How to reset your metabolism?

Are you unhappy with how you look? Are the few extra pounds around your middle stubbornly holding on? Do you want to lose weight and keep it off?

If you do, keep reading.

Because you are certainly not alone. In a lot of cases, people attribute weight gain, and difficulty of losing weight to an issue with their metabolism. But is it really?

And if it is a metabolism "issue" ... can you reset your metabolism?

Well, let’s start by talking about why your metabolism is important in the first place.

Why is My Metabolism Important?

Metabolism describes the processes and chemical reactions that your body goes through to stay alive. It’s when the body converts food, oxygen, and water into energy. This process burns calories and creates energy. 

What most people are concerned with is the Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR.) This is the rate in which your body completes these processes while at rest.

Understanding how your metabolism works is important in order to reach your fitness goals. There are many factors that contribute to metabolic rate.

Some factors that contribute to the metabolic rate cannot be controlled. Genetics and hormones play a huge role in how your metabolism works.

You can look at your parents and other family members for clues on how your metabolism works. Other factors such as age, gender, and body makeup affect the metabolic rate as well.

Women and older people tend to have slower metabolic rates. Men and people who have higher muscle mass percentages tend to have faster metabolic rates.

Knowing these facts, you can better understand your personal metabolic rate and make adjustments to your lifestyle accordingly.

How To Reset Your Metabolism

Now, I don't like the term "reset" because I think it gives the wrong impression. Your metabolism is not something like a wifi router that when it's running slow or not working as you want, you can just hit reset or unplug it... wait three minutes.. plug it back in to reset it and have lightning fast internet again.

Instead, let's use the terminology of improve your metabolism. There are 3 main ways to improve your metabolism: change your food, switch up your exercise, and create positive lifestyle habits. 

For the rest of this article, we’ll dive into the different methods for improving your metabolism. Use what works for you. That could be one of the following, all of the following, or just a few of them.

You might even already be doing some of these things and that's great! 

If so, I would recommend that you look for what you’re lacking and make those into new habits. Doing so would have the best chance of improving your metabolism.

Stay Hydrated

Water is an essential part of metabolic processes. Water distributes nutrients and removes toxins and waste from the body after the metabolic processes have finished.

Without it, your metabolic rate slows. Therefore, consuming a minimum of 100 to 120 oz of water a day is a great starting point for helping to improve your metabolism!

Eat Protein

As mentioned above, consuming enough protein every day is very beneficial for healthy metabolic functions as well as other things.

For example, it takes your body a long time to break it down, so you will feel full longer. This will help you stick to your diet and nutrition plan and help keep cravings at bay.

Protein also provides the body nutrients needed to have energy and rebuild itself. 

Easy on the go protein could be some jerky,protein bars, greek yogurt, or Level-1 protein powder.

Eat Superfoods

Superfoods are foods that are typically full of phytonutrients, antioxidants, and enzymes that your body can utilize to help it operate more efficiently. Examples include spirulina, beets, alfalfa sprouts, berries, broccoli, wheat grass, and spinach.

These foods not only fight free radicals but give you the nutrients needed to keep your metabolism moving fast. Greens Superfood Powders and/or Red Superfood Powders are very convenient and efficient options to help you get the nutrients and antioxidants these foods provide.

Eat foods full of Iodine

Iodine is essential in metabolic processes. Your thyroid needs adequate amounts of iodine (which is a very small amount, but still hard to get into your diet) for proper metabolic function.

By eating foods such as shrimp or seaweed you can help ensure that you are getting the necessary amount of iodine in your diet... But how often do you actually eat those foods? 

If you are like most people, not often. That is where a supplement like Thyro-Drive or the 1-Db Fastpack as an entire fat loss system can help out!

Exercise

If you don’t work out, start today.

Exercise can be as simple as taking the stairs at work or walking a few blocks.

Any type of exercise is better than nothing.

Just moving your body will burn calories and help you create the caloric deficit you need to lose weight. 

There are other favorable benefits of exercising such as better energy levels, improved circulation, better sleep, and many more! 

Try a HIIT Workout

HIIT is a high-intensity interval training workout. There are some great advantages to doing H.I.T.T. cardio for both fat loss and muscle growth. One benefit of H.I.I.T. is that it elevates metabolic rate for 24-72 hours after exercise whereas steady-state cardio doesn’t.

H.I.I.T. signals muscular adaptations similar to weight training, meaning it promotes muscle growth as well as helping to preserve the muscle you already have. 

We also know that steady-state cardio burns fat during exercise, but H.I.I.T. boosts fat burning over the course of a day, or even multiple days if it’s hard enough.

This is due to E.P.O.C. (excess post oxygen consumption) and revolves around the body working to restore itself back to a resting state after exercise by repairing muscle tissue, breaking down lactic acid, and restoration of hormones.

These processes take hours and require fuel. It’s nice to know that for hours and hours after the interval training you are burning fat, even if you are just sitting around.

The final popular advantage of  H.I.I.T. cardio – TIME. 

Many people find it hard to make time to walk on a treadmill for 45-60 minutes when they can do 5 to 10 H.I.I.T. intervals and be done in 5-10 minutes. That advantage is big with gym-goers who are on a tight schedule.

Begin Resistance Training

Resistance training is your pathway to getting stronger, promoting lean muscle growth and to some extent getting leaner.

Sure, you can get super lean performing crazy amounts of prolonged, endurance exercise, but this does very little to keep what muscle you have. 

Muscle tissue burns more calories every day than fatty tissue does. So promoting lean muscle growth and maintaining the muscle you have can help improve your metabolism and help you gain definition at the same time.

As a result, if you’re not doing resistance training, you should! It can be weightlifting, CrossFit, Bodyweight, Fitness Bootcamps, or other workout types!  

Get Sufficient Sleep

Your body needs rest to perform properly.

Listen to your body and make sure you get enough shut-eye.

Late-night distractions such as phones and TV are often the culprits of sleep loss. Once you climb in bed, put any and all distractions away. I call this sleeping with a purpose. 

Not just going to bed, scrolling InstaGram... waiting to drift off to sleep, but instead having an evening routine that sets you up for quality sleep every night. 

Lower Your Stress Level

Stress places extra pressure on your body. During extended periods of time, this extra pressure can lead to unfavorable changes in hormones, recovery, and other crucial aspects that influence metabolism.

Therefore, working to handle stress more effectively and destressing could help improve your metabolism!

Ask a friend or a family member to help alleviate some of the stressors in your life. You could also find and participate in stress-relieving activities such as yoga, going for a walk, taking a mini-break during your workday, meditation, and more!

Create Positive Lifestyle Habits

This is what it all really comes down to for improving your metabolism. 

As you can see, there are many different ways to improve your metabolism.

You do not need to do anything drastic.

Small changes to the types of food you eat, ways in which you exercise and your daily habits can help you improve your metabolism, burn extra calories, and lose that extra weight. 

If you need help making these changes, or have questions about your specific situation and goals, please don't hesitate to reach out! You can pick up the phone and call us at 1 800 409 9732 Monday through Friday 6am - 10pm CST and talk to a real person here at 1st Phorm HQ to help you, all for free! 

You can also email in at CustomerService@1stPhorm.com and one of our team members here will get back to you right away!