Give Your Metabolism A Boost With These Easy Tips

 Please join me in welcoming our featured guest blogger, Sunithi Selvaraj:

Ever wish you could have the metabolism you had in your twenties when you could just burn off everything you ate? By this I mean copious amounts of any kind of food.As each decade goes by, it seems like every extra delicious morsel of food that I enjoy just seems to deposit itself on some part of my person.  Blame it on a sluggish metabolism!  Well, unless you’re part of that one percent of people in the world that can eat all they want even as they get “Wiser”, and not feel the pinch, Welcome to the club! 

On the flip side some current research says that as you get’ Older ‘and ‘Wiser ’having a few lbs. more than your Ideal Body weight is actually good for you since the extra lbs. seem to cushion your organs and make one less prone to fractures etc. and actually prevent loss of bone density. I personally think this makes sense and is more realistic for me to work with. Important thing is to be comfortable with the way you are, but giving your metabolism a gentle boost is not a bad idea either!

Unfortunately as we age, our metabolism slows down! Sadly, there is NO magic pill for raising your metabolism, but I can suggest some ways to give it a gentle boost.

Exercise – especially done in short spurts – two sets of 20 mats vs. one long session of 40 mos. Also, varying your exercise so you do not use the same body muscles seem to trick your body into burning Fat more efficiently.

Weight training – Even twice/week seems to have a positive effect on giving your metabolism a quick boost. Simple but effective routines like Jorge Cruise’ s “Eight minutes in the morning” weight workout seems to work great. 

Eating frequently - As in 3 mini meals and 3 snacks. The science behind this is that your body uses energy every time you eat and burns calories thus boosting your metabolism with each meal. 

Don’t skip Breakfast- This will trick your body into the “Save Mode “and seriously slow down your metabolism.

Sleep Well - Research has shown that not getting enough zzzzzzz‘s seems to seriously lower your metabolism!

Meta Smart foods

Water – Get your 8 or more glasses / day to burn more Fat and Increase Metabolism. Expend more energy drinking cold or cool water. 

Lean protein – Takes more time and energy to digest. Helps lose fat, build lean muscle and burn more body fat. Good sources are whey protein, lean meats, Low fat cottage cheese, nuts, lentils, beans.

Green Tea, Oolong tea detoxifies the system, remove toxins and thus speed up metabolism.

Hot Peppers – Capsaicin (found in jalapeno, cayenne, and chili) increases core body temperature thus stimulating metabolism. 

Cinnamon – appears to have the same effect as Hot peppers! 

Some safe supplements -check with your physician since some supplements can interact with your meds. 

Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) a naturally occurring Fatty acid found in animals and dairy 

Resveratrol – Red wine extract= drinking several glasses of wine. 

Acai, Gobi, Noni, Mangos teen – Not too sure about how they help but they are full of antioxidants which can help speed up metabolism and burn fat.

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I have tried all these tips at some time in my life, but my favorite ones are - drinking water, eating small meals, Oolong Tea and weight training using the 8 minute workout. Everyone is different, so try some of these tips and if you have some” Boost Metabolism” tips of your own, do share!!

Sunithi Selvaraj is a Registered Dietitian with a sweet tooth and a passion for eating healthy
(quite a combo). She works as a community Nutritionist in Washington DC and has a practical approach to living a healthy lifestyle. She blogs over at Sue's Nutrition Buzz.

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