Want to Boost your Metabolism? Try These 3 steps

How can I boost my metabolism?

This is a topic that I get asked about a lot from friends, coworkers and fellow gym goers so I think it is worth expanding on.

One of the main questions people have, which I am going to summarize here is

“how is it that two people of the same age, gender, and height can eat the same foods and be equally active, but one gains weight while the other loses it?”

Well, one piece of the puzzle is metabolism. How efficiently your body burns energy to keep up basic functions like heartbeat, breathing, and thinking is called your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR).

We covered a bit on this topic in our article on managing weight so I won’t go into great deal on BMR here. In simple terms, though what we are talking about is simply YOUR "metabolism."

Can you change your metabolism? The short answer is YES.

Whether you're born with a fast, average, or slow metabolism, there are things you can do to speed yours up or slow it down. That means you can tweak your metabolism to help manage your weight.

As you age, you may have noticed that your metabolism has slowed down. I remember when I could change my diet ever so slightly and be able to quickly drop 10lbs; Or I would increase my cardio just a bit for the same desired result.

Unfortunately, this is a bit more difficult now then when I was in my 20’s. There is some good news though and that is that regardless of your age you can increase your metabolism by following some basic tips:

1. Get Active

When you perform any type of exercise, your metabolism speeds up and continues to stay revved for the next few hours. Also, by building more muscle your metabolism will increase, even when resting.

2. Eat Clean

Eat less fat. Increase your fiber and complex carbs and decrease sugars and alcohols in your diet.

One way to ensure you stay on the right path is to make your meals ahead of time so you are not grabbing something unhealthy out of necessity.

Plan what you are going to eat. It helps you avoid overeating or making poor food choices when you're hungry.

3. Write down everything you eat and drink.

Count up the calories you've eaten at each meal and snack. Then use this data to decide if your portions are the right size. Check to see if you are eating a variety of foods. You might find that making a few small changes will help you eat healthy.

We find that meal prepping is an easy way to stay on track with monitoring your diet. The extra investment of time at the beginning pays in dividends the remainder of the week.

It's far easier to stick to a plan when everything is already prepped and ready to go.

Good luck and let's get that metabolism revving again.

With Love & Kindness,

Justin & Leah

Leah Scott and Justin Andrade founded Upgrade Your Joy. A program that educates you on how to bring more joy and wellness into your relationships through small daily actions. They live in Carlsbad, CA with their 3 boys and are enjoying life and having fun one day at a time.

#weightloss #nutrition #weightmanagement #exercise #joy #relationships #upgradeyourjoy #eathealthy