How to Increase Metabolism and Stay Alert

Raising your metabolism can help you lose weight and feel more alert.

Your metabolism, or metabolic rate, is the energy that is burned just by keeping your body functioning. Therefore, people with high metabolisms burn more energy and lose fat more quickly. The rate of your metabolism is something you are born with, but you can increase your metabolic rate by following some simple steps that will also make you feel more alert and less lethargic.

Instructions

1. Eat little and often. If you eat small, protein-rich meals throughout the day rather than three large ones, it will keep your metabolism revving. Your stomach will get used to regularly having food and will therefore burn it up quicker, expecting more to come. However, if you starve yourself or miss meals, your body will go into starvation mode and slow itself down to hold onto energy supplies. Digesting food burns calories, so eating regularly is a good way to burn fat.

2. Eat a healthy breakfast. A healthy breakfast will wake up your body and will also provide slow-release energy so you feel more alert throughout the day. Eating oatmeal with fruit is a healthy way to start the day.

3. Work out regularly. Try to do a half-hour of cardiovascular exercise at least five times a week. The best way to lose weight and increase your metabolic rate is to combine interval training with weight and resistance training. Do 60 seconds of strenuous exercise like running or skipping to get your heart rate up, and then do exercises like lunges and squats while holding weights. Every five minutes, do another 60-second interval of cardio to keep your heart rate up. Regular exercise helps keep you alert, and it also helps you sleep better.

4. Eat spicy food. Hot spices like chili and peppers increase your metabolic rate by almost 50 percent for three hours after eating. The spice increases your heart rate and gets your metabolism moving faster. Don't eat fattening spicy food such as creamy curries, however, because you are just undoing all your hard work.

5. Drink green tea. As well as being a healthy beverage, green tea helps raise your metabolism. It also contains caffeine to help you feel more alert.

References

• 24 Hour Fitness: How to Increase Your Metabolism
• Weight Loss Resources: 8 Ways to Speed Up Metabolism
• BBC Health: Myths About Metabolism