Foods That Speed Up Your Metabolism
It is so easy to focus on the foods that you are supposed to avoid in order to lose weight, but what about the foods that you should be eating? There are many foods that you should be consuming that will actually help you lose weight. Foods that boost your metabolism are important to weight loss and modification to the way your body stores fat.
Top Foods That Increase Your Metabolism
Fruits 
Not only are apples and pears a source of fiber but they are also packed with nutrients and are low in calories. Peaches, oranges and grapefruits are also a good source of fiber and are full of nutrients. Fruits can satisfy your sweet tooth without filling up on candies and pastries that can be full of fat and low in nutrients. Berries, like strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, acai and goji berries provide valuable anti-oxidants as well.
Oatmeal
Fat Soluble fiber requires a lot of calories to be able to break it down, so digesting oatmeal burns more calories than you ingest. Eating a bowl of oatmeal in the morning can also help you feel full longer so you eat less. It has been shown to reduce cholesterol and decrease your risks of heart disease so it is a great way to start your morning and help you to lose weight and be healthy. Try and eat steel-cut oats or whole oats and avoid the oatmeal that is instant or contains a lot of added sugars. According to the Mayo Clinic, “Soluble fiber appears to reduce the absorption of cholesterol in your intestines. Gel-like soluble fiber binds bile (which contains cholesterol) and dietary cholesterol so that the body excretes it. Five to 10 grams of soluble fiber a day decreases LDL cholesterol by about 5 percent. Eating 1.5 cups of cooked oatmeal provides 4.5 grams of fiber — enough to lower your cholesterol.” With all the benefits, oatmeal is a great food to help in your weight loss and health.
Almonds
Essential fatty acids are amazing metabolism boosters and almonds are full of them. According to the Mayo Clinic: “It’s not entirely clear, but it’s thought that the unsaturated fats in nuts — both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats — lower bad cholesterol levels. Many nuts are also rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3s are a healthy form of fatty acids that seem to help your heart by, among other things, preventing dangerous heart rhythms that can lead to heart attacks. Omega-3 fatty acids are also found in fish, but nuts are one of the best plant-based sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Nuts also have lots of arginine, which is a molecule that increases the production of nitric oxide in your body, which may in turn help improve the health of your artery walls and make them more flexible and less prone to blood clots. Other substances in nuts that could improve your heart health include Vitamin E and fiber.” Almonds boost metabolism levels and provide health benefits as well, making them a very desirable food.
Green Tea
Green tea contains lots of EGCG. The chemical EGCG stimulates the nervous system and that helps to speed up the rate at which you burn calories. Green tea also has caffeine in it which can increase your heart rate and speed up your metabolism which is why many weight loss pills contain green tea extract. If you want to use this metabolism burner, use it in the natural form and instead of getting it in pills. According to an article from the University of Maryland Medical Center: “Clinical studies suggest that green tea extract may boost metabolism and help burn fat. One study found that the combination of green tea and caffeine improved weight loss and maintenance in people who were overweight and moderately obese. Some researchers think that substances in green tea known as catechins are responsible for the herb’s fat-burning effect.”
Celery
Celery is a negative calorie food, meaning that it takes more energy to digest that it has in calories. Asparagus may also be a negative calorie food. Both are very low in calories and have high amounts of fiber. They will help boost metabolism as your body works to digest them, help you to feel full, and provide necessary nutrients.
Broccoli
Broccoli is a rich source of vitamin c and calcium. Calcium and vitamin c work together as a team to help you to burn calories faster. While calcium works to speed up your metabolism, the vitamin c is working hard to help to absorb the calcium. Broccoli’s team of calcium and vitamin c are extremely beneficial to your metabolism and also are great at fighting cancers. This nutrient-rich vegetable, along with other cruciferous vegetables are star foods in the maintaining a healthy weight and keeping a healthy body.
Hot Peppers
Hot peppers contain capsaicin, which is a chemical that not only gives these peppers their bite of spice, but also speeds up the metabolism drastically. It is also known that the spice these peppers carry can actually elongate the amount of time that you burn the calories after you have consumed your meal. Capsaicin is a vasodilator which means that it increases body temperature and also circulation. Both hot peppers and hot pepper powder are metabolism boosters. Some studies also show that it suppresses body fat accumulation. Despite what you might think, they also are shown not to irritate your stomach so can be a great way to speed your metabolism.
Lean Proteins
Protein helps to build lean muscle mass. Lean muscle mass helps to burn calories in a more productive manner than fat would. Lean protein also takes a significant stretch of time to break down, which allows your body to burn calories during digestion. Protein makes you feel full longer than carbohydrates so eating protein helps you to eat less. Make sure it is lean protein, however. If you fill up on high fat proteins found in fatty meats, you will gain weight.
Eat Consciously And Improve Your Metabolism
There are many foods that can help to speed up your metabolism, and focusing on what you should be eating rather than what you should not be eating is beneficial to weight loss. The key to long-term weight loss and a healthy metabolism is making small life changes that you can continue doing, rather than quick weight-loss diets. Focus on positives–foods that will help boost metabolism, foods that improve overall health and increasing energy. Experts say that just increasing the number of steps you take each day from approximately 5,000 to 10,000 makes a long-term difference. Replacing one food that you are eating that is high in sugar or fat with one of the ones listed above, will also make a difference. Paying special attention to your metabolism will help you to ensure that you are losing weight at a steady pace. Start eating metabolism boosting foods today and watch the pounds melt away.