To turn your body into a fat-burning machine, you need to speed up your metabolism. The faster your metabolism, the more calories — and fat — you burn. Luckily, boosting your metabolism isn’t rocket science. With these ways to speed up your metabolism, you’ll be sure to maximize fat burn and achieve a lean, fit physique.
How to Speed Up Your Metabolism and Burn More Fat
1. Add more spices to your foods. Capsaicin, the compound in hot peppers and other spicy foods that gives them their kick, helps speed up your metabolism by producing a thermogenic effect within the body. The spices may raise your body’s temperature, which in turn may increase your heart rate. This increase in your heart rate results in a faster metabolism. Don’t overdo it on the spicy foods, though — calories still count so that plate of 20 wings is overkill. You can also produce a similar thermogenic effect to boost your metabolism by taking a men’s fat burner. Read “What is a Thermogenic Supplement” for more information on fat burners for men and how they can boost your metabolism.
2. Build more muscle. Muscle requires more energy to maintain than fat, so the more muscle you have, the more calories your body expends. To build more muscle and speed up your metabolism, you should be increasing your protein intake, taking the right men’s nutritional supplements and performing resistance training. Men’s sports nutrition supplements like creatine and whey protein can help maximize your efforts in your gym for significant increases in strength and muscle mass. A CLA supplement for men can also help encourage muscle growth and burn more fat. For more tips on building muscle, check out “A Beginner’s Guide to Building Muscle.”
3. Eat breakfast. We can’t stress enough the importance of breakfast. It’s important for you to eat this meal because it “breaks the fast” — your body needs energy after fasting all night from sleeping, and breakfast helps stop the catabolic processes that could be costing you valuable muscle mass. Having something in your stomach first thing in the morning helps speed up your metabolism for the rest of the day. Working out in the morning can also help boost your metabolism – just make sure to take a pre-workout supplement and post-workout supplement to properly fuel your body. Need breakfast ideas? Check out “The Best Breakfast Foods for Men” for some advice. And don’t forget to take your men’s multivitamin in the morning, too.
4. Avoid alcoholic drinks. When the weekend is upon us, it’s nice to unwind with a beer or another drink. While the occasional alcoholic beverage won’t do much harm in the long run, any more than that can significantly slow down your metabolism. Aside from its metabolism-slowing effect, alcohol may also stimulate the appetite. The mix of a big appetite and lowered inhibitions is a recipe for diet disaster. Limit your alcohol intake and stay away from fatty bar food to reduce your calorie intake. “8 Calorie-Cutting Tips for Men” has more ways to speed up your metabolism and cut calories.
5. Get more sleep. Another way to speed up your metabolism is to turn off the television and hit the sack earlier. A lack of sleep may affect the hormones that regulate your appetite and metabolism as well as contribute to men’s skin problems like acne breakouts. Aim for 7-8 hours of sleep whenever possible to help boost your metabolism. Even taking an occasional nap can help. “How Sleep Affects Men’s Health” further explains how important sleep is to your skin and overall health.
6. Drink green tea. Just like spicy foods, green tea helps boost your metabolism. The benefits of green tea for men go beyond just weight loss, though. Green tea contains antioxidants that may help your skin and overall health as well. The antioxidant properties of green tea may help fight off free radical damage, which can cause premature aging signs like wrinkles and fine lines. Certain nutritional supplements like MenScience Thermogenic Formula contain green tea to boost your metabolism. Read “The Benefits of Green Tea for Men” for more on green tea’s effects.
7. Be active. This is a no-brainer, but a lot of us neglect it. You don’t need to buy a gym membership to start burning more calories. Little tweaks like taking the stairs, riding a bike to work or just parking a little further than usual can help boost your metabolism. You can even burn calories at your desk! Read “Burn Calories at Work” for office weight-loss tips.
