Easy Summer Metabolism Boosts

Summer bathing suit season is upon us and if you’re like many people, you might have some feelings of anxiety associated with that. You had great intentions after the holiday season.  You started that workout program with summer in mind, but life gets in the way and perhaps you haven’t had the time to make good on those promises to yourself. We’re here to help with some metabolism-boosting tips anyone can incorporate into their summer routine.

Metabolism describes the chemical reactions that happen in the body.  The word often also describes how many calories are burned in a day.  The higher your metabolism, the more efficiently you burn calories and the easier it is for you to lose weight and keep it off if that’s your goal. It’s also responsible for your energy levels so having a good metabolism is important to your overall health and wellbeing.

Most people think having a fast metabolism requires working out for hours every day and restricting what you eat.  While making healthy food choices and moving your body are important, you don’t need to kill yourself to get where you want to go this summer.  Balance is key to having a metabolism that supports your body physically and your brain mentally.

Easy ways to increase metabolism just in time for summer.

1. Protein. Lean protein is important for many body functions.  Protein increases the thermic effect of food, which requires more calories to digest and process that particular food.  Eating protein also causes you to feel full more quickly so you eat less overall.  Studies have found that people who consumed 30% protein as their diet ate on average 441 fewer calories per day.

2. Water. Replacing sugary drinks such as soda or tea with water will obviously cut calories in your diet.  Water also helps speed up your metabolism.  One study shows that drinking 17 ounces of water will increase your metabolism by up to 30%.  Drinking cold water increases metabolism even more because your body will use energy to heat the water to body temperature.  Drinking water before meals also helps fill you up before you eat more calorie dense foods.

3. High-Intensity Workout. HIIT training includes intense bursts of activity for a shorter duration.  These types of workouts help you increase your metabolic rate even after you have finished exercising.  Try mixing up your normal workout with a HIIT routine every once in a while to boost your metabolism and increase your results.
4. Build Muscle. Muscle burns more calories than fat and building more muscle is an easy way to increase your overall metabolism.  Studies have shown that people who do resistance training lost more weight, and maintained their muscle mass to help keep it off.  
5. Sleep. If you don’t get good, restful, deep sleep every night your chances of obesity increase significantly.  Lack of sleep slows our metabolism and keeps your brain from completing the detox cycle it needs for healthy function.  Check out our blog on The Sleep Detox here. Lack of adequate sleep also increases blood sugar levels and insulin resistance, making staying in shape very difficult. 
6. Stand. Excessive sitting has been compared to smoking.  It’s one of the worst things you can do for your metabolism.  Simply standing periodically while at work can increase calorie burn up to 175 extra calories.  Investing in a standing desk can help make working while standing much easier.

Summing up the Summer Metabolism Boost

Incorporating small but significant changes to your daily routine can do great things in terms of boosting your metabolism, which can help you lose weight, get in shape, and have more energy for all those fun summertime activities.  To get motivated, wake up and get your day going with a 10-minute cup of our digital coffee–one of the AM sessions on the BrainTap Pro App. 

By adding this summertime boost to your daily routine, you will be energized and ready for your summer activities. Then, after a day playing at the beach or traveling to your vacation destination, there are hundreds of additional BrainTap sessions to help reboot the brain, recharge your body, and keep you focused into the evening. You can even use one of the Healthy Sleep sessions to reach the deep delta sleep that detoxes the brain, so you can wake up refreshed and ready for a day of fun again tomorrow.

Once your metabolism, self-esteem, and motivation are at their peak, you can own your summer and wear that bathing suit with pride, knowing that one day at a time summer is getting better, better, and better! Get started now with a FREE TRIAL.