How are your New Year’s resolutions going around weight loss?
I understand how confusing this can be since I have studied hundreds of dietary theories in the 18 years I’ve been involved in the health industry. If there was one thing that worked for all of us, it would be so much easier! But there isn’t and there is so much conflicting advice about what to eat, when to eat it, and how big your meals should be. Six small meals a day or intermittent fasting? Low-fat or paleo? Low carb or Whole30? There are a few things I know for sure and they all involve our metabolism. We want to burn fat and retain lean muscle and there are a few key strategies to do just that.
So here are a few of my metabolism-boosting shortcuts:
1. Eat within one to two hours of waking
Breakfast determines the metabolic pace of your day. If you wait too long to eat your first meal, it can crash your metabolism and send your blood sugar on a roller-coaster ride. It’s similar to not putting fuel in your car and expecting it to go. And when you skip breakfast altogether, you end up hungry, crabby, and craving sugar. This impairs judgement and we reach for a cup of coffee to keep us going or a sugar snack from the lunch room at work. What we want to do is fuel ourselves to jumpstart our engine and keep us sustained until lunch with no dips in blood sugar. (Check out my ultimate breakfast plan below.)
2. Make your snacks work for you
Some of us can get by with three main meals a day and some of us are not eating the proper nutrients at each meal so we get hungry in between and we need to snack. First rule of thumb – eat nutrient-dense balanced meals. Adding fiber, healthy fats, and clean protein to your plate will ensure you feel fuller longer every time. And if you need a snack, don’t make it a carbohydrate, since that will set you up to be a sugar burner instead of a fat burner. Every time you put carbs in your mouth, your insulin levels spike. That sets off a cascade of hunger and stress hormones. Among the harmful effects, it signals your body to store unwanted fat, especially around your waist. To become a fat burner, go longer in between meals. Rule number two – if you must snack, make your snacks full of protein and healthy fats. Such as yogurt, nuts, peanut butter on celery sticks and hard-boiled eggs or my favorite – a protein shake.
3. Give yourself a 12 hour overnight fast
You can easily accomplish this by closing the kitchen after dinner (at least three hours before bedtime), then having breakfast within one to two hours of waking. This allows the body to rejuvenate while you sleep. A few key ways to keep your metabolism at peak during sleep include:
- a consistent sleep schedule (going to bed and waking up at the same time each day)
- lower the temperature on your thermostat at bedtime for deeper sleep
- drink more water throughout the day, stopping a few hours before bedtime
4. Drink a TON of water
I talk a lot about the benefits of water, but a refreshing glass of ice water can boost your metabolism up to 30% and lower your appetite. That means sipping on H2O between meals can bust your snacking habit and help you get to the four-to-six-hour eating schedule faster. Studies have shown that even 1 to 2 percent dehydration can increase stress hormones, cause moodiness, fatigue, memory issues, and headaches. So, if you’re suffering from an energy crash or struck with cravings, grab some water and see how it makes you feel
5. Use probiotics to heal your gut
We all need to balance our good and bad bacteria. Science has shown that healing our internal microbiome can lead to an increase in metabolic rate. And the bacteria in our gut has an incredible influence on our weight, energy levels and ability to burn fat. This is my favorite probiotic.
6. Sip on some green tea
Green tea can raise metabolic rates and speed up fat oxidation. The fat burning properties are due to a high concentration of catechins, a family of powerful antioxidants. The effects can be small from just one cup, so try to have three cups during the day to help boost your metabolic rate even when you’re sleeping — just don’t load up on caffeine too close to bed time.
Here’s what my day looks like for optimizing my metabolism:
Breakfast
Upon waking, I sip on a cup of hot water with lemon. In addition to helping immediately reverse overnight dehydration, the lemon cuts sugar cravings, jumpstarts my liver, and alkalinizes my body. One hour after waking, I have a smoothie with clean, lean protein powder, a handful of greens, berries, avocado, almond milk, and a dash of cinnamon and cayenne.
Protein maintains muscle and keeps me energized. The greens and berries add vitamins and fiber while the creamy avocado also gives me some healthy, satiating fat. Almond milk is a great dairy-free milk swap, and cinnamon increases insulin sensitivity, which decreases the body’s tendency to store fat. The capsaicin in cayenne pepper revs up my metabolism and helps keep my appetite under control.
Midmorning snack
Green tea is one of my favorites and I drink a large glass every morning. The catechins in green tea are powerful antioxidants that can lead to a decrease in body fat by increasing the production of fat-fighting enzymes. It also decreases inflammation which can further prevent weight gain while fighting premature aging.
Lunch
A beautiful salad, full of the colors of the rainbow, with some added protein such as chicken, turkey or salmon are quick lunch options. I keep carrots, celery, red pepper strips, radishes, and a variety of other vegetables cut up in my refrigerator for convenience. Fresh baby spinach and arugula are my two favorite greens and they’re packed with vitamins and fiber.
Midafternoon snack
I usually go for one of these snack bars. They contain leucine – an amino acid that allows my body to burn fat and retain that lean muscle. Remember, muscle powers metabolism.
Dinner
A typical evening meal is grilled wild-caught salmon, wild rice, and steamed broccoli topped with grass-fed ghee. Salmon is a lean, clean protein packed with omega-3s, a natural anti-inflammatory. Wild rice is a slow-low carb that helps you feel full and burn fat. Broccoli is packed with nutrients and fiber, and it’s so good when cooked with grass-fed ghee, a great dairy-free, healthy fat. (Remember, you need fat to burn fat.) An hour before bedtime, I wind down my day with a large glass of water. It curbs my appetite, so closing the kitchen three hours before bedtime is super easy and involves zero willpower.
As you can see, powering up your metabolism doesn’t have to be complicated. Any questions, comment below or shoot me an email at [email protected]
