Trying to speed up the process of fat loss? If so, it’s important that you consider all sides of the equation.
When most people think about fat burning, they tend to immediately consider either reducing their food intake or increasing their energy expenditure. For the most part, these are the two primary well-known ways to make weight loss happen.
And, they work, that much is true.
But both do take their toll on the body. Decreasing your food intake means you’ll be taking in fewer nutrients throughout the day, which could in turn, in time, set you up for nutritional deficiency.
Adding too much additional exercise could also put you at risk for overuse injuries burnout, or over training, so again, it’s less than ideal.
So what’s the solution to all of this?
While I’m not saying don’t decrease your food intake slightly and make sure that you are using a smart exercise program, what I am saying is that there’s a third factor to consider: your resting metabolic rate.
Your resting metabolic rate accounts for how many calories you burn each day just sitting there. Basically, with no exercise at all, this is your total daily calorie burn. If you can do something to increase this number, it will be the most effective and least painful way to see accelerated fat burning taking place.
And the good news is there is many ways that you can go about doing just that. Today we’re going to talk about the nutritional ways that you can boost your metabolism. By eating the right types of foods, you can see enhanced fat burning all day long.
Let’s go over the specific foods that may help boost your metabolic rate.
Coconut
The first of the metabolic boosting foods to know about is coconut. Coconut is a medium chain triglyceride, which is a type of fatty acid that tends to have thermal effects when you consume it.
This means that your body is going to burn a good number of calories simply breaking the fat found in coconut oil down, releasing this as energy. Meaning, you net fewer calories overall.
While most dietary fat is not thermal at all (it requires hardly any energy to break down), coconut fat comes in at around 15%.
Meaning, for every 100 calories of coconut fat you take in, you’ll burn up around 15 of those just breaking it down. Over time, this can really add up.
Add to this the fact that coconut oil is also a heart-healthy form of fat that can help lower cholesterol and also helps boost your immune system and it’s one fat that you’ll want to be getting in.
Plus, unlike other forms of fat that take a long time to break down and digest in the body, releasing their energy, coconut fat breaks down rapidly, so provides energy more like a carbohydrate source would.
For those who happen to be using lower carb diet plans, adding coconut fat into their diet may just help do the trick of keeping energy levels up.
Chili Peppers
Next, another important ingredient you’ll want to be incorporating into your diet plan on a regular basis is chili pepper. Or, if you prefer, cayenne pepper can also work well here.
Both of these contain capsaicin, which is a compound that stimulates the metabolic rate, causing you to burn more calories for a few hours after you consume it.
Add to this that those who eat spicy foods tend to consume fewer calories overall and you have a winning combination of fat burning.
Chili peppers are also great for improving your immune system, clearing congestion and may also help to lower your risk for prostate cancer if you’re a man.
All in all, they’re a great, very low calorie way to stroke your metabolic rate.
Lean Meat Of All Types
The next ingredient is not one ingredient per say, but rather, a whole bunch of ingredients – lean meat. Just like coconut oil has a higher thermal effect of food as noted above, so does all lean meat.
Protein, in general, is very energy costly for the body to break down. By eating lean protein in your diet, you can see a metabolic boost of upwards of 25%. This is even more powerful than coconut fat is.
Those who consume diets that are higher in lean protein on average do tend to see greater total body fat loss rates and also maintain their lean body weight better as well.
This is, in part due to the fact that since they get this metabolic boost, they net fewer calories total at the end of the day.
Add to this fact that protein does not spike blood glucose levels and takes a while to digest in your body and you have a great recipe for optimal hunger control. If you want to combat hunger on your fat loss plan, protein is how to do it.
Getting enough lean protein into your meal plan is also important for maintaining your lean muscle mass tissue, and that again also helps keep your metabolic rate higher. Lean muscle mass is highly metabolically active, meaning it burns a number of calories each day just existing on your body, so the more if it you have, the more calories you can consume.
By preserving that lean muscle mass, you keep your metabolic rate revved as high as possible. Most people typically tend to lose muscle mass when they go on a reduced calorie diet plan, but by getting enough protein in, you can make sure you don’t have this problem.
Green Tea
Moving along, another good ingredient you’ll want to be adding to your diet plan regularly is green tea. This beverage is not only great for fat burning, but will also help boost your health as well.
Green tea contains a wealth of antioxidants that can help combat free radical damage, keeping you feeling your healthiest and preventing the develop of diseases such as cancer.
In addition to that, green tea will also help elevate your metabolic rate, especially when consumed on a daily basis. Drinking two to three cups per day could help give you that extra edge on fat burning that you need.
As an added benefit, the hot liquid also tends to calm hunger pains, so it could also help you reduce how much you’re eating on a day to day basis.
Just remember to serve your green tea without added sugar or fat (from cream). Serve it plain with a little stevia if needed. This will help prevent you from taking in any unwanted calories.
Low Fat Greek Yogurt
The next good food to get into your diet plan that can help boost your metabolic rate is low fat Greek yogurt. Greek yogurt is another food that’s very rich in protein, so has that thermic effect of food factor to help you expend more energy breaking the food down.
In addition to this however, those who consume lower fat dairy products as part of their fat loss diet tend to notice greater fat loss especially from the abdominal region as well. Subjects consistently eating dairy see better weight loss overall and gain a more attractive and healthy body because of it.
This is important to note because many people, when dieting, start eliminating dairy from their diet entirely. They think dairy will only cause them to gain weight, when the opposite is true.
Dairy will cause weight gain if you feast on ice cream, high fat cheese, or whole milk, but if you choose wisely – and opt for something like low fat Greek yogurt, you’ll be helping, not hurting yourself.
Furthermore, dairy will also help to combat hunger nicely and provide a good dose of calcium to your day, which helps promote strong bones and regular muscular contractions.
If you’ve recently cut dairy from your plan, it’s time to bring it back.
Coffee
Finally, the last thing that you should be adding to your diet on a regular basis is coffee. Whether you choose to simply drink your coffee or you prefer to add it to other foods (such as adding ground coffee beans into muffins for enhanced flavor), coffee can help stimulate your metabolic rate.
This is thanks to the caffeine it contains, which is a central nervous system stimulant. Obviously you do have to be careful how much coffee you consume (as too much caffeine can be harmful), but one or two cups of regular coffee per day can definitely be a part of a healthy weight loss diet plan.
Even further, those who consume moderate amounts of coffee may also have lower risk factors for diabetes, Alzheimer’s, along with some types of cancer.
Here again, just make sure the coffee you are drinking is black and not laden with sugar and fat additives.
So keep these quick tips in mind if you want to boost your metabolic rate and see optimal rates of fat loss taking place. Don’t be too quick to slash your calorie consumption or spend hours in the gym. Instead, be smart. Focus on boosting your metabolism and you’ll see fat loss happening without all that much effort on your part.