Foods That Boost Your Metabolism

Choosing foods that boost your metabolism is a good way to lose a little extra weight. The faster your metabolism, the more calories you will burn as you go about your normal daily activities.

What is Metabolism?

Basically, metabolism is a term for the chemical processes that takes place in cells. For the purpose of this article, metabolism has to do with the process of converting food into energy and how efficiently your body burns calories as you consume them.

Calories are necessary for keeping up the basic functions of the body—keeping the blood flowing and the lungs breathing, for example. In addition, calories are needed for digesting and processing food and for fueling any physical activity you perform throughout your day.

The number of calories needed for your body to function is known as your basal metabolic rate, and it accounts for two-thirds to three-quarters of the calories you expend every day. Digesting food takes up about 10 percent of the calories burned each day, and you as an individual can decide how many calories are burned through physical activities.

Weight gain may not specifically be caused by low metabolism; instead, it is affected by consuming more calories than are burned. But paying attention to metabolism and eating foods that boost your metabolism can help give your weight loss a jump start.

Finding Foods that Boost Your Metabolism

There are a lot of theories about what to eat if you want to give your metabolism a boost. Here are some of the most popular:

• Protein: Low-fat protein, including lean meat and dairy products, is thought to help the body burn more calories. It gives the body a bigger metabolic boost than carbohydrates or other types of foods, and also helps you build muscle mass.
• Spicy foods: Chilies, curries and other spicy foods seem to raise metabolism. The boost of as much as 50 percent can last as long as three hours after eating a spicy meal.
• Green tea: A popular addition to today's weight-loss supplements, some antioxidants in green tea are thought to speed your metabolism.
• Water: Dehydration can slow your metabolism, and studies have shown that drinking water boosts metabolic rates by up to 30 percent. Some people say that drinking cold water gives an additional boost, because your body has to work to warm the water to your body's temperature, thus burning more calories.
• Oatmeal: Complex carbohydrates like oatmeal keep insulin levels low for longer periods after you eat, which means your body won't be signaled to store fat. Another reason why it's important to eat breakfast!

Other Ways to Boost Metabolism

Boost metabolism with healthy foods.

Manipulating metabolism to lose weight doesn't just have to do with foods that boost your metabolism. How you eat, or, more specifically, how often you eat also plays a big role in boosting your metabolism.

As mentioned above, about 10 percent of the calories you burn every day come from digesting food. It stands to reason that if you eat more often, that digestion response keeps going for more of your day and you burn more calories without changing anything else.

It is often advised that people who want to lose weight should eat about six small meals a day, or every three or four hours, to help boost their metabolism and lose more weight. Of course eating more of the foods listed above as well as eating more regularly can give an additional bonus.

Another great way to boost your metabolism is to exercise regularly. Yes, changing the way you eat can be a big help, but it's a simple fact that muscle burns more calories than fat does.

Studies estimate that a pound of muscle burns an extra 35 to 50 calories a day. Ten pounds of muscle, then, would burn 350 to 500 calories a day. This results in a pound of weight loss every seven to 10 days. And of course you're burning more calories through exercise, so the benefits continue to multiply.