Many of us are looking for ways to lose weight and build a little muscle. It’s good for your health and it helps you look great. However, many of us are not doing the most important things to achieve these goals.
One of the best things you can do to lose weight and build muscle is to boost your metabolism – especially in the morning when you are feeling fresh and ready to go.
The Issue
Far too many of us go straight for coffee in the morning, perhaps grab some toast or cereal, and then go out of the door to get on with our day.
There’s nothing wrong with a routine, but if this is your routine it could be limiting your metabolism, and you are not helping yourself move closer towards your goal of getting fit, and in better shape.
The Solution
The solution is to try and boost your metabolism, which some may find a bit of a challenge in itself. BUT it’s quite easy if you do it right.
Get your morning metabolism going with these strategies:
- Balance your pH. One of the most overlooked aspects to health and fitness programs is the pH balance. You may remember this from chemistry class in high school. PH is the acid/base balance, and when it comes to your body, high acidity can lead to obesity, fatigue, and other health implications.
- Balancing your pH levels in the morning can be a great way to start your day off on the right foot, enabling your metabolism to function as it should. The best way to balance your pH in the morning is to eat dark fruit and green, leafy vegetables.
- Not only will they help you balance your pH, but they’ll also increase your intake of fiber, which has been shown to decrease appetite and lead to weight loss.
- Exercise. Running, walking, biking, lifting weights – it doesn’t really matter what you do as long as you’re making your muscles, heart, and lungs work.
- Although research has shown that you won’t be able to train as hard as in the evening, a morning workout is one of the most effective methods to increase metabolism leading to weight loss.
- Hydration. Coffee is not hydration. In fact, it has a negative hydration effect due to its diuretic value. Although drinking coffee in the morning can make you feel more energized, it doesn’t promote a faster metabolism in the long run. But real hydration will.
- Drinking 7 or 8 glasses of water daily is recommended in order to stay as hydrated as possible.
- Eat iron-rich food. This is especially important in a world where food is processed, and nutrients are being stripped from their original sources. Iron does more than we think, and emerging science is showing that it can have massive benefits to metabolism and overall vitality.
- Lack of iron can lead to anemia, fatigue, and overeating.
- Iron plays a crucial role in hemoglobin and erythrocyte production, both of which help to transport working nutrients and oxygen to muscle and other internal systems. New science is even showing that iron may be an important mechanism to assist in protein digestion.
- Eating iron-rich foods can help you to increase your metabolism and live a life with greater vitality and a lack of fatigue.
Habits shape who we are. Perhaps you have a habit of having a cup of coffee with a muffin each morning. Of course, this is not the end of the world, but if your goals are to get stronger, boost metabolism, and lose weight, then it becomes important that you look to other methods.
If you’re looking to rev up your morning metabolism, take care to balance your pH, exercise regularly, hydrate, and eat iron-rich foods each morning.