Quick Ways to Boost Your Metabolism and Shed More Weight
Ann Louise Gittleman — author of the Fat Flush QuickStart Guide and the upcoming book Radical Metabolism — is an expert in metabolic repair, detoxification, and weight loss for ultimate health. We asked her to share some of her best weight-loss secrets from her Fat Flush QuickStart Guide to help our readers gear up for a healthier, slimmer new year.
Metabolism – it’s that weight-loss buzzword that conjures up thousands of mysterious theories of how to make it work to our benefit. Yes, sluggish metabolism and metabolic damage can be a formidable opponent in the weight loss battle, but it’s certainly not an undefeatable foe — so long as we arm ourselves with some radical metabolic weapons.
So, what are the essentials to building a radical metabolism in 2018? Here are some good ways to start.
How to Boost Metabolism With Skinny Fats
Fats are critical to all your body’s operations. They build healthy cell membranes, promote absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K), and improve heart and immune health, hormone function and important brain processes. But you want to make sure your diet includes only healthy fats, such as the health-heightening trifecta emphasized in the QuickStart plan: lots of omega-3s, 6s, and 9s.
CLA, or conjugated linoleic acid, instructs your body to burn body fat as fuel, which helps maintain lean body mass and healthy lipid levels. GLA, or gamma linolenic acid, primes your metabolically active brown fat for optimal fat burning and helps quell inflammation. When it comes to GLA, hempseed oil — a mainstay of the QuickStart plan — is fully loaded. Hempseed oil’s GLA will aid in toning the skin and tightening up loose skin — a huge bonus for those who need to lose 50 pounds or more.
How to Increase Metabolism With Protein Power
Protein provides the ultimate metabolic boost and helps maintain your muscles, bones, blood, organs, antibodies, neurotransmitters, and enzymes. Shown to ramp up metabolism for several hours after it’s ingested, protein escorts thyroid hormone to all your cells and tissues (and the thyroid gland is mandatory for a speedy metabolism). Protein also curbs your appetite and normalizes your pH — as long as you eat the right kind. In addition to eating clean to boost your metabolism, healthy sources of protein — think lean meat, poultry, fish, and eggs — will help support your efforts to flush fat and excess weight away.
Best Carbs for Metabolism
When you’re in the metabolic repair process, most of your carbohydrates should come from those beautiful fruits and vegetables that are so helpful for detoxification. Vegetables are a rich source of antioxidants and phytochemicals (plant-based healing substances). Fruits are loaded with enzymes, minerals (such as potassium and magnesium), vitamin C and fiber — potent disease-fighters and natural cleansers. Choosing from a colorful array of fresh, organic fruits and vegetables will help you create that slimmer new you.
How to Boost Metabolism With Fiber
Fiber binds to toxins and escorts them out of the body, keeping your digestive tract squeaky clean. Fiber also fills you up and makes your gut bacteria happy. In my QuickStart plan, chia seeds are dieters’ BFFs — best fiber friends! Chia are an extraordinary ancient “superfood” rich in calcium, omega-3s and 6s, antioxidants, vitamin C, minerals, and essential amino acids. Unlike flaxseeds, chia seeds do not need to be ground to obtain their full nutritional value; they are easily digested whole. With a neutral flavor, they can be easily added to your blended drinks and meals (just be sure to add them at the end, as they tend to “gel” quickly in the blender; if you allow the mixture to sit, you’ll end up with pudding in no time!).
How to Speed Up Your Metabolism With What You Drink
Cran-water is the No. 1 slimming sip. Adequate hydration with diluted cranberry juice ensures normal bowel and kidney function to rid the body of stored wastes and fats, decongests the lymph (the fluid coursing through your lymphatic system at all times), and plays a surprising role in slimming and cellulite reduction. In 2016, identified a link between weight loss and liquid consumption, which was published in the Annals of Family Medicine. Chronically dehydrated individuals showed significantly higher BMIs than individuals who stayed well dehydrated.
Roasted dandelion root tea is another drink to try. Iced or hot, dandy tea is delicious and oh-so good for your liver. Dandelions have been used medicinally as far back as the 10th century in the Middle East for everything from anemia to scurvy, skin problems, blood disorders, and depression. Dandy tea is a mild diuretic, so it helps your kidneys flush out waste, as well as boosting your liver’s bile production, which in turn improves your fat digestion and detox. Dandelion is also known to stabilize blood sugar and work magic on cholesterol levels. Given all that, what’s not to love?
Throughout the day, people on the QuickStart plan are asked to drink half their body weight in ounces of a combination of cran-water, plain water, coffee and herbal tea — which for most of us is about 10 to 12 or more 8-ounce glasses per day — to stay hydrated and keep the metabolism humming along.
How to Speed Up Metabolism With Bitters
The Quickstart plan has a secret weapon: bitter foods. The slim-stimulating effects of bitters may be the world’s best kept secret — but I’m about to let you in on it. Bitter foods — like watercress, arugula, cabbage, orange peel, ginger, and dozens of others — boost bile flow, which is critical for the detox process.
How to Jumpstart Your Metabolism
The Fat Flush QuickStart Guide is available on Ann Louise’s website, and the next QuickStart challenge begins on January 8. To jumpstart your metabolism surrounded by the support of others doing the exact same thing, join Ann Louise in the Fat Flush Nation Facebook group by January 8.
Ann Louise Gittleman is a nutritional expert and a New York Times bestselling author who has published more than thirty-five books on weight loss, health, and wellness. She is an accomplished speaker and has been featured on numerous television programs, including Dr. Phil, The View, and Good Morning America. She has dedicated her career to educating the masses on nutritional health, metabolic repair, and beating the American obesity pandemic.
More from FIRST
This Easy Trick Helps You Reduce Belly Fat Effortlessly
How Many Days Do You Have to Cut Back on Sugar to See Results?
Hypothyroidism and Other Non-Diet Related Causes of Weight Gain
