The 7 Best Ways You Can Increase Your Metabolic Rate

1.  Portion Sizes

American researchers noticed the bigger the serving or portion size, then more calories are consumed.  A study was conducted where people were given large containers of soup or popcorn and the other group was given small containers.  The large container group consumed 73% (popcorn) and 43% (soup) more calories than the small container group.  Try using smaller plates in order to consume less calories.

2.  Eat Smaller Meals

Plan you day to consume 3 smaller meals and 2 or 3 snacks.  Intervals of roughly 3 hours apart.  Regular and small meals increases the metabolic rate after eating for a short period of time.  It is boosted approximately 10% for 2-3 hours after you eat, so avoid skipping meals.

3.  Consume Enough Protein

Protein will help stop you from wanting to over eat, as amino acids are the most satisfying nutrient.  A meal's calories may be burned off as heat, giving a protein meal a higher calorie burn percentage of up to 20%.  Don't get me wrong, your metabolism is raised after eating anything, so include protein with every snack and meal.

4.  Breakfast Benefits

Kick start your morning with a good breakfast with a combination of carbohydrates and protein.  You will burn those calories throughout the day and your metabolism and you get a energized kick start.  Eggs and toast or oatmeal and protein powder are a few options.

5.  Exercise

You continue burning calories 1-2 hours after vigorous exercise.  Actually, you burn calories faster because your body repairs muscle tissue and refills ATP-PC energy reserves by breaking down the high energy phosphates that are stored.  This is known as the after-burn, which comes mainly from the body's fat.

6.  Add Muscle

Two weight training sessions a week is recommended by the American College of Sports and Medicine.  Studies show that you RMR will increase after three months of weight training.  By just adding a pound of muscle can burn and extra 65 calories.

7.  Walk After a Meal

Turn what you just ate into heat and burn more calories by walking at a moderate pace after a meal.  Walking within an hour of eating can encourage the energy to be used instead of storing it as fat.

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Sources

Thompson, J. L. et al. (1996), 'Effects of diet and diet-plus-exercise programs on resting metabolic rate: a meta analysis'. Int. J. Sports Nutr., vol. 6, pp. 41-61.

Wansink, B et al. (2005), 'Bottomless Bowls: why virtual cues of portion size may influence intake'. Obes. Res., vol. 13(1), pp93-100.