Metabolism Boosters for Quick Weight Loss

We are all looking for secrets for quick weight loss, but really there's no secret. If you burn more calories than you eat, you'll lose weight. So if you increase your metabolism (your body's ability to burn calories) you'll be able to lose weight more easily. There are many ways to increase your metabolism, here are 4 suggestions to help you get started!

Build Muscle
One reason to add strength training to your workout routine is that, according to Spark People, “if you don’t strength train regularly, up to 30% of the weight you lose could be muscle tissue.” According to WebMD.com, a pound of muscle burns 6 calories a day while a pound of fat burns only 2 calories a day – calculate that difference over time and you’ll see why building muscle can help you to lose more weight!

Step Up Your Workout
Chris Melby, Dr.P.H. says “Research has clearly shown that energy expenditure does not return to pre-exercise resting baseline levels immediately following exercise. The amount of this post-exercise elevation of energy expenditure depends primarily on how hard you exercise (i.e., intensity) and to a lesser degree on how long you exercise (i.e., duration).”

Fuel Up with Water
A study discussed on WebMD.com states “After drinking approximately 17 ounces of water, the subjects' metabolic rates -- or the rate at which calories are burned -- increased by 30% for both men and women. The increases occurred within 10 minutes of water consumption and reached a maximum after about 30 to 40 minutes… The researchers estimate that over the course of a year, a person who increases his water consumption by 1.5 liters a day would burn an extra 17,400 calories, for a weight loss of approximately five pounds.”

Avoid Crash Diets
According to Epigee Women’s Health website, there are many risks to crash dieting, including: mental health problems (when we don’t see the results we are hoping for), nutritional deficiency (because we aren’t eating enough), vital organ damage (when we don’t provide our body with the fuel it needs, our organs can’t perform their necessary functions), osteoporosis (by limiting your dairy intake you leave yourself susceptible to being deficient in calcium) – lastly when you participate in a crash diet you are almost definitely going to gain back any weight you lose on the diet, and possibly more.