5 Easy Ways to Rev Up Your Metabolism
Even before you start exercising, you can use plenty of tricks to eliminate visceral fat, improve your flab-burning metabolic process and start losing weight fast.
Eat Iron-Rich Foods
Iron is essential for carrying the oxygen your muscles need to burn fat. Unless you restock your store, you run the risk of low energy and a sagging metabolism. Shellfish, lean meats, beans, fortified cereals and spinach are excellent sources. (But it's not always a good idea to take a supplement. Too much iron has been linked to a greater risk of heart disease in men. Get this essential mineral in natural doses from real foods.)
Get More D
Vitamin D is essential for preserving metabolism-revving muscle tissue. Unfortunately, researchers estimate that a measly 20 per cent of people take in enough through their diet. Get 90 per cent of your recommended daily value (400 International Units) in a 150-gram serving of salmon. Other good sources: tuna, fortified milk and cereals, and eggs.
Drink Milk
There's some evidence that calcium deficiency may slow metabolism. Research shows that consuming calcium in dairy foods such as fat-free milk and low-fat yoghurt may also reduce fat absorption from other foods.
Eat 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 three months and found that it cut body-fat gains by a whopping 64 per cent. Adding this amino acid to the diet enhanced the oxidation of fat and glucose and increased lean muscle, which burns more kilojoules than fat. Snack on watermelon and other arginine sources, such as seafood, nuts and seeds, year-round.
Stay Hydrated
All of your body's chemical reactions, including your metabolism, depend on water. If you are dehydrated, you may be burning up to two per cent fewer kilojoules, according to researchers at the University of Utah who monitored the metabolic rates of 10 adults as they drank varying amounts of water per day. In the study, those who drank either eight or 12 glasses of water a day had higher metabolic rates than those who had four.
