WAYS TO INCREASE YOUR METABOLISM

DO HIIT (HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING) ( Acceleration requires more energy than constant velocity)

Regular cardio raises your metabolism while you're doing it, but once your finished, your metabolism returns to its regular rate. On the other hand, HIIT raises your metabolism for hours afterward.

Think of it this way: gunning your car for 30 seconds, then braking down to 10 MPH, then gunning and braking again uses much more gas than driving at a steady pace. The same is true for your body, except in this case, the more fuel (body fat) you use, the better!

LIFT WEIGHTS (Muscle recovery requires energy)

Like HIIT, lifting weights raises your metabolism long after you're finished—experts estimate that your metabolism stays elevated for up to 39 hours! Again, this is because lifting strains your body so much, that it needs extra time to recover.

BUILD MUSCLE (Muscle is the most metablic active tissue in the body)

Some experts estimate that each extra pound of muscle you gain burns 30-50 extra calories a day, while others estimate that a pound of muscle burns 6 calories at rest, compared to 2 calories burned by a pound of fat.

EAT PROTEIN (diegestion of protein requires energy)

Sure you know that protein fills you up, but did you know that protein has a greater thermogenic effect than the other macronutrients? The thermogenic effect of food (TEF) is a measure of energy that your body needs to digest food. Protein is harder for your body to digest and thus takes more energy than does fat or carbs. The TEF of protein is 25%, meaning 25% of the calories of each gram of protein is burned off through digestion, whereas the TEF of carbohydrates is 5%, and is only 2% for fats.

EAT 5-6 SMALL MEALS A DAY (digestion irequires energy)

The act of eating actually raises your metabolism—don't go super-sizing it just yet! As I just mentioned, digesting food takes energy, and a different amount of energy is required for each macronutrient. So eating several meals, as opposed to three squares, raises your metabolism five to six times a day, as opposed to only three.

This technique works on another level. When your body doesn't get food, your metabolism slows down. This is because our bodies are ingeniously programmed to protect against starvation—when your body senses that another meal may not be coming (even though food in our modern world is in abundance) it holds onto your body fat to use as energy.