Why without dieting? Because following a diet requires will power and motivation however everybody may not have much of it. Also, some people just don’t like being restricted and leave the things they love to eat. You can also put that as a starting point before dieting.
1. Building Muscle
It is known (and obvious) that 1 pound of muscle burns more calories than 1 pound of fat. Your metabolism is determined by your body composition. Approximately 1 pound of fat can burn 15 calories a day while 1 pound of muscle can burn 50 calories a day. Yes, people with bigger muscles burn more calories than other who don’t, even if they do nothing. Having muscles are not only necessary for appearance but burn more calories. Exercising also boost your metabolism, having a faster metabolism means you are burning more calories.
2. Drinking More Water
Drinking an extra 2 cups of water will increase the calorie burn by 30 percent. The thing you may not know about digestion is that cold water can burn more calories than hot water. But the most surprising thing is cold water makes you feel full even if you are not. Try to drink cold water before your meals. You can also use both methods at the same time by exercising; exercising will increase the muscle composition of your body and makes you thirsty at the same time.
3. Turning Off The Heater
It may sound weird but you burn more calories in colder temperatures. A study in “The Journal Clinical Investigation” shows that people in the experiment have burned 250 calories within 3 hours in a cold room.
Don’t get me wrong, that doesn’t mean you should turn off the heater all winter long. It means the only way to lose weight is not just sweating in sauna or steam room.
4. Sleeping 7 Hours A Day
Staying up late just to exercise or to workout is not a good thing. Yes, I am talking about night-time exercises. People generally disregard the importance of sleep while they are trying to lose weight. But the thing you probably didn’t know; sleep deprivation may cause weight gain and obesity. When you don’t get enough sleep, your body secrete stress hormones like epinephrine, norepinephrine and cortisol. As a result, your metabolism will be affected and you will crave for something sweet or oily when you wake up and you will eventually gain weight. You should sleep 7 hours a day and exercise in the morning.
5. Fueling Up Vitamin D
Vitamin D becomes active when you are in sunlight. Research shows that the rate of Vitamin D deficiency in Scandinavian countries is lesser than the rate in Mediterranean countries. Why? The reason is Scandinavians are aware of their vitamin deficiency and they take care of it by using supplements. Several researchers did prove the relation between Vitamin D deficiency and fat cells and obesity but its connection with weight loss is still unproven. Vitamin D is vital for muscle and bone metabolism and muscles cannot grow without it.
6. Consuming More Protein
Most people don’t get enough protein. Daily protein intake should be 0.8 – 1.0 grams of protein per kilogram, which means the average American woman (166 pounds) should eat at least 60 grams protein a day. Protein is an appetite suppressant and it boosts your metabolism during digestion. The reason? Because digestion of protein is harder than digestion of simple carbohydrates, therefore your body consumes more energy while digesting proteins. Low-fat products like fish, yogurt, egg and white meat contain little amount of carbohydrate and sufficient amounts of protein, just don’t forget to add at least 2 snacks between meals.
7. Avoiding Sedentary Lifestyle
We all know that you should choose the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator and you should park your car far away from your office and the mall. However, these things might not be enough. You should create some other opportunities to move and burn calories. Meanwhile, if you are sitting the whole day long due to your work, you should walk at least 5 minutes every hour. Another research shows that a skinny person walks, stand or move 152 minutes more than an obese people. So the little movements we repeat can make bigger changes in our lives. Start with shorter walks and then gradually build it up day by day. The longer the better.
8. Taking Caffeine From Green Tea
Green tea contains epigallocatechin gallate, which boosts your metabolism and helps you lose weight. Caffeine in green is another factor that boosts metabolism. For these reasons, be sure to drink your last cup of green tea at least 6 hours ago before going bed or it might take you a lot longer to get to sleep or it might even disrupt your sleep. 2 cups of green tea would be ideal.
9. Making Healthy Friends
Healthy friends will definitely inspire you to live a healthy life. They should at least agree with you to do these things instead of offering you to eat French fries or go for a beer. If you offer her/him to follow a diet with you, or go to the gym, and if she/he agrees, that means you have one heck of a friend, don’t take it for granted. Another research shows that having obese friends increases your risk of becoming obese by 57 percent. Either convince them to be healthy or, well, get rid of them for your own sake.
10. Probiotics Probiotics Probiotics
We have been hearing about them very often lately, right? They boost gut bacteria and gut bacteria affects all our metabolism. They also help to boost metabolism by restoring gut flora. Gut flora consists of microorganisms that help digestion and if they are on the blink, you know the rest. Instead of using probiotic supplements, adding kefir, milk, yogurt and cheese to your diet would be much more effective. Moreover, garlic, onion, pickled cabbage, leek, banana and oat contain prebiotics, which means they help probiotics to hold on the gastrointestinal wall.
