The Natural Way to Speed Up Metabolism

There is a word that anyone who has ever tried to lose weight is familiar with: Metabolism. Speed it up and the weight comes off. So the question becomes why does it do what it does and what is the best way to make this magical fat burning machine work best?

Our bodies use calories as a fuel source to power our daily functions. In a nut shell this is our metabolism. It runs as long as there is life in our veins, whether we are asleep or awake. Sometimes it runs slow while at other times it runs fast. It is entirely dependent on the food we eat, the composition of our bodies, and the amount of physical activity we participate in.

The primary source of metabolic energy that our bodies use is calories. The fitness and diet industry understands that by controlling metabolism and the amount of calories burned each day you can lose excess body fat. It sounds simple but the vast majority of people who attempt to lose weight do not understand how their metabolism works nor how speeding it up can benefit their weight loss goals. Another problem is the sedentary lifestyle most people lead, not to mention working long hours, eating fast food, and the stress of modern life that all contribute to our slowing metabolisms.

The first thing that has to happen if you want to successfully increase your metabolism is a lifestyle change. You have to make a conscious effort to make the proper changes if you are to succeed. If you stay motivated you will lose the weight you want and keep it off.

As was mentioned earlier the food we eat supplies all our necessary calories. Our bodies respond in a positive fashion if we eat healthy and nutrient dense foods. Unfortunately most of the food we eat is processed and refined to the point where it has little nutritional value and for the most part has empty calories that are quickly and easily converted into body fat.

There are two reasons you should be eating healthy nutrient dense foods.

Number one: They are good for you and help your body stay fight illness and disease.

Number two: They will help speed up your metabolism simply because of the way they are digested and processed. It takes a lot of energy to break down all the nutrients in healthy foods as compared to the processed fare we are getting fat on. If you give your body the nutrition it needs it will just work better. Foods such as fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and high fiber foods from whole wheat sources all fall into the good for you category.

Staying active is another way to naturally boost your daily metabolism. Cardiovascular and weight lifting exercises are highly recommended for maintaining a healthy body. In fact exercise helps your metabolic rate in two ways. You naturally burn more calories while exercising but did you know that building and maintaining lean muscle mass also burns large amounts of calories while you are at rest. Not to mention how much better you'll look with a firm and toned body.

The natural way to speed up metabolism and lose weight is to make some significant lifestyle changes based on your diet and the amount of exercise you get. It will take some motivation but once you make the changes and see how positive the results are it will be easy to stick to your plan.

To learn how you can speed up metabolism and for more information about how your metabolism works please visit the Metabolism website by clicking here.