If you're trying to lose weight, it'll make you feel better to know you have some control over your metabolism - especially if you learn a few tricks. Here are 10 things you can do every day to burn more fat.
- Eat in the morning: Skipping breakfast can slow down your body's ability to burn fat as it tries to conserve energy. You can prevent this by eating a healthy breakfast within an hour of waking. Here are some satisfying breakfast ideas (like this low-carb cauliflower porridge) that follow the perfect formula designed by dietitians to help you lose weight.
- Eat throughout the day: Keeping blood sugar levels consistent will keep your metabolism functioning properly, and eating smaller meals and snacks - five to six a day instead of three - is one way to prevent those drastic drops. It will also help satiate hunger, so you end up eating fewer total daily calories.
- Drink H20: Studies show that drinking eight to 12 glasses of water per day helps burn more fat. It also keeps you feeling full which is a bonus if you're trying to cut calories. Drink a glass upon waking and set an alarm every hour to remind yourself to drink up.
- Eat whole grains: Fiber-full brown rice, barley, quinoa, steel cut oats, millet, and farro take extra energy to chew, increasing calorie burn by 10 percent! They also take longer to digest, which increases the calorie burn. Make steel-cut oatmeal and add cooked whole grains to your salad to get your daily fill.
- Grab a cup of joe: Caffeine naturally stimulates your central nervous system, and enjoying a daily cup of coffee is proven to boost metabolism.
- Stand up: Sitting all day has become a huge problem with today's office jobs. Standing burns more calories than sitting, so if you use a standing desk and work upright at least an hour out of your eight-hour day, you'll burn almost 100 extra calories. That's 500 extra calories per week!
- Exercise for an hour: Studies say that one hour of exercise a day can change your DNA and boost your metabolism. Cardio is the winner here, and more specifically, interval training. So instead of moving at a steady pace, vary your intensity by trying this 60-minute walking-jogging workout.
- Get strong: Muscle burns fat, so don't forget to strength train with weights or bodyweight moves. Include at least 120 minutes per week - try this dumbbell circuit workout.
- Get spicy: Using hot peppers in your recipes or sprinkling on some cayenne, cinnamon, or turmeric raises your body's temperature, which speeds up the fat-burning process.
- Sip tea while doing yoga in a bubble bath: OK, maybe not all at once. But stress can greatly affect the speed of your metabolism, because if cortisol (the stress hormone) levels get too high, it inhibits your body's ability to burn fat. Do something every day, especially before bed, to help you feel calm.
Related: 20-Minute Metabolism-Boosting Workout
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