4 ways to naturally boost your metabolism and calorie burn

Keep stress under control

A study conducted in 2014 by Ohio State University revealed that in females, who experienced stressful situations, slower metabolism was observed than in those participants of the study, who had calm daily routine. Compared to the second group the stressed women burned less calories consumed from the same foods. The researchers calculated that at the same level of daily stress in a year the women from the first group took risk to gain 11 pounds more than stress-free women. Scientists believe that this effect is associated with hormone cortisol, which is produced by the body in stressful situations and which (as it was already proven) slows down metabolism. If you want to boost it, try to change your lifestyle to more peaceful or learn how to resist stress situations (meditation can help!).

Another aspect – being in a bad mood, people resort to comfort eating and often choose unhealthy products. If you're one of them, provide yourself with healthy and tasty products that will improve your mood, but won't harm your health.

Choose cold, not warm

It is widely known that cold air makes a body burn fat depots aiming to maintain its normal temperature. And it seems that for speeding up the metabolism, you can use climate control. A new study by National Institutes of Health shows that keeping cool air in the room influences brown adipose tissue, leads to insulin sensitivity enhancement and helps in burning more calories. Subjects of the study slept for a month in a room where 66-degree temperature was maintained. It makes sense to lower the usual temperature in your house, too, though it won't be enough for losing weight. But in the long run the temperature acclimation promises some progress in boosting glucose metabolism – the researchers believe.

Caffeine is allowed and recommended

You can drink up to 6 cups of black coffee daily without fear to die of heart disease, cancer or whatever. Several reputable studies showed that there is no link between coffee consumption and any of the above mentioned diseases, but it has strong relation to increased metabolism. In fact, except caffeine, coffee contains some other substances related to fat burning. Together caffeine, theobromine, theophylline and chlorogenic acid make a great mixture stimulating fat break-down and slowing absorption of carbohydrates.

But to get the most out of coffee you should remember a few rules. First, you should drink plain black coffee or add a bit of cream and sugar. The beverages like Frappachino are very high in calories and can bring to naught all your efforts to get rid of extra pounds. Second, one cup of coffee means 100 mg of caffeine, not a 16-ounces cup containing more than 300 mg of the substance. And third, after some time the body gets used to caffeine and the fat burning effect is reduced. Think of on-and-off consumption of coffee to resist the tolerance.

Planning meals

Planning meals is very helpful for weight loss and healthy lifestyle, as it allows you to determine where, when, how much and what to eat. You know that going to a gym you have to provide the body with energy in the form of carbs, don't you? And going to bed it's better to eat something digestible, isn't it? Planning meals for a day or even a few days in advance, you put the body into a fat burning mode. It's your chance to choose and feed it with healthy, tasty and essential food, instead of taking random junk. And don't forget about regularity and frequency! To regulate metabolism it's important to eat 3 main meals complemented by 2-3 snacks – this way you'll avoid cravings.