In my lifelong quest to lose weight and stay thin, some things have worked and some haven’t. One of the best ways I’ve found to lose weight and keep it off though is to naturally boost my metabolism as this helps burn body fat. Not blessed with a fast metabolism, like some people, I’ve had to give mine some help to get it moving faster. If you too have a slow metabolism, you’ll be happy to know eating or drinking these five foods or drinks can really get your metabolism moving, and you’ll see the weight start to come off too.
Green Tea – Drinking green tea is an awesome way to naturally boost your metabolism. I drink 4-6 cups of green tea a day now and, since I started doing this, I’ve noticed that it’s been easier for me to lose weight. Green tea has caffeine in it, which helps speed up your metabolism, but it also has antioxidants in it called catechins and these are actually the things that cause your metabolism to speed up. Green tea is also healthy for you in so many other ways – a cancer preventative, it lowers blood sugar, it can help with heart disease and give you a whole slew of other health benefits. Plus, if you drink it without milk or sugar, it’s calorie-free too.
Coconut Oil – Some studies now show that Coconut Oil can naturally boost the metabolism by up to 25%. I live in Thailand, where coconut oil and coconut milk is part of many foods and drinks and, even though Thai girls eat a lot of food, they’re almost all really thin. I even know a woman who cooks all the meals for her and her husband. She eats a Thai diet with liberal helpings of coconut oil and her husband eats a typical western diet. While she is now in her 50s and shows no signs of gaining weight, even though she eats a lot of food, her husband (the same age!) who seems to eat less than her is constantly gaining.
Almonds – Due to their high fat content, you’d think almonds wouldn’t help with metabolism but, surprisingly, they do. Of course, you shouldn’t scarf down a whole bag of almonds every day as that’ll do more harm than good, but a snack of 10 almonds not only speeds up your metabolism but it’s a healthy form of protein too and all for only around 100 calories. Almonds contain magnesium and, studies show that people who have low magnesium tend to be overweight.
Blueberries – Not only are blueberries absolutely loaded with antioxidants, they’re also an amazing little fruit to help you burn more calories by naturally boosting your metabolism. Add some to a low-fat yoghurt for a healthy snack, put half a cup on your morning cereal, or pulverize them in some low-fat yoghurt with a sliced up apple and some orange slices to make a healthy fruit smoothie.
Spicy Foods – Some studies show spicy foods don’t increase your metabolism and some show that they do. All I know is I live in Thailand, the land of the spicy food, and every Thai girl I know that eats tons of the stuff is as thin as a pencil. Since I started adding a bit of spice to my meals (little crushed up hot peppers are added to almost every meal in Thailand), I’ve noticed my weight started to drop faster. So add some more hot peppers to your curries, dips and sandwiches. You’ll love the difference in how your body looks.
Two Little Extra Things To Boost Your Metabolism:
Cinnamon – And for a little extra bonus, because it’s technically not a ‘food’, add some cinnamon to your coffee, your breakfast cereal or your toast. Cinnamon also helps speed up your metabolism (and gives a zing to your food), and it’s pretty much calorie-free too. It’s also great if you’re diabetic, as it lowers blood sugar as well.
Water – Keep your body hydrated. This really can be the difference between losing weight and not and having a slow metabolism and not. So drink your 6-8 cups of water per day and see how fast your metabolism speeds up.
These five foods and drinks are awesome ways to speed up your metabolism. Don’t forget too, several small meals per day are better than three big ones as, with five or six small ones, your metabolism will stay boosted all day long and losing weight will really be a breeze.
