1. Eat little and often
Every time we eat, we burn off calories through excess heat production, digestion and absorption of the food. This is called dietary thermogenesis and accounts for approximately 10% of our daily use of calories. Research shows that eating small, regular meals helps increase the amount of dietary thermogenesis that takes place and therefore burns more calories than eating one large meal per day. It also helps to keep hunger at bay reducing the likelihood of over eating.
2. Pack in some protein
Protein rich foods such as meat, poultry, fish, beans, nuts, seeds and tofu require up to 18% more energy to be eaten, digested and absorbed than carbohydrates or fats so make sure your diet consists of the recommended intake (15% of calories coming from protein) by adding a little in to each meal or snack you have. His will also help to slow the rate of digestion helping you to feel fuller for longer.
3. Spice up your life!
Several clinical research studies have found that an ingredient known as capsaicin found in spices, particularly chilli, can raise the metabolic rate slightly after a meal. This is because the heart rate increases when spices are eaten. Spices are also a great way of flavouring low fat dishes and they’re good for you as many contain high concentrations of antioxidants so use them liberally without guilt!
4. Give yourself a caffeine kick!
Just two and a half cups of caffeine containing coffee or cola can raise the metabolism by 10% – 30% for 1 to 3 hours after drinking them. This is because caffeine increases both the heart rate and the circulating amounts of the hormone, adrenaline. Good news for calorie burning but not so great for overall health if drunk to excess so limit your intake to a maximum of 3 or 4 cups a day. [See also: Five reasons men lose weight quicker than women]
5. Go green
A Swiss study found that people who drink green tea burned significantly more calories than those who didn’t. It is thought that the phytochemical flavanoids found in the tea may affect the ‘energy’ hormone noradrenalanie which in turn, may speed up the rate at which fat is burned in the body. Green tea is also extremely good for overall health.
6. Start fidgeting
According to researchers at the highly renowned Mayo Clinic people who naturally fidget, move around and change posture burn up to 400 more calories a day than those who are less active. The researchers labelled this factor NEAT (for non-exercise activity thermo genesis).
7. Get excited
Emotions such as excitement or stress can increase the amount of adrenaline that is released into the system. This hormone speeds up the metabolic rate therefore increasing the amount of calories burned overall.
8. Turn down the thermostat
Try turning down the thermostat in your home or office by just a few degrees. This will force the body to burn more calories so that it can stay at its preferred temperature of 37 degrees.
9. Update your CV – and no, we’re not talking about your resume!
It won’t come as any surprise to learn that cardio-vascular (C.V) exercise such as walking, swimming, running, dancing and cycling automatically increases your metabolic rate. However, you may be surprised to learn that by adding a few short, sharp bursts of higher intensity exercise into your usual workout can ensure your metabolic rate remains elevated for up to 38 hours after leaving the gym! So, pepper your usual jog with a few short sprints, alternate every fourth length of breast stroke with one of super fast front crawl, increase the resistance on the exercise bike for 30 seconds out of every five minutes or power walk between every second lamp post and then go home and collapse on the sofa content in the knowledge that you’re burning extra calories even whilst you rest!
10. And finally, start strength training!
It might not work overnight but strength training (working your muscles against a resistance sufficient to ensure you cannot do more than ten repetitions of the exercise) is still one of the most effective ways going to increase your metabolic rate. In fact, you’ll burn an extra 50 calories a day for every pound of muscle tissue you put on. Consequently, regular strength training can increase your basal metabolic rate by as much as 15% in just a few short weeks of regular training! Lose up to a stone in a month without crash dieting How to eat like an expert Double your energy in just five days