Blame it on your metabolism: the complex network of hormones and enzymes that not only convert food into fuel but also affect how your body deals with food (read: gain or lose weight).
“The process of metabolism establishes the rate at which we burn our calories and, ultimately, how quickly we gain weight or how easily we lose it,” says Robert Yanagisawa, MD, director of the Medically Supervised Weight Management Program at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York.
Each body’s metabolism is different and influenced by a variety of variables including, yes, genetics; age (metabolism naturally slows about 5% per decade after age 40); your gender (men generally burn more calories at rest than women); and proportion of lean body mass (the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolic rate tends to be).
No matter your demographics, these five foods help to boost your metabolism and promote a healthful diet.
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1. Protein
Protein helps maintain and build muscle mass, and takes time to digest and uses more energy to break it down than regular carbs. Add fish, chicken, turkey, eggs and lean meat to your diet.
2. Fiber
Fiber is a non-digestible carbohydrate that uses up energy and can boost metabolism in the process. Whole grains such as quinoa and wheat germ, fruits like antioxidant-filled berries, and all vveggies, are packed with fiber.
3. Thermogenic Foods
Aka the foods that heat your body also heat up your metabolism and uptick your calorie expenditure by four to five percent in just one serving. Think: caffeine, hot peppers and some teas — green, white, and oolong.
4. Cinnamon
Cinnamon aids the sguar in your bloodstream to get into cells and be used for energy that limits the amount of fat your cells store. It’s a natural metabolic booster. However, don’t go overboard with the cinnamon shaker; keep it in the one teaspoon or less per day.
5. Coconut Oil
Coconut oil has been said to decrease the amount of fat being stored in fat cells, because the oil’s molecules are very tiny and bypass the intestines, going straight to the liver where it will be metabolized as a carbohydrate, rather than fat.
