If you want to lose weight and keep it off for a lifetime, this article will show you how to increase metabolism after 40.
It is much harder to lose weight after the age of forty.
This is because after you turn 40, your metabolism slows down.
This is in part because after you turn 30, you start to lose 0.5% of your muscle mass each year.
As you may know, the more muscle you have, the faster your metabolism. Therefore, muscle loss slows your metabolism.
For some, muscle growth stalls as early as the twenties because that is when bones stop growing.
After this, your metabolism decreases by as much as 2% every ten years.
You will find yourself packing on a few pounds even though you don’t overeat and have a good workout routine.
Luckily, you can keep your body in a fat burning mode by using the tricks below to increase your metabolism after 40.
Ways to Increase Metabolism after 40
1. Increase the protein in your diet
To build lean muscle mass, you need to eat more protein.
Protein has also been shown to increase metabolism, reduce appetite, and enhance weight loss.
So, eat 20-30 grams of protein in every meal. This is the equivalent of 3 eggs or 1 cup of lentils.
If you struggle with hunger, eating animal and plant-based protein can fix that problem.
Research shows that a high-protein diet reduces levels of the hunger hormone, ghrelin while increasing levels of satiety hormones.
Even better, this study found that a high-protein diet can increase your metabolism and increase your calorie expenditure by up to 100 calories.
2. Drink black coffee
Black coffee is a great zero-calorie source of energy. And it can enhance your weight loss if you don’t add sugar or cream to it.
Studies show that people who take caffeinated coffee increase their metabolic rate by 16%.
You may also want to drink coffee before workouts. It boosts workout performance, which in turn, helps burn more calories.
3. Eat spicy meals
Did you know that adding spices to your meals can temporarily boost your metabolism?
The component found in chillis, capsaicin, can boost your metabolism by 23%.
Studies show that capsaicin reduces the development of fat cells.
Be sure to sprinkle your meals with some pepper flakes.
In addition to spices, add these fat burning foods to your diet.
4. Drink Ice-Cold Water
Drinking cold water after eating a spicy meal won’t just reduce the heat, it will boost your metabolism.
In one study, researchers tracked the energy expenditure of healthy men and women after drinking half a liter (17 o.z) of water. They found that their metabolism increased by 30 percent for up to 40 minutes after drinking the water.
Therefore, drinking water throughout the day can keep your metabolism elevated.
Why cold water? When you drink ice-cold water, your body burns calories when warming itself up.
5. Add strength training to your workout routine
You need to counteract muscle loss in order to increase metabolism after 40.
What better way to do that than strength training.
In fact, with a good strength training routine, you can increase muscle mass after 40.
A good routine targets all muscle groups, like the focus fitness full body workout.
I may also note that it’s important to target the big muscle groups.
This helps increase muscle mass fast.
The big muscle groups include the legs, butt, back, chest, and arm muscles.
6. Lower your alcohol intake
One glass of wine never hurt anybody.
In fact, drinking one glass of wine after dinner can improve your health since wine contains strong antioxidant properties.
But you shouldn’t have more than one glass of wine.
Avoid alcoholic drinks like cocktails as they reduce your ability to burn fat.
If you don’t want to quit alcohol, use these strategies to lose weight while drinking alcohol.
7. Get quality sleep every night
Not getting enough sleep disrupts your hormone production and muscle regeneration.
When you don’t get enough sleep, you trigger the release of cortisol, the stress hormone which increases your appetite and lowers your energy levels.
In fact, several studies show that people who are sleep deprived have a slower metabolism and are more likely to gain weight.
8. Avoid low-calorie diets
Are you on a diet that asks you to eat less than 1000 calories a day?
Such a diet is bad for your health and will slow your metabolism.
For one thing, low-calorie diets lead to muscle loss, which consequently slows down your metabolism.
Second, low-calorie diets lower your energy levels in such a way that you can’t do strength training.
Maintain a moderate calorie deficit. And get your calories from healthy unprocessed foods.
Plant-based foods should make up most of your diet.
9. Increase your iron intake
Low iron levels can adversely affect your metabolism.
This is especially true for women who lose a lot of iron during menstruation.
Iron helps carry oxygen to your muscles.
When iron levels are low, your muscles get affected which in turn affects your metabolism.
Ensure your diet is rich in foods with iron such as dark leafy green vegetables like kale, beans, and lentils.
10. Take fish oil supplements
In addition to exercise, a good diet and the various tips mentioned, you should add taking fish oil supplements to your daily routine to boost your metabolism.
Research has shown that fish oils increase the activity of fat burning enzymes.
When combined with a healthy diet, fish oil can help increase metabolism after 40.
You should also add fatty fish to your diet.
Fish like salmon, and tuna are loaded with omega-3 fatty acids help control your appetite.
As a bonus, the nutrients found in fish also help boost brain function.
Such fish are also rich in Vitamin D which helps retain muscle mass.
11. Drink green tea
Apart from black coffee, green tea is another caffeinated drink that helps boost metabolism.
Green tea contains a catechin that stimulates metabolism.
Green tea also triggers your body to release fat into your bloodstream where it’s used as fuel to burn more body fat.
The caffeine levels in green tea are also lower than those in black coffee, which makes it a better option for people who struggle with insomnia.
12. Stay active throughout the day
You can’t increase metabolism after 40 if you live a sedentary lifestyle.
You need to be active throughout the day.
If you have a desk job, remember to stand up every 30 minutes.
You may also want to go for short walks during breaks and take the stairs instead of the elevator.
Instead of bingeing on Netflix on the weekend, clean the house or do some garden work.
It’s totally possible to increase metabolism after 40 if you use the strategies above. However, you may need a detailed plan if you’re trying to lose belly fat rapidly.
This program will show you how to skyrocket your metabolism and lose belly fat in the shortest time humanly possible.
It will also show you the 5 vegetables that kill stubborn belly fat.
Do you know other ways to increase metabolism after 40?
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