Five Quickest, Easiest Things You Can Do To Rev Up Your Metabolism
Healing or strengthening metabolism is not the same thing as losing weight. Ultimately, a healthy metabolism results in a healthy weight. What about the timing? Depends on how stressed your body is to start with, genetics, lifestyle. In fact, in my experience, people coming from low-carb/high-protein diets tend to gain a little weight in the beginning.
A high metabolic rate would be similar to a “wasteful” engine in a car - resources are used to produce excess heat. “Efficient” metabolism however, helps to sustain you on very little food making it easier to get fat because the calories are stored rather than burnt away.
Despite the negative connotation, we are going for “wasteful” rather than "efficient" here! Quoting Kate Deering: “Health equates to high metabolism and results in a warm body, good sleep, strong digestion, healthy hair and skin and a positive life outlook”.*
For me personally, healing metabolism took some time. Almost two years before I saw any weight loss. But I felt warmer, calmer, happier and began sleeping like a baby within weeks of implementing the changes I am about to tell you.
Here are the tips you can start using today to set you on a journey towards healthy metabolism:
Avoid or reduce polyunsaturated fatty acids. That means vegetable oils. The rule of thumb is - if an oil stays liquid in the fridge - ditch it. Effectively, your diet should rely on butter, coconut oil and olive oil.
Eat enough carbohydrates from non-starchy sources. In other words, eat plenty of fruit, honey, and all nutritious sugars. Reduce grains and legumes
Make sure to get enough calcium. Ideally, from good quality dairy. Yes, dairy. It’s a magic food when it comes to metabolism
Get your proteins right. Aim to get 100 grams of good protein per day including meat from ruminant animals, shellfish, eggs, low fat milk, low fat Greek yogurt, and low fat cheese
Avoid anti-thyroid foods and anti-metabolic activities. Anti-thyroid foods are processed foods, soy, vegetable oils, grains, legumes, raw cabbage-family vegetables, and nuts. And anti-metabolic activities include endurance-fitness events and bootcamps, excessive stress levels (i wish!), overuse of pharmaceutical drugs, exposure to radiation and decreased sleep
Did I say “five”? Well, there is also the tip “0” - eat enough food. Any food. Being in a calorie-deficient state is like pressing an alarm button. Of course, you knew that already.
I have a few more tips up my sleeve but these five would make a good start.
And if you would like to know more about either biochemistry behind these recommendations or practical ways of building your diet and lifestyle to support metabolism get in touch and we can work together towards your goals.
* This definition is taken from “How to Heal Your Metabolism” by Kate Deering