How to boost metabolism?
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djatk
Posts: 9
I've been researching different ways of increasing my metabolism so that my net calories are reduced. It definitely matters what you eat and drink. A calorie is not just a calorie! I'm a scientist by profession (although not in anything relevant to weight loss), so I've looked for info that is well justified by scientific experiment.
Here is what I've found. I hope that all of you will add to this list and/or ask good questions that lets us zero in on a great set of techniques for increasing our metabolic rate. For brevity, I've left out sources. If anything is unclear, please ask! Good luck to you!
-DJA
Boosting metabolism
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Exercise in morning increases metabolism for hours
Green or oolong tea (caffeine and catechins), two to four cups/day = 17% more calories for short period of time
Black coffee = short term boost of metabolic rate
Protein: requires almost 25% more energy to digest compared to fat. protein can up post-meal calorie burn by as much as 35 percent. 1 gram per pound of body weight. Add a serving, like 3 ounces of lean meat, 2 tablespoons of nuts, or 8 ounces of low-fat yogurt, to every meal and snack
Chile pepper: 1 tablespoon of chopped red or green chile pepper can boost metabolic rate by 20%. The effect lasts 1/2 hour. Recommend take 20 minutes before eating. The "hotter" the better. Chile pepper causes a thermobaric reaction — that's why you feel hot. It burns calories to make you hot!
Eat small meals every 3 to 4 hours keeps metabolism cranking so you burn more calories over the course of a day.
Ice cold drinks prompt body to burn more calories during digestion. five or six glasses of water on the rocks can use up to an extra 10 calories a day. drinking 6 cups of cold water a day (that's 48 ounces) can raise resting metabolism by about 50 calories daily
Body needs water to process calories. Drink a glass of water before every meal and snack.Those who drank either eight or twelve 8-ounce glasses of water a day had higher metabolic rates than those who had four.
High intensity workouts gives bigger, longer increase in resting metabolic rate than low-= or moderate- intensity workouts. Short bursts of jogging while walking are great
Add muscle: each pound of muscle uses 6 calories a day just to sustain itself.
Fiber can rev your fat burn by as much as 30 percent. Studies find that those who eat the most fiber gain the least weight over time. Aim for about 25 g a day—the amount in about three servings each of fruits and vegetables.
CALCIUM: consuming calcium in dairy foods such as fat-free milk and low-fat yogurt may also reduce fat absorption from other foods.
Watermelon: The amino acid arginine, abundant in watermelon, might promote weight loss, according to a new study in the Journal of Nutrition. Researchers supplemented the diets of obese mice with arginine over 3 months and found that it decreased body-fat gains by a whopping 64 percent. Adding this amino acid to the diet enhanced the oxidation of fat and glucose and increased lean muscle, which burns more calories than fat does. Snack on watermelon and other arginine sources, such as seafood, nuts, and seeds, year-round.
FISH OIL: EPA and DHA, the omega-3 fatty acids found only in fish oil, may have the power to dramatically boost your metabolism -- by about 400 calories per day, researchers from the University of Western Ontario report. Fish oil increases levels of fat-burning enzymes and decreases levels of fat-storage enzymes in your body. For the best metabolism boosting benefit, choose capsules containing at least 300 milligrams of EPA and DHA total.
Here is what I've found. I hope that all of you will add to this list and/or ask good questions that lets us zero in on a great set of techniques for increasing our metabolic rate. For brevity, I've left out sources. If anything is unclear, please ask! Good luck to you!
-DJA
Boosting metabolism
==========
Exercise in morning increases metabolism for hours
Green or oolong tea (caffeine and catechins), two to four cups/day = 17% more calories for short period of time
Black coffee = short term boost of metabolic rate
Protein: requires almost 25% more energy to digest compared to fat. protein can up post-meal calorie burn by as much as 35 percent. 1 gram per pound of body weight. Add a serving, like 3 ounces of lean meat, 2 tablespoons of nuts, or 8 ounces of low-fat yogurt, to every meal and snack
Chile pepper: 1 tablespoon of chopped red or green chile pepper can boost metabolic rate by 20%. The effect lasts 1/2 hour. Recommend take 20 minutes before eating. The "hotter" the better. Chile pepper causes a thermobaric reaction — that's why you feel hot. It burns calories to make you hot!
Eat small meals every 3 to 4 hours keeps metabolism cranking so you burn more calories over the course of a day.
Ice cold drinks prompt body to burn more calories during digestion. five or six glasses of water on the rocks can use up to an extra 10 calories a day. drinking 6 cups of cold water a day (that's 48 ounces) can raise resting metabolism by about 50 calories daily
Body needs water to process calories. Drink a glass of water before every meal and snack.Those who drank either eight or twelve 8-ounce glasses of water a day had higher metabolic rates than those who had four.
High intensity workouts gives bigger, longer increase in resting metabolic rate than low-= or moderate- intensity workouts. Short bursts of jogging while walking are great
Add muscle: each pound of muscle uses 6 calories a day just to sustain itself.
Fiber can rev your fat burn by as much as 30 percent. Studies find that those who eat the most fiber gain the least weight over time. Aim for about 25 g a day—the amount in about three servings each of fruits and vegetables.
CALCIUM: consuming calcium in dairy foods such as fat-free milk and low-fat yogurt may also reduce fat absorption from other foods.
Watermelon: The amino acid arginine, abundant in watermelon, might promote weight loss, according to a new study in the Journal of Nutrition. Researchers supplemented the diets of obese mice with arginine over 3 months and found that it decreased body-fat gains by a whopping 64 percent. Adding this amino acid to the diet enhanced the oxidation of fat and glucose and increased lean muscle, which burns more calories than fat does. Snack on watermelon and other arginine sources, such as seafood, nuts, and seeds, year-round.
FISH OIL: EPA and DHA, the omega-3 fatty acids found only in fish oil, may have the power to dramatically boost your metabolism -- by about 400 calories per day, researchers from the University of Western Ontario report. Fish oil increases levels of fat-burning enzymes and decreases levels of fat-storage enzymes in your body. For the best metabolism boosting benefit, choose capsules containing at least 300 milligrams of EPA and DHA total.
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Replies
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Thanks for the post. Very good info0
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Bump! I have to do all this!0
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sounds good dont think i can do them all but deffo can drink more and i do have green tea but run out until Friday x
thanks for the post x0 -
Hey thanks for sharing that, very informative and helpful to me who wonders if I have ruined my metabolism for life! I will try all those things you've suggested.0
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Good info here. Not sure I can handle doing the chile peppers though :-)0
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Bump....0
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You have to give us your sources0
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Thank you for the information. :-)0
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great info0
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this!! 0 -
great post thanks for the research! :flowerforyou:0
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I am skeptical to most of these.
I'm still a believer that your total calories in must be less than the calories you expend. That seems to be the plan that's working for me.
My doctor wrote me a prescription to Phentermine. It's an amphetimine that supresses appetite and allegedly boosts metabolism. I took it for a couple of months, but the side effects weren't worth it to me.
Best wishes to all on your health and wellness journey,0 -
Exercise in the morning has been the theme in what I've been reading the past few days. I don't start my exercise until I finish working at around 3:00 every day. I do a home video workout or one from a magazine. Then we hit the gym before supper every night. I may try getting up a little earlier and moving some in the mornings too. I don't usually crawl out until time to make breakfast and start my work. Hmmmm.0
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thanks, bump so I can read later0
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none of these are out there...in order to have improved fitness and lose weight there must be lifestyle changes. Thanks again..great post
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bump0
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@toasterlisa I agree totally that total calorie intake must be less than you expend. The goal is to have net calories not exceed your BMR. I count all of the metabolic hints as "bonus points" since it is not easy at all to compute. So I eat at the target calorie intake set for my by MFP (and compared to some other similar sites for sanity check).0
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FISH OIL: EPA and DHA, the omega-3 fatty acids found only in fish oil, may have the power to dramatically boost your metabolism -- by about 400 calories per day, researchers from the University of Western Ontario report. Fish oil increases levels of fat-burning enzymes and decreases levels of fat-storage enzymes in your body. For the best metabolism boosting benefit, choose capsules containing at least 300 milligrams of EPA and DHA total.
I take this for depression. I have, uh, oily stools. I don't know if my body isn't absorbing the pills or other fats I'm eating.0 -
I don't care for ingesting the capsule form for the chili peppers because they usually cause too much burn in my stomach but I sure do enjoy hot peppers in food and salsas. For me, the good thing about eating hot peppers is the more I eat the more I crave. I think it has something to do with the endorphin release because my body thinks it's 'on fire'.
As for the fish oil, what are your thoughts on any fish oil coming from the Pacific Ocean since the Fukushima nuclear incident? I refuse to take in any fish from the Pacific, now, since there is still news about floating debris from Fukushima making its way to far away coastal beaches. One thing I did right after the incident was to stock up on canned pacific deep sea wild salmon from Costco but that will only last until 2015. Any thoughts on this matter and what to use for fish and fish oil sources other than from the Pacific and antibiotic fed farm raised?
Also, I've been wondering about the safety of Krill oil recently since it is suppose to be a superior source.0 -
Question for OP scientist: Can a person's metabolism be damaged permanently? Is the damage irreversible?0
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