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Your metabolism refers to the processes that occur when your body converts foods into energy. Your metabolism is constantly working to support all your body functions, including breathing, circulating blood, managing hormone levels, and regulating body temperature.
Unfortunately, your metabolism can slow down for a variety of reasons. Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the minimum number of calories the body needs to perform all functions. When this slows down, it can affect some functions, leading to hormonal imbalance or feeling frequently cold. It can also lead to weight gain. Can you increase your metabolism? The answer is yes. It is a long process, but you can improve your BMR naturally.
#1. Eat quality protein
Your body needs to use energy to digest the food you eat. This is called the thermic effect of food. Food with a high thermic effect will burn a lot of calories through the digestive process. Protein can burn up to 30% of its calorie intake through digestion only. High quality protein will naturally increase the amount of calories the body burns and, therefore, your metabolism.
#2. Increase muscle mass
Muscle cells burn more calories for maintenance than any other cell in your body. The higher your muscle mass, the higher your metabolism increase potential.
How to increase muscle mass:
- Focus on weight lifting exercises
- Consume enough protein
- Know your muscle growth supplements, such as if you take SARMs and prohormones for rapid muscle growth, you will need to conclude the treatment with PCT supplements to end the cycle.
#3. Coffee is an ally
In most things in life, we are told to stay away from coffee. But when it comes to metabolism increase, the stimulants contained in coffee can make a huge difference. Indeed, caffeine can increase your resting metabolic rate by up to 11%, which means your body burns more calories while you rest. So, now is the best time to invest in a quality coffee machine at home! A word of warning about coffee:
- Excessive caffeine intake will have a counterproductive effect
- The addition of sugar, cream, syrup, and milk cancels the benefits of caffeine on the metabolism
#4. Introduce good sleep hygiene
A good night’s sleep of 8 hours on average can make a huge difference in your metabolic control. Sleep deprivation is often associated with a sluggish metabolism. Therefore, you want to create a routine, such as going to bed early at the same time every night and avoiding any stimulants before bed. Sleep-adverse stimulants include high caffeine intake, electronics, and heavy food.
#5. Stick to an active lifestyle
Starting your fitness journey will not increase your metabolism overnight. But regular HIIT and resistance training can help address alow metabolic rate. Maintaining healthy levels of activity throughout the day trains your body to burn more calories.
Beware, though; you can have too much of a good thing. Overdoing your fitness routine will have the opposite effect as your muscles can’t recover. Therefore, the body is more prone to pain, injuries, and a decreased immune system response, negatively affecting your metabolism.
A sluggish metabolism can make you feel tired. It can lead to unexplained weight gain or even sudden hormonal disorders. Therefore, protecting your metabolism can help your body take better care of itself.