When you embark on your weight loss journey, your diet might unintentionally be slowing down your metabolism, making weight loss harder instead of easier.
Many popular diets actually restrict foods that are beneficial to your body by creating a faster metabolism, allowing you to ditch the deprived feeling and eat more while still losing weight.
How does this work? Your metabolism is what turns food into usable energy. A slower metabolism will not convert food to energy as efficiently as a faster one, allowing the calories to be stored in fat cells over being used for activities. Energy stored in fat cells is harder for the body to use, making it harder to lose weight.
By eating the right foods to speed up your metabolism, you are able to speed up fat loss and create more usable energy for your body.
The top foods nutritionists recommend for a faster metabolism are all easily found at the local supermarket and incorporated into a healthy eating plan.
1) Avocado
This versatile fruit (that’s right, it’s a berry!) is great for providing healthy fats to keep cravings at bay while also being chock full of protein, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. They’re easy to add to any meal of the day and can also be a stand-alone snack with some salt and pepper.
2) Eggs
Rich in branch-chain amino acids (BCAAs) and Vitamin D, eggs are an easy addition to your diet.
They also provide both protein and cholesterol if the whole egg is used. For those watching their cholesterol, using the egg whites will provide the BCAAs and protein without the cholesterol. It’s also useful to note that eggs may be an allergen to some, so talking to a nutritionist can help you determine if eggs are a good addition to your diet and if you should use the whole egg.
3) Lean Meats
Protein is a vital building block of your body, especially when building muscle and burning fat through a faster metabolism.
Muscle burns more calories at rest than fat does, so eating more enough protein to build more muscle raises your metabolic rate. Choosing lean meats will give you the protein you need along with a healthy dose of iron. Iron is a necessary mineral for a fast metabolism, studies have shown that low iron leads to a slower metabolism.
Another bonus of a higher protein diet is an increased thermic effect of food, considerably more than carbohydrates or fats.
4) Lentils
Not as well-known as the other foods on this list in most kitchens, lentils pack quite the punch.
They provide nine essential amino acids, protein, vitamins, minerals, and fibre which keeps you feeling full after a serving. Lentils can help lower cholesterol so may be a great substitute for those who have egg sensitivities or who need to watch their cholesterol levels while still getting nutrients.
5) Sweet Potatoes
Nutritionists recommend this root vegetable for the resistant starch properties. Resistant starch benefits your metabolism by moving through the small intestine to the large intestine creating health benefits.
6) Chilies
Kick up the heat in your meals by throwing in this pepper. They contain capsaicin, a metabolism boosting substance that will help you burn more calories. Unfortunately, most people aren’t able to tolerate the amount of heat that would come with eating adequate amounts of those spice, so talking to your nutritionist to combine this with other metabolism boosting strategies is your best bet.
7) Outside of food
Foods aren’t the only way to boost your metabolism; here are a few other easy to incorporate tricks that will keep your metabolism running quickly.
- Drink more water- hydration is key to your body running at peak performance.
- Green Tea- it helps convert stored fat into free fatty acids, allowing them to be more easily used by your body and can boost metabolism by 4-5% for some.
- MCT oil- contains medium chain triglycerides which help your body burn fat. It also controls blood sugar, decreasing cravings.
Cinnamon-helps with insulin sensitivity, preventing your body from storing fat while also helping metabolize carbs and fat with its high manganese content. - Ginseng Herbs – help you boost immune system and prevent diseases such as cancer.
Eating the right foods will boost your metabolism, but you can always take a multi-pronged approach for the best results. Talk to your nutritionist to develop a plan that is right for you, gets results, and is sustainable.
