Lifestyle

5 Ways to Increase Metabolism So That Even Sleeping Would Burn More Calories

2019-07-27 , 8:00 pm

All of us want to burn calories and lose weight. We work hard at the gym, we monitor what we eat and even curb our cravings to ensure that we do not “cheat” on our diets.

It is one of the most miserable things to do in our lives. Before you sighed and give it all up, do you know that you CAN burn more calories while you SLEEP?

Yes, we are not kidding you.

This is definitely possible and not hard science. You see, for the uninitiated, metabolism rate is like how many calories you burn when you’re just living (e.g. breathing requires calories).

If you have a higher metabolism rate, this means you burn more calories just by doing nothing – that is, just by sleeping.

We clobbered up five things you can do to increase your metabolism rate so that you can lose weight while in your dreamworld!

Eat 4 to 5 mini meals a day

This goes against everything you have been taught about diet, but it is true. Having 4 to 5 mini meals a day works better than 3 large meals a day because it keeps your body working hard at digesting food.

Your metabolism rate increases whenever the body is digesting food and slacks off when you are hungry. A good rule of thumb is to eat a small meal every 3 to 4 hours.

Keep the meal small, such as having a handful of nuts in between lunch and dinner and only eat if you feel hungry. Keep off the fried food, the junk food and the fast food!

Don’t starve yourself at night

It is common to hear people say, “Don’t eat after 8pm. It makes you FAT!” Sorry to burst your bubble, but it is actually bad for your metabolism if you go to bed hungry.

The body is built to defend your survival, and it automatically thinks you are starving if you go to bed hungry. Metabolism will lower in order to conserve calories instead of burning it.

So, the next time you are hungry before bed, take a healthy snack such as an apple or a high-fibre cereal with skim milk will help you more than going to bed hungry.

Eat every meal

Sometimes, it is tempting to skip a meal or two because you want to lose weight. Skipping meal actually works against you if you want to lose weight.

Every time you skip a meal, your metabolism slow down to conserve calories in your body. Remember that keeping your metabolism high during the day will help you to keep it up high at night too!

Exercise intensely

Image: Ronnachai Palas / Shutterstock.com

Exercise brings up your metabolism rate as well as helping you to burn extra calories during the workouts. Keep in mind that you need to do both cardiovascular workouts as well as resistance exercises as building up your muscles will help to keep your metabolism high after that.

But here’s a trick to up your metabolism rate without fail: high-intensity interval training. Basically, if your body permits (only suitable for healthy individuals!), go all out so that you’ll feel like vomiting. After that, rest a while and chiong again.

During that five or ten minutes, you might not burn many calories, but in the next 48 hours, your metabolism rate will be high as your body is working hard to recover from that crazy workout.

Five minutes in exchange of 48 hours of high metabolism: not bad, eh?

Turn your fats into muscle

Muscle burns a lot of calories when you are at rest. Therefore, it is important to convert your fats into muscle. The easiest way to do this is through resistance exercises a few times a week. If that is not possible, going for a Pilates class can help you to build those muscles too!