Tips On How To Increase Your Metabolism
Author: Stuart Ward

Gaining a basic knowledge of how the body uses energy would certainly be beneficial in learning how to increase your metabolism. The energy needed to perform every single bodily function, even just staying alive, is taken from burning the calories from the food we eat. This process is known as metabolism and is measured according to your basal metabolic rate (BMR). To burn more calories for energy you need to have a higher metabolic rate.

Learning how to increase metabolism is probably the ideal starting point for people looking to lose weight. To achieve this we should consider combining an effective exercise regime with a healthy eating plan. The important fact to remember is that muscle cells are much more metabolically active than fat cells and so require more calories to be burned to maintain. If you do not notice any immediate weight loss when you start exercising and eating healthy try not to get too despondent. Your body is likely to begin building more lean muscle mass, significantly increasing your metabolism, while also burning more body fat. I would suggest you forget about constantly stepping on your bathroom scales just simply look at yourself in the mirror to notice results. Recording your body mass index (BMI) on a regular basis would also show that you are making progress.

Exercise
The importance of diet and exercise should not be underestimated when learning how to increase your metabolism to achieve your weight loss goals. Simple activities such as playing with your children, using the stairs and not the elevator, or walking the dog can all have a positive effect. Exercising will not only help you to build lean body mass (which is essential to increase metabolism), but will also help to reduce stress, therefore boosting your self confidence and well being.

The ideal plan to burn excess body fat and build lean muscle mass is to include regular cardiovascular exercise with resistance or weight training. Aerobic exercise will work your heart and lungs and help to burn body fat. Including interval training during your cardio workouts will really start to boost your metabolism. As an example, if you enjoy running, sprint for 30 seconds and then lightly jog for say 60 seconds and repeat for 20 minutes. This will be really beneficial in raising your metabolism.

Cardio exercise is great for burning fat but to develop lean muscle you will also need to include some weight, or resistance training. Remember, the higher your muscle mass the faster your metabolism will be. After a weight training workout your body will burn more calories which are needed for muscle recovery and repair. With regular exercise you will need to watch your diet, for your body will need essential nutrients and proteins for growth and recovery.

Foods
Complex carbohydrates (such as cereals, wholemeal bread), fibrous carbohydrates (such as fresh fruit, vegetables), protein (such as tuna, salmon, chicken breast) and healthy fats (such as olives, nuts) are all foods that are essential for muscle growth and to increase metabolism. Some herbs and green tea are reported to have some benefits but capsaicin (found in red chillies and peppers) and vitamin C are known to help speed metabolism and burn fat.

It is important that you increase the protein content of your diet for muscle repair and recovery when performing regular vigorous exercise. An almost certain way to increase your metabolism is to eat six small meals a day. If you try to eat every two to three hours your energy levels and metabolism will remain high. The worse thing you can do is skip meals, especially breakfast, for this will certainly cause your metabolism to slow down.

Although every individuals metabolic rate differs, it is possible to increase your metabolism by taking action. Achieving permanent fat loss is possible by learning how to increase your metabolism and this will need regular exercise and a healthy diet. Your primary goal may be fat loss and a more lean body, but the self confidence and quality of life you will gain is worth more than gold.