When it comes to losing weight and being healthier overall, increasing your metabolism plays a big part. A faster metabolism helps you with digestion, and helps burn off fat and pounds, even while you’re sleeping.
Conversely, a slow metabolism can thwart your dieting and weight loss efforts and leave you in a state of frustration, feeling like you’re genetically programmed to be heavy.
Here are foods that have been shown to help give your metabolism a boost and get you on your way to a fitter you.
Metabolism Boosting Foods for Faster Weight Loss
1. Almonds
You don’t want to go too big on the almonds, because their fat content can undo any boost they have to your metabolism, but research suggests that almonds and other tree nuts can help you out due to the essential fatty acids they contain.
The good thing is they taste great, so you can use them as a snack to hold you over until your next meal, or you can chop them up and use them to top a main or side dish.
Green beans are one vegetable that lends itself well to slivered almonds. And if you want to liven things up you can get similar benefits from other nuts like walnuts or cashews.
2. Asparagus
Some claim that asparagus is a negative calorie food, requiring more calories to chew and digest it than it contains. While this may or may not be the case, it’s clear that its caloric load is low, while it nutrient load is high.
It makes a great food for dieting because of its unique and delicious taste. It’s a great side sitting next to a lean meat. Get the organic kind if available, as this will help keep it a very healthy vegetable to assist you in your efforts.
3. Beans
Beans are often suggested for those wanting to lose weight because their nutrient makeup is such that they have a very positive effect on your metabolism.
While they may be colloquially known as the musical fruit, they are definitely worth exploring if you don’t currently include them in your regular diet.
They make a great side dish for most lunches and dinners, and they can easily be added to soups and chili to make them more robust and flavorful. In the Slow Carb Diet featured in The Four Hour Body, beans are front and center for their slow-burning properties.
4. Cruciferous Vegetables
The B Vitamins that are contained in foods like Cabbage, Brussels Sprouts, Broccoli, Cauliflower, and others has a healthy effect on your metabolism and can really start to turn things around if you previously didn’t give much care or attention to the matter.
These aren’t the easiest veggies to increase your intake of, but if you look for recipes that contain them they’ll usually include them with other ingredients that make them taste better than eating them straight.
5. Celery
Celery is one of those quintessential diet foods that you see people unhappily gnawing on in lieu of ice cream and hamburgers.
But aside from the stereotype, there is something to be said for eating celery if you want to turn over a new leaf and get your metabolism going.
It’s thought of as a thermogenic food, and also has high levels of calcium to boot. Try dipping them in organic peanut butter so that you can get some good fats along with this time-tested metabolism booster.
6. Coconut Oil
For a long time coconut oil was not suggested as a good oil to use because of its high fat content. Now we know more about good fats vs. bad fats and it’s become clear that there are plenty of benefits to consuming coconut oil, including the positive results on the metabolism.
The only thing is that you can’t rely on just this for your efforts, as it only provides a minimal boost, and it doesn’t last indefinitely.
7. Coffee
Whether or not you want to start drinking coffee to speed up your metabolism is up to you. It’s often mentioned as a food that can help you burn calories.
But at the same time it takes its toll on the liver, and you should drink 3 extra cups of water for every cup of coffee you have in order to help your liver flush out the caffeine and stay hydrated.
You’ll also have to take care not to add a bunch of sugar and cream, or go with a specialty coffee that will have way too many calories and carbs.
8. Cucumbers
You might not look at cucumbers the same way the next time you see them in a your salad. There are plenty of reasons why they play nicely into your metabolism-boosting strategy.
They’re packed with water, so they help to hydrate your body, plus they have plenty of vitamins, nutrients, and fiber, all with very low caloric levels. You can try adding them to more than just salads.
Cucumber slices or sticks can make a nice side dish to a sandwich or wrap, and can be combined with other vegetables in a healthy mix.
9. Easy-to-Find Fruits
Maybe you heard the debates going on about exotic fruits like the acai berry, or noni fruit. But you don’t have to get exotic in order to find fruits that will serve as a boost to your metabolism.
You can find items like Strawberries, Raspberries, Pears, Peaches, Apples, Oranges, and Grapefruit at your local supermarket.
Opt for organic whenever possible, and realize that it’s a matter of tipping the balance so you’re eating more of these foods than you are foods that can slow your metabolism down.
10. Ginger
The best way to start getting more ginger is to use it when cooking other foods. It’s not like you can sit around eating a bunch of ginger root. But it does add a good amount of flavor, and has been shown to have metabolism-increasing properties.
Dr. Oz recommends tossing into your next stir fry, and if you use skinless boneless chicken breast, spices, and veggies like celery and carrots you’ll soon have a calorie burning meal that will hold you over for hours.
11. Green Tea
Green tea has plenty of health benefits, and shows up as a superfood on many lists of the healthiest things you can put in your body.
If you’re looking for increased metabolism production you might be surprised to learn that the EGCG in green tea is often used by diet pill manufacturers for this very reason.
Rather than mess around with the risk and expense of weight loss pills, it’s better to go with the natural source and increase your intake of green tea. If hot tea isn’t your thing, brew a pot and let it cool or pour it over ice.
12. Lean Meats
Lean meats should be combined with exercise to help you develop leaner muscles which in turn leads to an increase in your metabolism. They should have a good amount of protein to them, with fewer calories and fat than their non-lean counterparts.
Examples of quality protein you can add to your diet in order to help strengthen your muscles are chicken breast, turkey breast, When making a meal that’s great for your body take some vegetables found on this page, as well as the spices listed below, use the on these lean meats and you’ll be on your way.
13. Lemon
Adding a lemon wedge or slice to your water does more than just make it taste better, it also helps to cleanse the digestive tract.
You don’t have to go on any zany Lemonade Diet or take extreme measures, and it’s best not to rely on lemons or any other of these foods to have a huge effect on your metabolism.
But they can all work in tandem with each other, and with an increase in the amount of exercise you get each day, and you’ll see the positive effects soon enough.
14. Melon
Popular melons like Honeydew and Cantaloupe not only taste great, but are also low in calories and have been featured in countless diet books and programs.
The cantaloupe especially has been thought to be a good that contains fewer calories than it takes to eat it, meaning that you’re actually losing weight by consuming it.
It’s never been proven, but these are still great foods to add to your diet, and they can be found year round in the produce department.
15. Oatmeal
Oatmeal is a good start to the day for most people. Compared to other breakfast options it has plenty more fiber, and as your body works to break it down and pass it through it revs itself up and burns off more calories.
It’s also been shown to lower your cholesterol, so there’s plenty of reason to eat it. Just be sure you don’t have a gluten allergy or gluten sensitivity, or you won’t be able to get the same sort of benefits that others get from consuming it.
16. Spices
There are plenty of spices out there that have been shown to be able to charge up your metabolism. Up for your consideration are Curry, Black Pepper, Mustard, Cayenne Pepper, and Cinnamon.
You don’t have to eat spoonfuls of these spices directly, but don’t be shy with them, as they can help to add flavor to otherwise bland foods.
If you spot other foods on this list that you don’t fancy eating, try spicing them up with the above spices and you’ll be serving up a one-two punch to a sluggish metabolism.
17. Spinach
Spinach puts up some respectable numbers in the B Vitamin department, which leads to a more productive metabolism. And aside from the direct relation, it’s also good for muscle function.
If you’re strength training, spinach will help your muscles recover, and this will lead to a faster metabolism because you’ll end up with better muscle mass which directly leads to burning up more calories, even when you’re asleep.
18. Water
Keep all of your organs happy and functioning the way they should be making sure you get enough water each day. Your metabolism won’t be at its best when your body is yearning for hydration.
Any drink other than water helps to dehydrate the body, so it’s really easy to get into a dehydrated state, and harder than you might think to get properly hydrated.
Start off slowly, but introducing one new glass of water in phases and see how your body responds.
At the End
Keep in mind that it’s not necessary to switch your diet to only these foods or do anything extreme. Just try to get more of them into your daily menu than you currently do and you should start to see the results of your efforts.
Revving up your metabolism is not something that happens overnight, so don’t look for a quantum leap. Your body needs time to adjust to your new way of eating.
But if you’re consistent it will get the hint and start paying dividends.
