You want to turn your body into a lean, mean fat-burning machine? Great! Here are six more ways to give your metabolism a jump start.
- Drink plenty of water. Better yet — drink cold water. Research from Germany suggests that the extra work your body does to heat the water to body temperature can give your metabolism a boost. Aim for six cups (forty-eight ounces) of cold water daily.
- Make sure you get plenty of iron in your diet. Iron is essential for carrying oxygen through your body. Your muscles need oxygen in order to burn fat. So if you don’t have enough iron, you won’t burn as much fat! Eat iron-rich shellfish, lean meats, beans, spinach, and fortified bread and cereal. Women lose iron on a monthly basis during menstruation — so iron intake shouldn’t be as much of a concern if you’ve reached menopause.
- Make sure you get plenty of vitamin D in your diet. Vitamin D helps preserve muscle tissue — and your muscles are where the fat burning happens. Eat vitamin D-rich salmon, tuna, shrimp, tofu, eggs, and fortified milk and cereal.
- Be NEAT all day. NEAT is a quick and easy abbreviation for non-exercise activity thermogenesis. In other words, the little movements you make throughout the day can really add up. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, or pace while you talk on the phone — you can burn an extra 350 calories every day that way.
- Watch your drinking. Alcohol makes your body burn less fat because your body uses the liquor for fuel instead! Just two drinks can slow your metabolism by seventy percent or more. Skip that second drink and switch to water instead.
- Choose organic fruits and vegetables. Research from Canada found that folks who have organochlorides (pollutants from pesticides that are stored in fat cells) tend to experience a big slowdown in metabolism when they diet. Why? Researchers suspect that the toxins are interfering with the energy-burning process. Stick to organic fruits and veggies instead!