Your metabolism is made up of all of the chemical reactions in your body – this is your body’s way of providing your energy for life. Your basal metabolic rate is the number of calories you burn just by living. There are many supplements on the market that claim to boost your metabolism, but there are natural ways to do it.
The first way is by doing strength training. Doing a workout involving resistance training will cause an increase in muscle size. Each pound of muscle burns 6 calories a day, while each pound of fat burns only 2 calories per day. Therefore, more muscle means more calories burned even at rest each day.
The second natural way to boost your metabolism is by completing cardiovascular exercises, especially anerobic, higher intensity exercises completed for a short period of time (anerobic means without oxygen). These workouts often involve some type of interval training since anerobic exercises cannot be sustained. High intensity exercise delivers a longer rise in resting metabolic rate than less intense exercises. If you are an avid runner or walker, one way to try this would be to alternate between a faster pace than you normally run or walk and a recovery pace, rather than staying at the same pace the whole time.
Classes at Your Best Self fitness studio in Salem, Ohio provide opportunities for both types of natural metabolism boosters: strength training and cardiovascular interval training. One class that focuses on them both at the same time is MetCon. MetCon includes both high and moderate intensity cardio, along with strengthening of the major muscle groups. Learn more about our classes at https://ybsfitness.com/classes Our Tanita Body Composition analysis also tells you your daily metabolic rate. This is a 15 minute service you can book so you can track your rate over time. Schedule your Body Composition service at https://ybsfitness.com/services
Other factors in increasing metabolic rate naturally include consuming enough water and drinking green tea. Your body needs water to turn food into energy. Being dehydrated slows that process down. To keep a steady burn turning food into energy (calories), consider eating more frequent but smaller portions instead of eating 3 large meals per day. Finally, drinking green tea has been shown to increase a person’s metabolism by 4-5%.
Joie Risden, B.S. in Exercise Science
WebMD. (n.d.). 10 ways to rev up metabolism, burn calories, and lose weight. WebMD. Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://www.webmd.com/diet/ss/slideshow-boost-your-metabolism
West, H. (2018, July 27). 9 easy ways to boost your metabolism (backed by science). Healthline. Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-ways-to-boost-metabolism#TOC_TITLE_HDR_9
Metabolism: What it is, how it works and disorders. Cleveland Clinic. (n.d.). Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/21893-metabolism
Mousavi, A., Vafa, M., Neyestani, T., Khamseh, M., & Hoseini, F. (2013, December). The effects of green tea consumption on metabolic and anthropometric indices in patients with type 2 diabetes. Journal of research in medical sciences: the official journal of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Retrieved January 22, 2022, from The effects of green tea consumption on metabolic and anthropometric indices in patients with Type 2 diabetes – PubMed (nih.gov)