Foods That Increase Metabolism
What Are The Foods That Increase Metabolism?
Make it a goal of yours to eat more foods that increase metabolism. Why? Simply that in increasing your metabolism you are more apt to lose weight or, put another way, less apt to gain weight. Exercise is another way to work towards this goal, but exercise alone generally will not be enough. An Adequate amount of exercise, coupled with proper nutrition, is really the key to maintaining a healthy weight.
How do you go about finding those foods that increase metabolism? It's not all that difficult. What we generally think of as a healthy diet, vegetables, fruits, nuts, chicken, and fish as some examples, would fit the bill. Think in terms of protein, complex carbohydrates, and foods rich in fiber. Metabolism is basically energy conversion, the burning of calories. It isn't all about the number of calories we consume although there's much to be said for counting calories. It's really about how we go about burning those calories. If we eat fatty foods our body tends to convert fat to fat, which is probably easier than trying to burn it. Converting fat to fat means we store fat. We need some fat stored as a reserve, but not copious amounts of it. For the most part we want to burn the calories we take in, and not store more in the form of fat than we actually need.
Negative Calories – The “Black Hole” Of Nutrition? - The silver bullet in all this is what is referred to by some as negative calorie foods. That doesn't mean that you'll find something on the grocery shelves that contains "minus 100 calories". If you could, counting calories would be all that much easier. The concept of a negative calorie food is simply that that food takes more energy to digest, than energy found in the calories it contains. If taken literally, eating only negative calorie foods would cause you to eventually disappear. That won't happen. But eat enough of them and you should be in a much improved position to control your weight.
Start The Day With An Egg - Just what are some of these foods? Not just the negative calorie ones, but those foods that increase metabolism. You can start by thinking protein, complex carbohydrates, and fiber. Even a little fat can help. Food rich in protein is good because protein takes more energy to digest. Try an egg for breakfast, with a little fruit and cottage cheese on the side. It used to be that having an egg every day was thought to be unhealthy because of cholesterol issues, but that has been proven not to be the case.
If you want to, stick to toast and coffee for breakfast. Not the healthiest choice, but it's your breakfast. Save that egg for dinner or lunch. Slice it up and put it in a salad. Salads are typically not terribly filling, nor do they fit in the category of foods that increase metabolism. However if you add some protein, such as an egg, cheese, and/or chicken, you end up with a dish that's going to give your metabolism a boost.
Grazing, not snacking, is also helpful. Nuts, trail mix, and peanut butter are all good foods that increase metabolism. Instead of peanut butter on white bread, try it on pumpernickel for a change. That makes a nice snack, and the protein and fiber are going to make your digestive system work a little harder to burn those calories. You don't have to put up a list of specific food items on your refrigerator to pick and choose from, with the thought of increasing your metabolism in mind. Eat healthy, and just remember to get plenty of protein, complex carbohydrates, and fiber in your diet. Fruits, vegetables, eggs, chicken, and a little peanut butter now and then, should get you off to a good start.