Foods That Speed Metabolism

From LoveToKnow Diet

Adding foods that speed metabolism to your diet is a great way to lose extra pounds while becoming healthier and more energized.

Add spices to your foods to speed up your metabolism

Metabolism and Body Weight

Metabolism has a great effect on body weight. If you've heard of metabolism but aren't quite sure how it works, it refers to how quickly your body uses energy, or burns the calories you consume. Different people have different metabolic rates, which means they burn calories at different speeds. For example if a person with a fast metabolism and one with a slow metabolism eat the same foods, the one with the fast metabolism will burn more calories. The person with the slower metabolic rate will not burn as many and any extra calories not burned are stored and turned into fat.

Factors that affect a person’s metabolism include:

Age
Health
Physical condition
Diet
Activity level
Frequency of meals
Proper hydration
Hormone levels
Stress

Foods That Speed Metabolism

Knowing which foods give your body an extra boost by increasing its metabolic rate and adding them to your diet is the first step to a healthier lifestyle. You will lose weight, feel better and have more energy.

In order for a food to speed metabolism, the body must burn more calories digesting it than the food contains. The following foods are known to speed up metabolic rates.

Proteins

One of the best foods for speeding up metabolism are eggs. They are also one of the best and highest quality sources of protein.
Whey protein powder from cow’s milk is a complete protein that boosts metabolic rates.
Turkey - with skin removed
Chicken breast - with the skin removed
Peanut butter
Lean red meat - beef and pork
Salmon, sardines and tuna
Almonds, walnuts, cashews and pine nuts - a few per day
Legumes and beans

Vegetables

Spinach
Cabbage
Celery
Broccoli
Chillies
Tomatoes
Dark green leafy vegetables
Peppers - cayenne, jalapeno and habanero

Fruits

Raspberries
Brindleberries
Other berries
Apples
Pears
Oranges
Grapefruit
Lemons

Whole Grains

Rolled oats
Oatmeal
Muesli
Granola
Whole grain cereal
Fiber

Liquids

Cold water
Green tea
Coffee
Hot water with lemon

Oils

Extra virgin olive il
Canola oil

Other Foods

Natural yogurt
Soups - broth and broth based with vegetables
Spices

Tips for Increasing Metabolic Rate

As you get older your metabolism naturally slows down. However, there are also other reasons that can cause a decrease in your metabolic rate. Some of the main reasons are dieting, skipping meals and fasting. Other causes of a slowed metabolism include a high intake of foods and drinks with a high sugar content, a thyroid gland that is under active and a lifestyle that is sedentary.

The following healthy eating tips will help to increase your metabolism.

Eating a breakfast rich in complex carbohydrates and protein will start your day with a healthy meal and a kick start to your metabolism.
Never skip meals
Spread your food throughout the day by eating six times each day. Eat three small meals and have snacks in between choosing from healthy foods that boost your metabolism.
Choose foods that are nutritious and metabolism boosters making sure to have lots of protein rich meals.
Add spices to your foods
Avoid crash diets, very low calorie diets and fasting.
Drink at least eight glasses of water each day.
Make regular exercising a part of your daily routine
Instead of spreading peanut butter on bread, put it on celery sticks for a great tasting metabolic boost.
Use cayenne pepper in your meals to add heat to your body. Cayenne pepper has thermagenic properties and heats up your body. Your body then burns more calories to cool itself and at the same time speeds up your metabolism.
Increase the amount of dietary fiber you consume.
Limit your intake of alcohol
Stop smoking or reduce the number of cigarettes smoked each day