The holidays are a lot of fun. They’re also a time in which people tend to gain a lot of weight with all the family dinners, parties, and treats. Some of us will be 5–10 pounds overweight by the time New Year’s comes. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Indeed, you can do a lot to avoid this fate.
The key is your metabolism, the internal process by which our body burns calories and food. The higher your metabolism is, the more calories your body burns faster.
In part, we’re born with our own metabolic rate. However, there are a lot of things we can do to boost our metabolism and burn more fat. Here are some tips:
1. Make sure to drink enough water. Dehydration is like putting the breaks on your metabolism. If you’re not getting enough water you’re not burning enough calories. 8 glasses a day is a minimum for an adult. Drinking cool water can actually be better since it requires your body to spend some energy (calories) to heat up the water to your body’s temperature. Therefore, drink your water cool and often.
2. Sleep enough hours – Sleep is a key factor in making sure your body is functioning properly and healthily. If you deprive yourself of sleep you’re also slowing down your metabolism. Sleep for 7 hours at a bare minimum each night. You will feel and look better for it.
3. Eat more meals per day. Yes, that’s right, eat more meals per day. This doesn’t mean that you need to eat more calories only to spread out your calories into more meals and snacks. This way you’re never really hungry and your metabolism remains stable and high.
4. More strength training – Muscle tissue burns more calories than any other tissue. The more muscles you have the better your body is at burning calories and fat. Even a small increase in muscle mass will help you get far better results. So, make sure strength workouts are part of your regular routine.
5. Do interval cardio instead of steady pace cardio – Instead of getting on the treadmill or the elliptical machine and exercises at a steady, medium pace for an hour, try to push your body harder by doing intervals. Interval training involves changing your pace every few minutes to train your body across a wide range of intensities. It can help you burn more fat in less time.
6. Certain foods can help you increase your metabolism – Green tea, hot peppers, chili, and protein can either help you feel fuller and satiated or turn your metabolism into a fat burning furnace that will cut through the fat much faster.
