Sure-Fire Metabolism Boosters

Think of your body as a machine that needs oiling; each part of your body functions best when “oiled” with the proper vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that it needs. Achieving the right metabolic balance for your body, or using the right oil, means you will feel better, have more energy, think more effectively, and function more efficiently in your daily life. Understanding your metabolism and giving it the boost it needs may seem like an impossible process at first, but it’s not as difficult as you might think.I’ve laid out a few simple guidelines that you can use when choosing foods that will increase your metabolism, help you achieve your weight loss goals, and improve your overall health.
A Simple Understanding of Your Metabolism
So what exactly is metabolism? And how can eating certain foods help your metabolism skyrocket? Well, your metabolism is comprised of three major elements:
• Basal metabolic rate (B)
• Physical activity level (PAL)
• Thermic effect of food (TEF)
Each one of these elements affects the way your body processes—and burns through— the food that you eat. How? Read on!

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

The basal metabolic rate is a measurement of how many calories your body burns when it is resting. This represents approximately 75 percent of your total energy expenditure and is determined by your body size, gender, and age. Taller or heavier individuals naturally have higher metabolic rates, as well as those with a greater percentage of lean body mass (or a smaller percentage of fat). Because aging is related to the loss of lean body mass and therefore affects your BMR, females tend to have more fat in proportion to muscle than males. While these two factors, age and gender, cannot be changed, there are ways to increase your metabolic rate and turn body fat into lean, fat-free mass which will in turn help you burn more calories.

Physical Activity Level (PAL)

As you’re probably aware, physical activity is key to burning calories and is the only way to increase muscle mass. The amount of calories burned depends upon the intensity and duration of the activity. If you are not currently following an exercise regimen, start slowly by walking 20–30 minutes at least three times per week, participating in sports, joining a gym and taking classes, or anything else that will get your body moving. Remember: the fewer calories you eat each day, the fewer you’ll need to burn. However, consult a physician or nutritionist for the recommended daily calorie consumption that is best for you.

Thermic Effect of Food (TEF)

The thermic effect of food is a measurement of the energy our bodies expend to eat and digest, metabolize, and store food. It basically measures the number of calories expended by the processing of foods you eat, and is influenced by portion size, the quantity of carbohydrates, protein, fat, fiber, caffeine, and even spices in the foods. Essentially, the more energy your body expends to digest the foods you consume, the higher your metabolic rate is going to be. By making key adjustments in all or some of these areas, you will begin to see changes in how you feel, how you think, and how you look. But for now, let’s talk about how the food you eat affects the way your metabolism works.

How Does Food Affect Metabolism?

The term metabolism refers to the rate at which your body converts food into energy. To achieve maximum efficiency, or maximum calorie burn, you need to consume nutrient-rich foods—foods that are high in vitamins and minerals, filled with good oils, and are naturally low in fat. Clearly, the amount of calories consumed vs. the amount of calories burned is also important, so the calories consumed must be equal to or less than the amount of calories expended to maintain a steady weight or to lose weight. In other words, if you eat more calories than you burn on a regular basis, you will most likely gain weight. So, it’s important to eat the right foods, in the right quantities, to increase your body’s efficiency and boost your metabolism.

How Much Is Too Much?

So you know that you need to watch your food intake to lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle, but how much should you eat? How much is too much? Here are some guidelines to help you on your path to a hard working metabolism:
• Total fat calories should represent between 25–35 percent of total calories consumed daily.
• Saturated fat intake should account for less than 7 percent of total calories consumed daily.
• Carbohydrate consumption should account for between 45–65 percent of total calories consumed daily, and should focus on complex carbohydrates such as whole grains, beans, vegetables, and high-fiber fruits such as apples.
• Total percentage of daily protein should be between 10–35 percent of your daily total calories.
• Daily sodium content should be limited to no more than 2,300 milligrams.
• Be aware of the amount of alcohol you consume, if any. Alcohol is high in what we call “empty calories,” and at seven calories per gram they add up pretty quickly!

What to Do

Later, I’ll discuss some of the main metabolism-boosting foods you’ll be using in recipes but I wanted to give you some general tips to help maximize your metabolic potential first. Use these guidelines to get the most out of your body.

Stay Hydrated

Water is essential to a healthy body: it regulates body temperature, flushes out toxins, and helps maintain efficient body function. However, it’s not logical to drink nothing but water all of the time. Pay attention to other beverages you consume by limiting high-calorie drinks such as fruit juices, sodas, and alcoholic beverages that can slow your metabolism down. Instead, focus on low-calorie beverages such as green or herbal tea, and enjoy moderate amounts of caffeinated drinks—including coffee—as caffeine helps to stimulate the metabolism. You should still keep total daily coffee consumption to one to three cups daily, but no one is saying you have to give up your morning rituals. Consume alcohol in moderation, but feel free to relax with a glass of red wine every once in a while. Red wine is said to contain elements that may block the formation of fat cells, and it is rich in antioxidants. However, don’t rely on red wine for your nutrition! It still contains alcohol and sugar, both of which are counterproductive to boosting your metabolism.

Work Your Body

Physical activity is essential in promoting optimal body function, maintaining toned muscles and strong bones, and increasing flexibility and overall physical and mental health. Even just thirty minutes of activity three times per week can have a positive impact on your metabolism. Beginners should start slowly and work up to more frequent, more intense exercise. If you already exercise regularly, keep up the good work. You may want to consult a licensed physical trainer or doctor to see if you are maximizing the metabolism-boosting potential of your workouts.

Pay Attention to Portion Size

Too much of even a healthy food can sabotage your metabolism-boosting progress, so make sure you don’t eat too much of a good thing. For example, stick to¼ or ½ of an avocado or a small number of nuts, around seven or eight, when eating these nutrient-rich but high-calorie snacks. Also, be sure to limit the portion size of your entrees and side dishes to ½ cup or 4 ounces. Use these visual comparisons to help estimate your portion sizes:
• A 3-ounce portion of cooked meat, poultry, or fish is about the size of a deck of playing cards.
• A medium potato is about the size of a computer mouse.
• A cup of rice or pasta is about the size of a fist or a tennis ball.
• A cup of fruit or a medium apple or orange is the size of a baseball.
• A ½ cup of chopped vegetables is about the size of three regular ice cubes.
• A 1-ounce piece of cheese is the size of four dice.
• A teaspoon of peanut butter equals one die; 2 tablespoons is about the size of a golf ball.
• An ounce of snack foods—pretzels, etc.— equals a large handful.
• A thumb tip equals 1 teaspoon; 3 thumb tips equal 1 tablespoon; and a whole thumb equals 1 ounce.

Eat Early

It’s often said that eating breakfast is essential to a healthy diet, and this is actually true. After resting for eight hours or more, your body needs to know that additional nutrients are coming or it will “think” it needs to store calories and fat, in case the next meal is a long time in coming. You can also boost your energy by consuming your highest-calorie meal early in the day. You are up and awake during the day and, by default, you burn energy, consume carbs, and break down proteins—all natural occurrences that translate to burning calories and fat. It’s logical that you would want to eat foods high in carbs, protein, and fat during the earlier parts of your day so your body can use them to keep you going, process them to keep you thinking, and burn them off to keep you fit and trim.

Eat Often

It is a proven fact your body functions more efficiently when you feed it nutrients every three to four hours. Still, every person is different, which means you’ll need to find the best daily eating pattern for you. Regardless of your unique chemistry, your body needs to be triggered to function. By eating on a regular basis, you remind your body that it needs to go to work processing and digesting the carbs, proteins, and fats that you just consumed. If you skip vital meals, your body will send a processing message to your brain to slow down and conserve energy because it’s not sure when or where it’s next batch of nutrients is going to come from.

Spice It Up

Certain spices and foods contain a metabolism-increasing molecule called capsaicin that has been shown to decrease cholesterol absorption and increase the enzymes that metabolize fat. Capsaicin is found in spicy foods such as peppers, cayenne, chili powder, paprika, and spicy sauces and salsas like Tabasco. In fact, the “heat” found in cayenne peppers stimulates the metabolism in a short period of time. The hotter the pepper or spice, the more capsaicin the ingredient has. Capsaicin also has a protective activity against some chemical carcinogens (cancercausing agents).

Give Me More Protein

Protein helps build muscle tissue and strengthen the cells in the body, working within the body as the primary building blocks for all tissues and cells, including your muscles. It also provides fuel once the energy released from carbohydrates is used. Protein is found in meat, fish, eggs, dairy, and legumes (beans and peas), and one gram of it equals about four calories. While legumes are low in fat and high in fiber, animal sources of protein (which can be higher in unwanted fats) can deliver all of the necessary amino acids, so it’s important to have a balance of the two to lose

weight effectively.

Basically, you must feed your body protein to help it function properly.
Fill Up with Fiber
Believe it or not, fiber helps boost your metabolism by increasing the efficiency with which your body processes foods. It acts as a sort of “brush” for your digestive system, scrubbing out your system quickly and taking other foods away with it. As fiber travels through your digestive tract, it pulls along excess calories before they can turn into fat, helps get rid of cancer-causing toxins, and stimulates healthy digestion. Fiber also gives you that full feeling, which typically causes you to eat less. Examples of high-fiber foods include oats and oat bran, fruits such as apples, nuts, leafy vegetables, and dried beans.

Eat Foods with Antioxidants

Certain foods contain antioxidants that help prevent health problems such as heart disease, cancer, and even diabetes. But what are antioxidants exactly? They are nutrients that attack by-products in your body resulting from the use of oxygen. Those by-products are known as free radicals, and they can cause damage to cells throughout your body, thereby slowing down your metabolism. Consuming foods high in antioxidants is a natural way to prevent disease while at the same time promoting optimum metabolic health. Examples of antioxidant-rich foods include carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, kale, tomatoes, cantaloupe, citrus fruits like oranges and limes, richly colored vegetables like broccoli, and green or red leafy vegetables like spinach and Swiss chard. Pomegranates, cranberries, fish and shellfish, chicken, grains, and garlic also include antioxidants.

Fall in Love with Superfoods

As the name implies, superfoods are foods that are super good for you. They are filled with nutrients, are low in or free of cholesterol, help reduce your risk for certain health problems such as heart disease and cancer, improve the way your body functions, and increase your metabolic rate. To add these healthy options to your diet, learn to enjoy nutrient-rich vegetables like broccoli, asparagus, spinach, cabbage, bok choy, tomatoes, yams, sweet potatoes, and other richly colored vegetables such as beets and avocados. Herbs like fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley, cilantro, and chives are also super healthy. Superfood proteins include salmon, trout, mackerel, walnuts, and pinto beans, while blueberries, blackberries, and olives are all superfood fruits packed with healthy fats, antioxidants, and other vitamins and minerals that are essential to body function and maximum metabolic-rate levels.

Be Calcium Rich

Calcium strengthens bones and may aid in weight loss, so it’s a bit of a no-brainer that it helps improve your metabolism. Calcium-rich foods include kale, spinach, sesame seeds, yogurt, cheese, and fortified foods such as soymilk and some cereals. As most are aware, milk is naturally rich in calcium and also contains large doses of vitamins A, D, and K. If you are lactose intolerant, don’t fear; instead enjoy lactose-free milk or fortified milks made from rice, almonds, and soy.

Get Going!

Now that you’re armed with this knowledge and an outline of key foods and important ingredients, it’s time for you to get cooking and put your metabolism boosting plan into action. Good luck!