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Stimulate metabolism: home remedies & everyday tips

There are many methods of stimulating the metabolism and bringing it back into a healthy balance.

Photo: Unsplash | Christopher Campbell

Some can eat whatever they want without gaining weight, while others’ waistband pinches at the sight of a piece of cake. Blame the metabolism, which can either be the key to top athletic performance or the source of stubborn obesity. However, if we create the necessary conditions with our lifestyle and the right diet to stimulate our metabolism, then the pounds will also drop.

A functioning metabolism, also known as metabolism, is the basis of all vital processes in the body and a prerequisite for us to feel fit and healthy. If the metabolism is in balance, you are usually less susceptible to flu or colds, you feel balanced and fit. A healthy lifestyle with sufficient exercise and the right diet can also get a sluggish metabolism going again. There are many ways to positively influence and stimulate the metabolism.

Stimulate metabolism – home remedies & everyday tips

  • Stay hydrated: This supports digestion and increases the basal metabolic rate. The German Society for Nutrition (DGE) recommends drinking around 2.7 liters of water a day, of which around 1.5 liters comes from (unsweetened) drinks. Drinking cold water stimulates the metabolism even more because the body has to expend more energy to warm it up to body temperature. Lemon water, for example, supports the body in losing weight.

  • Sports and exercise in everyday life: Sport can increase the basal metabolic rate because muscle mass burns more calories than fat mass, even when at rest. Accordingly, strength training in combination with endurance training is particularly recommended in order to ignite the metabolic turbo. Particularly effective for getting your metabolism and fat burning going: HIIT training, i.e. high-intensity interval training.

  • Consume meals regularly: Eating can boost your metabolism for a few hours. Responsible is the so-called TEF, Thermic Effect of Food. This refers to the extra energy that the body needs to use to digest and process the nutrients in a meal. This effect is particularly high in foods containing protein.

  • Eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables: The soluble fibers have a positive effect on the metabolism.

  • Avoid fast food and convenience products: The “quick meal” at the snack bar contains hardly any nutrients but many bad fats, aromas, flavor enhancers and preservatives that inhibit the metabolism. Rather rely on natural appetite suppressants!

  • Get enough sleep, avoid lack of sleep: Sleep has a positive effect on metabolism. Poor sleep and sleep that is too short has been shown to increase blood sugar levels and insulin resistance. The hunger hormone ghrelin is also stimulated and at the same time the satiety hormone leptin is inhibited – poison for the metabolism!

  • Avoid stress: Just like poor sleep, high levels of stress, i.e. cortisol, also have a negative effect on the metabolism.

Everyone metabolizes the components of the food they eat differently. So calorie is not the same as calorie, because there are big differences in the ability to filter energy from food. Ten to 20 percent of all people are generally good feed converters. In the past, during times of famine, these people had a clear advantage because they draw the greatest possible calorie potential from the food they eat – but in our affluent society with food in abundance, this advantage has turned into a disadvantage. And so the best feed converters are often the ones with the most fat deposits. In this context, a distinction is made between three body types:

  1. The ectomorph body type is characterized by a very slim physique with a low proportion of muscle and fat. The metabolism works very quickly, fat is hardly stored. In the fitness sector, this body type is also called hardgainer, since these people find it difficult to build up mass (fat and muscles).

  2. The mesomorphic body type builds muscle quickly, stores little body fat (usually only on the hips and stomach) – but also quickly breaks down again. The metabolism works well, mesomorphic types achieve rapid training success in sports.

  3. The endomorph body type builds muscle fast, but fat even faster. People with this body type are usually not particularly defined, rather bulky and soft. Endomorphs have slow metabolisms – energy from food is quickly stored in fat and muscle.

Certain foods can help boost metabolism. Spicy foods such as chili peppers contain capsaicin, what causes a heat or sharp stimulus in the body and thus stimulates the metabolism. In addition to chili, these so-called fat burner foods also include cayenne pepper or ginger. Also not to be scoffed at are rosemary, nettle, cloves and turmeric, which can be taken excellently in the form of golden milk.

Caffeine, green tea and peppers can also boost metabolism. However, the effects can vary in strength depending on body type. The best fat burner foods are listed again in the gallery:

If you want to stimulate your metabolism, you should eat regularly to take full advantage of the thermic effect of food. This effect is particularly high with proteins – they can boost metabolism by 15 to 30 percent. For carbohydrates it is only five to ten percent, for fat only zero to three. Accordingly, each meal should contain a sufficient amount of protein to stimulate metabolism. Eat three to five servings (either three large servings or five small servings) throughout the day rather than one or two large main meals. However, it is important that the meals are high in protein and fiber – i.e. lots of fresh vegetables and fruit, high-quality meat, fish, eggs, legumes, milk and whole grain products.

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In addition to age, gender and body type, many other factors influence metabolism. And just as a healthy lifestyle has a positive effect on our metabolism, there are also factors that have the exact opposite effect and slow it down:

  1. Alcohol slows down the metabolism

  2. Sugar is poison for the metabolism

  3. Irregular meals mess up the metabolism

  4. Too little water slows down your metabolism

  5. Fast food inhibits the metabolism

  6. Too little exercise slows down the metabolism

Those who want to lose weight swear by a special drink that is supposed to give the metabolism a kick in the morning on an empty stomach. We’re talking about the Switchel – a healthy soda with apple cider vinegar that you can easily mix yourself. Boil water with ginger slices, then add lemon juice and apple cider vinegar. Tastes really good chilled and decorated with mint leaves – and boosts the metabolism in the morning!

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To get your metabolism going, we recommend fat burner recipes that rely on hot spices, lots of fresh vegetables and high-quality proteins. How about, for example, a spicy Thai salad with turkey strips – seasoned with chili and turmeric and a high protein and fiber content, the metabolism is optimally stimulated.

Ingredients for 4 servings:

  • 2 pieces of turkey fillet

  • cayenne pepper, 1 red chili pepper, turmeric

  • 1 lime

  • 1 tbsp olive oil

  • 2 small romaine lettuce hearts

  • 200 g cherry tomatoes

  • 1 small onion

  • 1 small pepper

  • 1 cucumber

Fry and season the turkey pieces, chop the ingredients for the salad and place in a bowl. Mix the salad dressing from olive oil, lime juice, cayenne pepper, chili, turmeric, salt and pepper, pour over the salad. Cut the turkey into fine strips and arrange on the salad plates!

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