How to raise metabolism

try to eat food that can help you speed up your metabolism... like egg, red bell pepper..

Also make sure you are eating enough protein!

lift weight build muscle..

sorry but i dont think eating certain types of food are good ways to permanently raise your metabolism.

You have to regulate hormones by eating.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

Try this.

Youll gain weight for the first couple weeks while adjusting to TDEE.
Then cut again at a slight deficit.

How do I raise my metabolism after eating around a 1000 calorie a day diet for more than a year I am 5'4 and 186 pounds I never noticed how little I ate cuz I was never really hungry. I am now trying to eat at least 1200 calories and am doing zumba from home ? Thanx to any answers

Unless you are a magician your measurement of this 1000 calories was way off... I suggest with documenting and measuring food a bit more for accuracy.

your metabolism, brain memory, & body, consider it like a computer... all computers can be programed.. train and program your body.... my metabolism is ridiculously FAST. i've trained it to slow down just a bit..

I started my journey on here just eating 1000 calories a day because I was used to skipping dinner

I am still trying to find my maintenance level, and have been taking baby steps instead of just increasing my calories by huge amounts. So far me giving my body time to adjust to each level seems to have worked for me. My goal is to be able to maintain my current weight and yet eat more. Every time I increased I would add things in like fruit and nuts

What I have done is increased my calorie level by 100 a day more and stayed at that level for at least 2 weeks

Every time I did that it seemed to jump start my metabolism.

Then in August I plateaued for a couple of months at 1500 a day calories intake

Then all of a sudden I started losing again and I am now eating 1700 a day and I have a feeling I'll be going up again.

I have had to have cheat days to gain back some weight because I don't need to lose anymore.

I hope this helps

I found this and it seems to make sense

Eat breakfast! and a good one... within 1-2 hours of waking up! This is really one of the best ways to get your metabolism going for the day and keep it going all day by eating regularly (i.e. not 2 huge meals, but smaller ones) and exercising.

This is 100% false. This is an old myth that has been debunked for some time now. Your metabolism never stops and it doesn't slow down at night. Eating breakfast will not increase weight loss if calories are consistent. Neither meal timing or meal frequency have any impact on weight loss, only satiety.

Exercise will of course increase your metabolism but if you want to jump start it with food here is some tips:

-Drink green tea with every meal
-Eat spicy foods: Hot foods or even mild herbs and spices will speed up the metabolism.
- Increase your take of omega 3 fats (nuts, eggs, flax seeds, fish, olive oil, coconut oil, avocado)
- Yogurt and Kefir and very good for the body and aid in weight loss
- Lean cuts of meat (chicken breast and turkey)
- Eat lots of colorful foods. Color equals nutrition, nutrition will lead to weight loss and health.
- Eat the right amount of calories otherwise your body will hold on to fat.

Spot on! Capcasin in hot peppers is like nitrous oxide for a motor if in doubt add tabasco sauce or some habanero sauce to your food... Green tea is a natural diuretic and also digestion enhancer according to many sources, I prefer Yerba Mate... Omega 3 boosts brain chemistry and structure... Yogurt with active enzymes increases the health of the digestive tract. Nutrients from natural vegetable sources are able to be digested much better than those of mineral supplements and the variety of colors reflects, sorry for the pun, the minerals and vitamins within the different vegetables. Fruits of the rainbow help as well. Papaya and mango affect protein digestion if you are on a higher protein diet. Avocado and tomatoes are fruits we think of as vegetables that are incredible boosters of metabolism. One additional thought is to boost these with supplements as well such as a multivitamin, omega 3, gingko, ginseng, and papaya.

Eat breakfast! and a good one... within 1-2 hours of waking up! This is really one of the best ways to get your metabolism going for the day and keep it going all day by eating regularly (i.e. not 2 huge meals, but smaller ones) and exercising.

This is 100% false. This is an old myth that has been debunked for some time now. Your metabolism never stops and it doesn't slow down at night. Eating breakfast will not increase weight loss if calories are consistent. Neither meal timing or meal frequency have any impact on weight loss, only satiety.

First, this is true to a point... Breakfast is not essential... I however eat 150 to 300 calories within an hour of waking to prevent hunger and to boost metabolism with my eating choices. It also helps to maintain an even blood sugar level so that you do not have your energy wane during the day. I have some yogurt and usually some hot sauce every morning for the capcasin to boost metabolism. I then take my supplements to slow them down in the digestive tract for good absorption. Good health is not just calorie deficits... One other great study showed that you burn less calories watching TV than while you sleep! Go to bed and burn more calories than going catatonic infront of the TV... Go with someone you love to burn even more...

hmmm...how bout crack??

You never see a fat crack ho.

You've never been through Oakland, huh?:huh:

How do I raise my metabolism after eating around a 1000 calorie a day diet for more than a year I am 5'4 and 186 pounds I never noticed how little I ate cuz I was never really hungry. I am now trying to eat at least 1200 calories and am doing zumba from home ? Thanx to any answers

There is no mystery to weight loss, everyone thinks something is wrong, their metabolism is broken, they have low thyroid, they have menopause or whatever issue, they are as unique as a snowflake, whatever. I thought a lot of these things once too but once the doctor helped resolve the health issues for me I learned there is still no magic pill. Most people eat more than they need to and are not at good at estimating calories as they think they are. Most people have a lower BMR than they think they do. The only way to know for sure is to go to a lab and have it tested. It doesn't seem fair to have to eat less and feel a little hunger. It's hard to face the truth of it, very hard. It's not fun. It's drudgery at times. But if you learn to enjoy your smaller amounts of food (necessary to lose weight, since the reason we got fat in the first place was eating too much whether we knew it or not), and rejoice in your victories it can be done.

All I can do is share what worked for me. I achieved my goal at age 50 after beating my head against the wall for 15 years. Yeah anyone can do it, but I can tell you that you are up against a lot when you are older and I believe females have some unique issue to face with hormones and such. The sooner you can get a handle on it the better. DO NOT GIVE UP. As I got older and the weight piled on (and I didn't feel I was eating too much!) everyone kept telling me to give up, this is what happens when you get older. I'm small, and I didn't realize how small I was until I lost the weight. Everyone said I had big bones. I looked hefty because I worked out. Once I lost the weight I realized how small I really was and that small people don't need to eat as much as big people. HINT: If you are short you are probably small.

Your body loses weight in chunks, not linear. I have found that you can do everything right and your weight loss seems to plateau but if you are patient and keep exercising and eating at a deficit (however slight) you will lose it, it will suddenly "whoosh". There are so many variables for the scale; water retention, digestion, hormones, allergies, sodium, carbs, water intake, DOMS, inflammation, the list goes on. People mistakenly think they lose or gain weight when they eat more or less because of these fluctuations.

Losing weight requires tremendous patience. You will not lose it when you want it or where you want it. The body does its thing. Some apparent plateaus can last a month or so. You cannot make it happen faster. You must focus on two things; calories and exercise. Nothing else matters. Scales and metrics don't matter. The day in and day out grind of exercise and calories are all that matters. It is not very exciting until things fall into place. You get your victories and you ride one victory to the next.

The scale is a trend tool. The scale is good but put it away and only check once a week and only use it as a trend tool. It will fluctuate, it does not matter. Take front side and back progress pictures at least once a month. You will see differences that the metrics won't tell you and it's that little bit of NSV that will keep you going until the next victory.

To say eat more is wrong.

To say eat less is wrong.

To find the exact calories needed for YOU to be in a healthy sustainable calorie deficit is the right answer. Wait, if you need to adjust by 100 do it, wait, adjust, wait, adjust, wait. The tortoise wins this race.

All that matters is calories. A healthy balanced diet within a calorie budget for a deficit that is right for YOU is all that matters for weight loss. Don't make it complicated.


Also people play mental accounting games with calories just like with finances. Make steps to make sure you are making accurate measurements. Packaged foods can have MORE than they say but not less (they get in trouble if less so they would rather error with MORE).

If you typically intake sodium at a certain rate your body adjusts, but if you make a sudden change then you will see a spike.

Exercise is for making your lean body mass pretty (especially lifting weights) for when the fat is gone. Losing fat with no muscle is ugly and cardio alone will not make you pretty. You cannot out exercise too many calories.

It really is about calories. I tell people this all the time and they say "Well if calories are all that matter why do you eat so clean???!!" Well, because it makes me feel better, sleep better, and perform better at my sports.

Too many changes at once can be hard on some people. I've always eaten healthy so it easy for me to simply eat less. Eating at a calorie deficit is hard on people; even a small deficit puts your body in a state of flux with hormones and such. Everyone is different. Some people can handle a deeper calorie deficit than others, this is not right or wrong, it just is. Stress in your life affects your hunger hormones; lack of sleep, fatigue, job stress, family stress, financial stress, etc. Add in emotional eating issues and it gets even more complicated. Most people can only handle so much change/stress at once, they try to do too much and fail. Sometimes it might be a better strategy to eat at maintenance and make some small changes first, it really depends on how much stress you are taking in at the moment.

What is the exact number of calories for you?

We’ve been trying to figure out an exact NUMBER of calories that everyone should be eating, without recognizing that everyone is slightly different. In truth, the calories aren’t the end game. Your body is. So the EXACT amount of Calories that are right for you is the EXACT amount that will allow you to maintain your ideal bodyweight no matter what some calculator or chart says.

In other words, an online calculator might tell you that you need to eat 2,500 calories
per day to maintain your ideal bodyweight. But the only way to know for sure if this is
the right amount for you is to test it out. If you gain weight or can’t lose weight eating
that much, then you know you need to eat less to lose weight no matter how many
calculators and text books say otherwise.

This doesn’t mean your metabolism is broken, it just means the estimate of your needs
was just a bit off.

-John Barban (The Body Centric Calorie Guide from the Venus Index and Adonis Index Manuals)

The good thing is you don't have to worry about the starvation mode myth if you are fat. Only skinny people have to worry about starvation mode. It does not mean you have the capability to eat at a large calorie deficit if you have emotional eating disorders or other issues going on, but at least you don't have to be afraid of it anymore.

The Theory of Fat Availability:
•There is a set amount of fat that can be released from a fat cell.
•The more fat you have, the more fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•The less fat you have, the less fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•Towards the end of a transformation, when body fat is extremely low you
may not have enough fat to handle a large caloric deficit anymore.

At the extreme low end, when your body fat cannot ‘keep up’ with the energy deficit
you've imposed on your body, the energy MUST come from SOMEWHERE. This is
when you are at risk of losing lean body mass during dieting (commonly referred to
as ‘starvation mode’). This happens at extremely low levels of body fat, under 6% in
men and 12% in women [Friedl K.E. J Appl Phsiol, 1994].

-Brad Pilon and John Barban (from The Reverse Taper Diet in The Adonis Index and Venus Index manuals)

Lifting weights is KEY. I recently had my DXA scan done and at 51.5 years of age I have the bone density of a super athletic 30 year old. That is a direct result of lifting for over 30 years. Now if that is not scientific proof that lifting weights keeps you younger I don't know what is! Also I believe it is why most people think I look much younger than I really am.

Start lifting now, lift heavy and change it up often, find a lot of weight routines with free weights, make it fun, embrace it, make it part of your life. Only 3 days a week is all it would take. Crank up your tunes and learn to love it, because your body will love it and it will make your quality of life better in many ways, especially when you get older like me.

Because of this I don't have to worry about osteoporosis. If you wait until you are older and your bones start to deteriorate it's a bit too late, you can't get back what you lost, you can only start a resistance routine that will prevent further damage.

If you are female you don't have the hormones to get big naturally. I lift heavy and I'm still really tiny. My lean body mass is only 104 lbs and that is fairly heavy for a 5'1" female, and quite a bit of this is due to my having very dense bones from 30 years of lifting, not all muscle, and I'm still quite tiny.

My muscles really are not that big, but they show a lot of definition because I'm quite lean. If I gained some fat then I would have a softer more toned look (which is OKAY too!). Then if I gained more fat I would look bulky and hefty like I did most of my life until last year. YOU CAN HAVE WHATEVER YOU WANT. Lean and ripped, soft and toned, or hefty, it all depends on how much fat you leave on your body. Calories are the only thing that changes fat. Exercise is for changing or maintaining your lean body mass only. Lifting weights will give you the best bang for your buck for shaping your body. I finally changed my shape by putting lifting first and cardio 2nd. You cannot out exercise too many calories.

Certain spices are known to be thermogenic: cayenne fruit, bioperine, cardemom, anhydrous caffiene (in green/black teas, but not coffee).

Some foods aid in digestion, assisting in making nutrients more bio-available: ginger, papaya, yogurt

Snacking/grazing throughout the day as opposed to eating three big meals may help as well

Also, read up on 'glycemic index'. Personally, I use a nutritional program very similar to a diabetic diet.

hmmm...how bout crack??

You never see a fat crack ho.

You've never been through Oakland, huh?:huh:

Aw, no. I haven't.

Re: The importance of breakfast.

It has not been debunked. If you check the National Institutes of Health website, you can find countless articles supporting the importance of breakfast. These are peer-reviewed, academically published studies archived online. I've already linked to a bunch of them, as well as recent stuff from Harvard and Oxford in other threads.

Awesome!
But for some people with different types of insulin resistance can actually break that resistance by eating later in the day.
It can be breakfast!
I've had eggs and sausage at 2pm!.