. Healthy options include whole-grain cereal and fruit, whole-grain toast and peanut butter or fat-free yogurt with a sprinkling of granola.
Step 3
Feast on five – or sometimes six – small meals throughout the day. Divide the number of calories you wish to eat per day by the number of times you will eat. The result is how many calories you should eat in each of your smaller meals. Grazing throughout the day will keep your metabolism stoked and regulate your blood sugar and appetite, says James Rouse, N.D. Your meal times are breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, mid-afternoon snack, dinner and the occasional healthy dessert.
Step 4
Regulate your food portions with a food scale, measuring cups, comparing them to objects or to your hand. A fist equals one serving of fruit, a cupped hand or tuna can is equivalent to a serving of grains, two cupped handfuls equal one serving of leafy green vegetables, and one open palm or a deck of cards is equivalent to a meat or fish serving. Also, your thumb is equal to a serving of low fat cheese, a tuna can is equivalent to a milk or yogurt serving, and one egg equals a serving of dry beans or nuts.
Step 5
Include healthy, low-glycemic, complex carbohydrates and lean protein in each of your snacks, says Samantha Heller, M.S., R.D. Examples of appropriate snacks are peanut butter with a banana, trail mix, hummus and baby carrots or an apple with low-fat cheddar cheese. Heller says the protein-to-carbohydrate combination will help to regulate your blood sugar, energy levels and your appetite.
Things You'll Need
- Whole-grain cereal
- Fruit
- Peanut butter
- Fat-free yogurt
- Food scale
- Measuring cups
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