10 Ways to Speed Up Your Metabolism & Lose Weight

As one who has sucessfully completely changed my lifestyle by following some simple rules, I'd like to share them with everyone.

There are many diets out today that tell people what to eat and when to eat it.  This article will tell you how to speed up your metabolism naturally so that your body will be able to better process and digest foods, rather than turn fats, sugars, and carbs into unsightly body fat.

1. Eat More Often - By eating five or six smaller meals throughout the day, you do several things for your body.  Not only will this better hold you out throughout the day, but your body will be working harder, more often, and as a result, burning more calories throughout the day as you eat.  Rather than having a small breakfast, going hungry until lunch, and doing the same before dinner, you can look forward to smaller, several hundred calorie meals that will also give you even more variety throughout the day.

2. Green Tea - Recent studies have shown that green tea is quite possibly the greatest discovery since sliced bread.  Green Tea speeds up your metabolism for hours after drinking it, and aids in digestion.  This means that Green Tea is great any time of the day!  Also, it has antoxidants that fight disease, and controls blood sugar. If those reasons weren't enough, it only takes minutes to make, and you can buy tea bags for next to nothing these days.

3. Activity - I chose the word activity here because this does not necessarily mean excercise. These days, people associate excercise with going to the gym or running on an eliptical for 45 minutes.  Any activity you do can speed up your metabolism.  When I started to simply go on a brisk jog before lunch and dinner, I felt better, ate less, and noticed immedaite results.  If you do like going to the gym and seeing faster results, a high reptition workout or 10-20 minute run can speed up your metabolism for up to two days after your workout!  It is a great idea to eat right after your activity / excercise because your body can best absorb nutrients, and can better handle fats and sugars.

4. Get Some Sleep! - In order for your body to work hard, it needs the necessary rest.  I'm aware that many people today are working long hours, and it is sometimes difficult to get the sleep you need and deserve, but it's incredibly important that you get as close to 7 or 8 hours a night as possible.  You'll feel refreshed, you won't be as hungry, and your body will be able to work even harder to handle the foods you eat.  If you want your body to work with you as you try to lose weight and keep it off, you need to give it the strength to do so.

5. Drink Water - When I say drink water, I mean all day, every day.  Water works on the same principle that sleep does.  If your body does not have enough water to complete its daily tasks, then it won't be able to aid your metabolism and help you lose wieght.  Water helps you stay satisfied, as the body often mistakes hunger for thirst.  You should drink water when you wake up, before and during every  meal, before, during, and after excercise, and whenever peossible.  Obviously, lay off the water with a few hours before sleep to avoid 2 a.m. trips to the bathroom.

6. Eat Right After Waking - After you wake up, your body has generally been fasting for 10 to 12 hours, and it is technically "starving."  You should have a healthy breakfast righht when you wake up, because your body has (very slowly) began to break down muscle in order to avoid starvation, which our bodies do naturally.  Choose a breakfast high in fiber and protein, with few sugars.  Cereals like Kashi GO LEAN are excellent because they have both protein and fiber, and also taste great!

7. Drink a Water Before Anything Else - Building on both tips # 5 and 6, it is a great idea to drink a bottle of cold water while pouring your bowl of cereal, making your eggs, etc.  Why? Because studies have shown that you'll actually increase your metabolism by up to 30% for the entire day by doing so.  Also, drinking cold water will force your body to work harder to regulate the temperature of the water, burning more calories throughout the day.

8. Don't Eat Close to Bed Time - When you eat a great breakfast, you give yourself energy for the morning.  When you eat a huge dinner right before falling asleep, you leave your body to shut down and take in hundreds of calories.  It's important to eat at least three hours before you plan to fall asleep, because your body breaks down food very differently before bed time, studies have shown.  This especailly pertains to mindless snacking before bed.  If you're still hungry, choose a healthy option like fresh fruit or a few peices of lean meat such as turkey or grilled chicken.

9. Build Muscle - You can do this in a variety of ways.  If you like pilates or tae-bo, do this a few times per week.  If you like light weight work outs at the gym, try this two to three times per week.  If you can do excercises with an excercise ball and free weights in your living room, go for it.  Any way you can, try to build lean muscle over time.  It will help your body burn calories at all times, even in your sleep! After some time, you can consider adding a whey isolate protein supplement, which will help you build muscle without gaining too much weight.

10. Chew Gum - This one certainly came as a surprise to me, but it worked wonders.  By chewing sugarfree gum, you are burning calories.   However, this is not the reason it can be so helpful.  Many people (like myself) who have a love for snacking simply need to be chewing or crunching on something, and gum can fill this need.  If you are sitting at a desk, shove a peice of gum in your mouth instead of going for the gummy bears.  It really works, and can help take your mind off snacking.

Hope these help!

I will be writing a guide with several diet plans for people looking to lose weight or build muscle within the coming week. Stay tuned!