Metabolism Boosters, Do They Really Work? 5 Things You Can Do To Help You Improve Your Metabolic Efficiency.

Raise your hand if you ever struggled to lose weight when you feel like you’re doing everything right, but the scale is not budging. 

I have been right where you are and felt this exact same frustration.

Sometimes we can seemingly do all of the things we think we should be doing to reach our health goals, but we feel that our metabolism is working against us.  I mean what else could it be, right?   

Metabolism (or more specifically our metabolic rate) is defined as the series of chemical reactions that create and break down energy necessary for life.

Metabolism is simply put the rate at which your body expends energy or burns calories.


Our bodies burn calories in several ways:

• Through the energy required to keep the body functioning at rest; this is known as your basal metabolic rate (BMR). Your BMR is partly determined by the genes you inherit.
• Through everyday activities
• Through exercise

 The truth is that metabolism is not something that you can speed up or slow down very easily as it is partly genetic and is largely outside of our control. 

So what about these metabolism boosters we read out or see the influencers touting on Social Media?  Teas, supplements, the latest workout moves?

Instead of looking for the quick fix, let's look at the lifestyle changes we can make that can help us move the needle on the parts of caloric expenditure that we can control, and many reside beyond the plate. 


Getting enough sleep.  Sleep is when our bodies rejuvenate and replenish, so getting healthy amounts of sleep on a regular basis will help to keep a healthy metabolism. 
 
Staying hydrated.  Hydration is important for our health, so drink up!  Proper hydration lends far more benefits to your health than a healthy metabolism, so this one is very important. It is important that you do not just drink water as it is actually a pretty inert drink (meaning that water alone does not do a great job at hydrating).  Look to add a little sodium and a pinch of sugar to your drinks, so orange juice, water, and a pinch of Himalayan pink sea salt or grey Celtic sea salt would be a highly functional hydrator!
 
Don’t skip breakfast.  A large percentage of the population skips breakfast, especially women however science shows us that skipping breakfast or using intermittent fasting as a women can actually work against your hormones.  Mornings can be rushed and busy, but starting your day with a healthy protein packed breakfast is very helpful for weight management.  
 
And of course, exercise!  Weight lifting is an excellent exercise for increasing your body's ability to burn calories as the more muscle mass you have the more calories you are able to burn.  
 
 
Here are 2 more ways that may be new to you but are critical in building optimal health and wellness...
 
 
Eating enough.  There’s a common misconception that eating less helps you lose weight, which is not entirely accurate.  Eating enough calories spread throughout your day will keep your nutrients flowing and your physiology thriving!  Overeating is never a good idea, but don’t be afraid to eat healthy, whole foods as your intuition guides you to. 
 
Get spicy.  Adding some hot peppers, rosemary, turmeric, saffron, ginger, or any other spice into your meals may give a pop to your body's ability to reduce inflammation which has been linked to increasing your ability to release weight,  so if you enjoy a little spice in your meals remember this trick. 
 
 

Pick out a tip or two to start implementing this week if you’ve been frustrated with your goals to lose weight taking longer than you’d hoped.  Send me a comment or message and let me know what you plan on trying, I’d love to cheer you on!

Jenniferlyn Kryvicky, MS, LN Functional Nutritionist and Lifestyle Practitioner